Political Desk

By DAVID BATES
Of the News-Register

With political veteran Brian Boquist looking to trade his House 23 seat for Gary George’s Senate 12 seat, two Democrats and a Republican have tossed their hats into the ring in District 23.

Announcing on the Democratic side are Wesley West, a Sheridan resident who previously served on the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s tribal governing council, and Jason Brown, a Polk County computer consultant and small-acreage farmer. Announcing on the Republican side is Jim Thompson, a Dallas resident who heads the Oregon State Pharmacy Association.

District 23 swallows up parts of five counties, including a chunk of southwestern Yamhill County, encompassing more than 2,300 voters in the West Valley communities of Sheridan and Willamina.

Thompson has held the seat before. He was appointed by the Polk County commissioners in 2004 to complete Lane Shetterly’s term when Shetterly was named to head the state Department of Land Conservation and Development. However, Boquist beat him in the primary two months later and went on to win in the general election as well.

Thompson has previously served on the Monmouth City Council and a Polk County fire district board.

His background is in pharmaceuticals. He previously worked for the Bayer and Biomedex corporations.

Brown holds a bachelor’s from Evergreen State College in business and technology, and a master’s from Western Washington University in research psychology. A Polk County resident, he’s served as a local precinct committee person.

West served 20 years in the U.S. Army. He also owned West’s Mobile Home Service for 16 years and served on the tribal council for three years.

The filing deadline for the May primary is 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 11.