DAILY ASTORIAN: Endorsement: Voters should return Bonamici to Washington

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici knows there are challenges the next Congress must meet and is ready for the hard work ahead if voters return her to Washington for another term. They should do just that.

Bonamici, a Democrat, is opposed in the race by Republican Brian Heinrich, a sales representative at DSU Peterbilt & GMC in Hillsboro. Like Bonamici, Heinrich is a hard worker, but he lacks political experience and is running for office for the first time.

Bonamici was first elected to the 1st Congressional District seat in January 2012 and has served in Congress in each term since. Prior to winning the seat, she served in the Oregon Senate where she had a reputation of reading every bill that came to her committees or to the floor. That thoroughness and persistence remains apparent.

In the House, Bonamici serves on the Education and Workforce Committee and on the Science, Space and Technology Committee. Since she has never been in the majority party in the House, she has learned the key roles that relationships and bipartisanship play in trying to get things done in a Congress that has distinguished itself by inaction. Bonamici knows how to make deals and how to do business with the opposition party, but the current Republican orthodoxy in the House hasn’t let that happen often.

Her most notable initiatives in the House have been on education. That stems from what got her into politics, and she wants to see through the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act that she has worked doggedly to help get passed.

She is also working hard on trying to get the Tsunami Warning, Education and Research Act passed into law, which will greatly help coastal areas.

Despite the size of the congressional district and the demands of Washington, D.C., Bonamici is in Clatsop County frequently. All of us have considerable access to her.

Voters in the district will be well-served by choosing Bonamici for another term.