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Pressure on state Rep.-elect Brian Stout is increasing.
As WW reported earlier, a Columbia County Circuit Court judge granted a sexual abuse protective order Nov. 7 against Stout, a Republican from Columbia City.
Stout defeated Democrat Anthony Sorace on Nov. 8 to win the House District 31 seat currently held by state Rep. Brad Witt (D-Clatskanie). Witt has held that seat since 2005, so Stout’s victory marked a big GOP pickup and will help deprive House Democrats of the supermajority they hold this year.
On Dec. 5, the judge denied Stout’s motion to dismiss the protective order, which is in place for five years. There will be an evidentiary hearing on the order Jan. 13. That is four days after Stout and other lawmakers are scheduled to be sworn in.
House Speaker Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) and House Minority Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson (R-Prineville) both told WW this week they are trying to figure out how to handle Stout’s presence in a building where many staff and lawmakers will not welcome him.
State Sen. Rachel Armitage (D-Warrenton), whose 16th Senate District overlaps House District 31, the Columbia County district that Stout was elected to represent, tells WW that the allegations against Stout will make it very difficult for him to serve in the Capitol.
Armitage says the people of Columbia County deserve better.
“My district is full of hardworking people who deserve to have effective representation in Salem,” says Armitage, who was appointed to replace former state Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappose) after Johnson resigned to run for governor. “He shouldn’t take [an] oath until these charges are resolved and perhaps it would be better if he stepped aside before taking office.”
If Stout were to step down, HD 31 would remain in Republican hands and Columbia County commissioners would appoint a successor.
“People in our district deserve to be effectively represented,” Armitage says. “I don’t think Mr. Stout is capable of providing that kind of representation any longer.”
For his part, Stout says he’s confident he’ll be vindicated in the Jan. 13 hearing.
“We deny the politically motivated allegations,” Stout says. “I am not stepping down and I am confident that after due process this will be dismissed at the Jan. 13 hearing in Columbia County Circuit Court.”