Senate District 19: Steve Griffith Files To Run For Richard Devlin's Seat

As the March 9 candidate filing deadline for the May primary election looms, expect to see some last-minute stragglers enter various legislative races. Yesterday, former Portland School Board member (1987 to 1995) and longtime Stoel Rives lawyer Steve Griffith filed to run in Senate District 19, which covers parts of Washington and Clackamas Counties.

Griffith ran for an open seat in House District 38 (Lake Oswego and part of Multnomah County) in 2008, winning WW's endorsement but losing to Democrat Chris Garrett.

Griffith joins charter school activist Mary Kremer in the GOP primary. Either will have an uphill battle against incumbent Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin), the Senate Majority leader who has served in the Legislature since 1997. That's because registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district 33,000 to 25,000.