Canby resident Matt Bunch will fill the Oregon House of Representatives seat recently vacated by now state senator and gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan.

On Monday, the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners unanimously selected Bunch, who works as an Oregon City school bus driver, after interviewing him and two other possible appointees.

Bunch ran in the 2024 Republican primary for the House District 51 seat but withdrew and backed Drazan once she entered the race.

After losing the 2022 race for governor to Gov. Tina Kotek, Drazan served a year of her two-year term as the representative for House District 51, which covers Canby, Beavercreek, Eagle Creek, Sandy and Estacada. Last month, Drazan was appointed to Oregon Senate District 26 after the incumbent senator Daniel Bonham resigned to take a position in the Trump administration. Bunch will serve the remainder of Drazan’s term, beginning with next year’s short session.

In addition to Bunch, the Clackamas County commission interviewed realtor and former commission candidate Dana Hindman-Allen and former Sandy Mayor Carl Exner during a virtual meeting Monday. The trio was nominated by Republican Party precinct committee members of the district, pursuant to state rules for filling a legislative vacancy.

Bunch told the commission he sought the House seat because he believes he can bring common sense to Salem.

“I’m not a career politician,” Bunch said. “I’m a neighbor, grandfather and someone who shows up, does the job and holds others accountable.”

Commissioner Ben West said he favored Bunch because of his experience working with the county on the Clackamas County Fair Board. Whoever was selected would soon be “drinking from a firehose” of complicated policy matters, West added.

In an opening statement before the commission, Bunch mentioned the need for stronger support for law enforcement and to “remove politics from learning” so schools can focus on reading, writing, math and critical thinking.

The new representative also said the state should provide more support to transit options in rural areas, where he believes people need public transportation more than urban areas. He also voiced support for the county’s still-to-be-funded substance use recovery campus and infrastructure investments for rural communities to support population growth.

“I think it’s important that I’ll show up every day with humility and determination to look at the people and constituents of House District 51,” Bunch said. “First and foremost, those people are the people I want to serve and make a difference to.”

Bunch is already registered to run for re-election in next year’s primary.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/17/clackamas-county-house-matt-bunch-drazan/