Mike Nearman

Mike Nearman (born 1963 or 1964) is an American politician, a member of the Republican Party.

Mike Nearman
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 23rd district
Assumed office
January 12, 2015
Preceded byJim Thompson
Personal details
Born1963 or 1964 (age 56–57)[1]
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Debra Nearman
ResidenceIndependence, Oregon
Professionsoftware engineer, politician

Nearman was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2014 after ousting incumbent Representative Jim Thompson in the Republican primary election. The Oregonian reported that Nearman was buoyed by conservative opposition to Thompson's more progressive stances on social issues like same-sex marriage and abortion rights.[2]

Nearman is one of two petitioners filing ballot measure IP 5, which would require all Oregonians to re-register in order to vote, and to show a state official a birth certificate, passport, or other documentation in order to register.[3]

On December 11, 2020, Nearman and 11 other state Republican officials signed a letter requesting Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum join Texas and other states contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election in Texas v. Pennsylvania. Rosenblum announced she had filed on behalf of the defense, and against Texas, the day prior.[4]

During a December 21, 2020 special session, Nearman let armed protesters into the secured State Capitol to protest against health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon.[5][6] Joey Gibson (political activist) and founder of Patriot Prayer, posted a video on Parler indicating a state representative let the group into the capitol,[7] and in January 2021 security video was released of Nearman allowing similar right-wing protesters to enter the Oregon State Capitol Building through a door.[8]

Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek fined Nearman $2,000 and stripped him of his committee assignments and appointments. Kotek also asked him to resign. Kotek and others are planning on filing a formal complaint about Nearman's actions creating a hostile workplace. Nearman also gave up his Capitol building badge; he agreed not to let unauthorized people into the building and must give 24 hours notice before he enters the building. Oregon State Police have an open criminal investigation against him.[9][10][11]

References
  1. Gazette-Times, JAMES DAY Corvallis. "Nearman-Jones primary just the beginning in House District 23". Corvallis Gazette Times.
  2. Zheng, Yuxing (May 20, 2014). "Jim Thompson loses House seat in GOP face-off against Mike Nearman (election results)". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  3. Jacquiss, Nigel (February 15, 2017). "A New Ballot Initiative Would Require Oregon Voters to Prove Their Citizenship Before Voting". Willamette Week. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  4. Tess Riski (December 13, 2020). "A Dozen Oregon Republican Lawmakers Urged the Attorney General to Support Texas Lawsuit Undermining U.S. Election Results". Willamette Week. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  5. Danny Peterson; Lisa Balick (January 7, 2021). "Kotek: GOP's Nearman let right-wing protesters into Capitol". KOIN.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  6. Borrud, Hillary (January 7, 2021). "Oregon Rep. Mike Nearman let right-wing protesters into Oregon Capitol last month". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  7. "Nearman stripped of duties after opening capitol door; resignation sought". newsregister.com. January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021. Joey Gibson, founder of Patriot Prayer, one of the groups that organized the demonstrations at Capitol protesting COVID-19 restrictions, posted a video on social media group Parler saying a state representative let the protesters in. “In Salem, the Oregon state capitol, a few weeks ago, we did attempt entry, but we had the legal, constitutional right to be in there during that meeting,” Gibson posted recently. “And we had a state rep, let me remind you, a state rep open that door for us, ok, because we had a legal right to be in there.”
  8. Oregonian/OregonLive, Hillary Borrud | The (January 8, 2021). "Video clearly shows Rep. Mike Nearman helping right-wing demonstrators breach Oregon Capitol". oregonlive.
  9. Dirk VanderHart (January 11, 2021). "Rep. Mike Nearman stripped of responsibilities, faces fine for allowing Capitol breach". opb. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  10. Jayati Ramakrishnan (January 11, 2021). "Mike Nearman, Oregon state representative, told to resign by House speaker after letting rioters into Capitol". oregonlive. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  11. Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (January 18, 2021). "The Long Prologue to the Capitol Hill Riot". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 18, 2021. Instead, it ended when a Republican state representative named Mike Nearman opened a door and let the crowd inside.“Leaders encourage them. A state representative let them in, and there were few consequences,” Olmos said. “And then they do it again two weeks later, when a guy with a bigger platform says, ‘Come.’ ” He meant President Trump. “When local governments don’t punish the behavior, when the federal government doesn’t punish the behavior, then what can we expect?” Olmos said. “I think we can expect them to keep going.”
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.