1. Brad Peter Avakian was born on February 4,1961 and is an American politician who served as a Democrat in the Oregon House, the Oregon Senate, and as the state's nonpartisan elected Labor Commissioner.
16 Facts About Brad Avakian
1. 2.
Brad Avakian was appointed Labor Commissioner by Governor Ted Kulongoski on April 8,2008, and was elected statewide on November 4,2008.
3.
Brad Avakian's grandparents came what is Turkey; grandfather Avak Avakian, immigrated from Mus in 1898 and his grandmother, Sirpoohi Antoyan, came from Bitlis in 1900.
4.
Brad Avakian helped create the YMCA's Juvenile Restitution Program while in law school.
5.
Brad Avakian co-founded the Oregon League of Conservation Voters' Washington County chapter, and he was appointed by Governor Barbara Roberts to lead the State Board of Psychologist Examiners.
6.
Brad Avakian served as Honorary Chair of the Oregon Business Leadership Network, a coalition of employers committed to hiring the disabled.
7.
Brad Avakian ran for the Oregon State Senate in 1998, losing to incumbent Republican Tom Hartung.
8.
Brad Avakian was elected to represent District 34, on Portland's west side, in the Oregon House of Representatives in 2002.
9.
Brad Avakian defeated Portland police officer John Scruggs, the only Republican to lose in Washington County that year, with 53 percent of the vote.
10.
Brad Avakian was elected to the Oregon State Senate, representing District 17, in 2006.
11.
In July 2007, Brad Avakian announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Oregon Secretary of State.
12.
Brad Avakian later withdrew from the race when he was appointed by governor Ted Kulongoski to be Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries in early 2008 after Dan Gardner announced his resignation.
13.
Brad Avakian lost in the Democratic primary to Suzanne Bonamici, who succeeded him in both the Oregon House and Senate.
14.
In July 2015, Brad Avakian ordered Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Gresham, to pay a lesbian couple $135,000 in damages for unlawful discrimination in public accommodations after the bakery refusing to make a cake for the couple's wedding.
15.
On November 8,2016, Brad Avakian lost his bid for Oregon Secretary of State to Republican Dennis Richardson, the first time a Republican was elected to statewide office in Oregon since 2002.
16.
Brad Avakian announced in July 2017 he would not seek reelection to a third full term.