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Curry County Commissioner Court Boice will head to Salem as Oregon’s State District 1 representative.

Boice replaces the new District 1 state senator, David Brock Smith, on the state House of Representatives after most of his colleagues from Coos, Curry and Douglas counties voted for his appointment Thursday.

Coos County Commissioner Rod Taylor dissented, saying he would have preferred Myrtle Point resident Denesa Rains to be District 1 Representative.

Though he received enough of a majority that voting wasn’t necessary, Boice said he would have abstained. According to Coos County Commissioner Bob Main, who chaired the meeting, the Oregon Secretary of State hadn’t given an answer as to whether Boice could vote for Smith’s replacement even though he was one of the candidates.

The State Representative District 1 vacancy must be filled no later than Feb. 16, according to the Oregon Secretary of State. Boice was the Oregon Republican Party’s top choice out of four candidates for the vacant State Representative District 1 seat.

The other four candidates included former Curry County emergency services manager Jeremy Dumire, former Gold Beach mayor Karl Popoff and Rains, who said she had owned multiple businesses and started a “home-school co-op” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boice heads to Oregon's capitol after a failed attempt to run for governor as a Republican in the 2022 primary election.

In making his case to commissioners from the three counties, Boice rattled off a list of people who endorsed his appointment, which included 2022 GOP gubernatorial candidate Chistine Drazan, former State Senator Dallas Heard and District 2 State Rep. Virgle Osborne.

Boice also cited his own career, which included working as an Oregon legislative staff member, being on the Coos Curry Douglas Business Development Corporation as well as representing Jackson, Josephine, Coos, Curry and Douglas counties as part of the Association of Oregon Counties.

He also praised each county commissioner, including his own colleagues in Curry County, John Herzog and Brad Alcorn.

“I’ve learned from all of you,” he said. “My wife, Britt, and I come as a team. No one will outwork us and no one will care more. We believe in the same things you believe.”

During the meeting, Coos County Commissioner John Sweet asked each candidate how they have prepared for the state representative job, pointing out that they’d be assuming the role in the middle of a legislative session.

Boice said he had visited Salem about a week ago, attending a Natural Resources and Land Use Committee meeting. He said the committee chair and vice chairs, Democrat Ken Helms and Republican Mark Owens, greeted him.

“I know Salem well,” Boice told Sweet. “I’ve spent a lot of time up there for the county (and) as a legislative assistant. I’ve spent some time in the governor’s office — most of the governors — usually not there on real friendly terms, but I plan to do that considerable in the future. They’re going to go, ‘Oh no, here he comes again, that Coos Curry Douglas guy.’ So we’ll be prepared.”

After interviewing each of the candidates, Douglas County Commissioner Tim Freeman said he was a state representative when Boice was a legislative assistant. Freeman said he also worked with Boice as a county commissioner and through the Association of Oregon Counties Board as secretary-treasurer and president.

“Court was part of that group all along and was a huge supporter of mine,” Freeman said. “I know Court more and feel more comfortable (with him).”

On Jan. 13, commissioners from Curry, Coos and Douglas counties appointed Smith to replace Heard as Senate District 1 representative.

According to Lydia Plukchi, compliance specialist from the Oregon Secretary of State’s office, the Republican Party was able to nominate 3-5 candidates for Smith’s replacement because Smith is a Republican.

If Smith had been a Democrat, the Democratic Party would be able to nominate a candidate, Plukchi told the Outpost on Tuesday.

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CORRECTION: An original version of this story mis-hyphenated David Brock Smith's name. The Outpost regrets the error.

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