Senator Betsy Johnson recuperating from car accident

Kari Chisholm

On Monday, Senator Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose) was badly injured in a car accident on the way to the Capitol, breaking her pelvis.

Here's the latest from her staff, as posted on her Facebook page on Tuesday morning:

Senator Johnson remains at a Portland hospital and continues to recuperate from Monday's accident in which she suffered a fractured pelvis . She is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday, and currently, there is no estimate on when she will be able to return to her State Senate duties.

Senator Johnson appreciates all the messages and e-mails you have sent regarding her accident. She respectfully requests that, for now, you hold off on sending flowers, since ethics rules require her to report any gift over $50. While most will not spend this amount, it would put her in the position of having to evaluate whether or not the flowers value exceeded $50, and since there are typically no price tags on the flowers, this would be a nearly impossible task.

Johnson's absence means that until she returns, there are only 15 Democrats in the Senate, making it impossible to pass anything on a party-line vote. On Monday afternoon, a bill Senator Johnson championed - the tanning salon bill - was due for a vote. The O's Christian Gaston explains what happened:

Ahead of the vote, Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day, called Republicans to caucus on the floor in order to see if the bill would reach the 16 votes it needed to pass.

He told Democratic leaders after the meeting that two Republicans, Sens. Chuck Thomsen, R-Hood River, and Bill Hansell, R-Athena, would vote for the bill, which passed 17-11. Both senators had planned to vote for the measure before Johnson’s accident.

Good to see that folks in the Senate aren't looking to seize partisan advantage as a result of her injury.

We'll keep you posted. Our best wishes to Senator Johnson for a speedy recovery.

By Kari Chisholm April 23, 2013