Oregon official who fined Christian bakery for refusing to bake gay wedding cake loses election bid
An Oregon public official who imposed a fine of $135,000 to Christian bakers who refused to make a cake for a gay wedding has lost his bid for Oregon secretary of state in the election.
Brad Avakian, a Democrat who served as the commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries since 2008, lost the race to Republican Dennis Richardson, a former state representative and gubernatorial candidate, the Daily Caller reported.
Richardson will become the first Republican secretary of state since 1985 and the first GOP candidate to win an Oregon statewide office in 14 years.
In 2015, Avakian ordered Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, to pay a $135,000 fine for refusing to bake a cake for a gay wedding for two lesbians.
He declared that the Kleins' refusal equated to illegal discrimination and was not protected by the First Amendment. In October this year, the Kleins announced that the bakery has been closed.
Aaron expressed his hopes that religious freedom will return to the state after Avakian's loss. "The people of Oregon have spoken. Hopefully with the guy that won, we'll see religious freedom start to grow in this state," Aaron told the Daily Signal.
The Kleins were not the only ones that were fined by Avakian. In 2013, a North Portland bar owner was ordered to pay $400,000 after he banned a group of cross-dressers from his club, The Twilight Room Annex. The owner said that his business started to decline since the cross-dressers started coming to the bar.
In his campaign, Avakian vowed to uphold progressive politics during his term. He said that he would use his position to fight climate change, promote abortion rights, investigate private companies and back certain candidates and political causes.
Richardson, on the other hand, portrayed himself as non-partisan who would focus on the traditional roles of the position. He won the seat despite being an outspoken social conservative in a liberal state.
Avakian's loss, however, does not mean that he is out of public office. He will continue to serve as the labor commissioner for the next two years.