Oregon – Representative Cyrus Javadi (D-HD32) has garnered a lot of attention since Friday 9/5/2025 when he announced that he was switching parties from Republican to Democrat. Javadi is in the middle of serving a two year term and will be up for re-election in 2026. He has been under political pressure from Republicans for supporting the proposed transportation legislation which recently passed out of the house, his vote in favor of the bill was critical to its passing. In a statement published on his Facebook page he stated that he was not switching parties to avoid a difficult primary but because the Republican Party changed and he does not align with what he sees them as representing.
Following this decision Rep. Javadi has faced backlash from Republicans while Democrats have publicly opened their arms to him. The Young Republicans of Oregon released a statement denouncing Javadi’s party change. In a post on X the Oregon Republican Party stated a lack of surprise with Javadi switching parties. Speaker of the House Julie Fahey (D) stood behind Javadi in a post on X following the announcement he was switching parties.
On the morning of 9/7/2025 a post went up on Rep. Javadi’s Facebook page showing him with Oregon Senator Ron Wyden (D) showing support for the Senator and also commenting on discussions they had about healthcare policy related to Javadi’s district on the Northern Oregon Coast. The post quickly drew attention including comments critical of the Representative.
It was observed later in the day that the post had been deleted, also removing all comments associated with the post from his page.
Official social media pages and posts for elected officials qualify as public forums and thus fall under the first amendment, this restricts elected officials from deleting comments or content and blocking users. There is more leeway on campaign pages and elected officials are still protected by the first amendment themselves when acting as private citizens. The lines between these things can be blurry as the Supreme Court highlighted in a case last year.
Representative Javadi routinely posts about government business on his campaign page on Facebook and the specific post was about his activity in his official capacity as an elected official, and discussed issues of public policy. This raises questions as to whether the post falls under the rules for public forums and thus if deleting the post and comments critical of the Representative constitute a first amendment violation.
Right Now Oregon reached out to Representative Javadi and received the following response:
The post featuring Senator Wyden and my visit to his Tillamook County town hall was deleted unintentionally while I was trying to adjust its visibility and settings after boosting it. Facebook doesn’t allow edits to audience settings on boosted posts, and in the process of trying to make adjustments, the post was removed. There was no intention to delete comments or avoid criticism.
The photo, content, and engagement from that post will be reposted shortly, and I welcome the ongoing public conversation about the decisions I’ve made and the partnerships I’ve built to better serve my district, including across party lines.
As an elected official, I take transparency and free expression seriously, even when it’s uncomfortable. I’ve been clear about my recent decision to switch parties, and I stand by that choice. I also stand by the work I’m doing with leaders from both sides of the aisle, including Senator Wyden, to address healthcare and infrastructure needs on the North Coast.
Representative Javadi reposted the post around 3pm PST on 9/7/2025.
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