Rod Monroe
| Rod Monroe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Oregon Senate from the 24th district | |
|
Assumed office 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Shields |
| Member of the Oregon Senate from the 7th district | |
|
In office 1981–1989 | |
| Preceded by | Stephen Kafoury |
| Succeeded by | Shirley Gold |
| Member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 12th district | |
|
In office 1977–1981 | |
| Preceded by | Grace Olivier Peck |
| Succeeded by | Shirley Gold |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 20, 1942 McBride, British Columbia |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Billie |
| Profession | Teacher (retired) |
Rod Monroe (born August 20, 1942) is an American Democratic politician from the US state of Oregon. He currently serves in the Oregon Senate, representing District 24 in the middle part of Multnomah County, which includes most of eastern Portland and the city of Happy Valley.
Early life and career
Born in McBride, British Columbia,[1] Monroe was raised in Oregon and graduated from Portland's Franklin High School in 1960. He attended college at Warner Pacific College and received bachelor's and master's degrees from Portland State College (now Portland State University) in 1965 and 1969 respectively.[2][3] He became a teacher at Tigard High School in Tigard, Oregon in 1965, teaching history and government and later served on the David Douglas school board.[2]
Political career
In 1976, Monroe was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 12 in Portland. He served two terms and then was elected to the Oregon Senate in 1980, representing the 7th district in Portland. He was re-elected to a second Senate term in 1984.[4] During this legislative tenure, Monroe was known for sponsoring safety-oriented legislation, such as mandatory seat belt laws, tougher drunk driving legislation, and bans on indoor smoking.[5]
Monroe ran for the Democratic nomination in the 1986 U.S. Senate election in Oregon, but came in second behind Jim Weaver.[6]
In 1988, he lost a close election in the Democratic primary to Oregon House Majority Leader Shirley Gold, who had been elected to Monroe's seat when he was elected to the Senate.[7] In the 1990 Democratic primary, Monroe sought to upset incumbent Judy Bauman for a seat in the Oregon House, but he was narrowly defeated.[8]
In 1992, Monroe was elected to the council of Oregon's regional governmental agency, Metro.[9] He served three terms where he advocated for federal funding of light rail projects and the Portland Streetcar, as well as for biking and pedestrian trails such as the Springwater Corridor.[2] In 2004, he was defeated for a fourth term by environmentalist Robert Liberty.[10]
In Oregon's 2006 legislative elections, Monroe was again elected to the Oregon Senate in the District 24 seat vacated by the retiring Frank Shields.[11]
Personal life
Monroe lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Billie.[2]
References
- ↑ "Oregon Blue Book: State Senators by District". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 "Senator Rod Monroe". Oregon State Legislature. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
- ↑ "Rod Monroe". Project VoteSmart. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
- ↑ "State Government Legislators and Staff". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
- ↑ Mapes, Jeff (December 3, 1987). "House's Gold seeks Monroe's Senate seat". The Oregonian.
- ↑ "Oregon US Senate Democratic Primary Race, May 20, 1986". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
- ↑ Ota, Alan K. (May 19, 1988). "New lawmakers predict more active, progressive Oregon Senate for 1989". The Oregonian.
- ↑ Bella, Rick (October 9, 1990). "Unopposed Bauman top fundraiser". The Oregonian.
- ↑ Mayer, James (October 2, 1992). "Metro voters to decide races, greenspaces issues, home rule". The Oregonian.
- ↑ Oppenheimer, Laura (November 3, 2004). "Liberty takes over Monroe's Metro seat". The Oregonian.
- ↑ "How Oregon voted – election results". The Oregonian. November 9, 2006.