Ted Kulongoski
Categories: 1940 births | Governors of Oregon | Oregon politicians
Theodore R. Kulongoski (born November 5, 1940) is a Polish-American politician, a Democrat, and currently the governor of Oregon.
Kulongoski was born November 5, 1940 in Missouri. [1] When he was four, his father died, and Kulongoski spent the rest of his childhood in a Catholic boys home. After high school, Kulongoski served in the Marines, and with the help of the G. I. Bill, obtained an undergraduate and law degree from the University of Missouri. [2]
After law school, Kulongoski moved to Eugene, Oregon and became a labor lawyer.[3] In 1974, he was elected to the Oregon Legislature, and in 1978 to the state Senate. In 1980 he ran an unsuccessful campaign for the United States Senate, losing to incumbent Republican Bob Packwood. In 1982, he made his first bid for governor, only to be defeated by Republican incumbent Victor G. Atiyeh.[4] The defeat hurt Kulongoski deeply, and he took a from break public service as a result.
However, in 1987, Oregon Governor Neil Goldschmidt appointed Kulongoski to the post of state insurance commissioner. In that role, Kulongoski reformed the state's workers' compensation insurance system, a move that is widely credited for increasing benefits to workers while lowering costs to business.
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1992 & 1996 Elections
In 1992, Kulongoski was elected as state Attorney General defeating Republican Rich Rodeman. [5] As Attorney General, he focused on reforming the juvenile justice system.[6] In 1996, Kulongoski decided against running for re-election as Oregon's Attorney General, and instead successfully ran for Oregon's supreme court. [7] He resigned from the court in 2001 to run for governor.
2002 Election
After winning the nomination in the 2002 race for governor, Kulongoski's opponent was Republican Kevin Mannix. Kulongoski ran a low-key campaign, emphasizing his reputation as a consensus-builder and problem solver. His television commercials featured such feel-good scenes as the candidate bowling. He argued for a pragmatic approach to solving the state's budget crisis and recession, a marked departure from the more confrontational style of outgoing governor (and fellow Democrat) John Kitzhaber. He shocked some of his fellow Democrats by arguing for more accountability before increasing taxes. Mannix argued that the Democratic Party had held the governorship in Oregon too long, and pledged to reduce government spending without cutting vital services. Many of Kulongoski's supporters were disappointed with his campaign, feeling he did not adequately respond to Mannix's challenge. Kulongoski narrowly won the election, winning 618,004 votes, with 581,785 votes going to Mannix, and 57,760 votes going to Libertarian candidate Tom Cox.[8]
Kulongoski took office January 13, 2003. [9] He inherited a state facing a massive budget deficit and high unemployment. Furthermore, he faced the task of dealing with problems with the public employees' pension system without angering the labor unions that backed his campaign.
2006 Election
Kulongoski will face many diffrent members of his own party in the Democratic primary, including Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson, State Senator Vicki Walker and former State Treasurer Jim Hill. Republican Kevin Mannix has announced that he will once again run for his party's nomination for governor. On August 18, 2005, State Senator Jason Atkinson, a Republican from Jacksonville, Oregon, announced his candidacy for Governor on the Lars Larson radio show. Ron Saxton, who is a former Portland School board member and attorney has also announced his intention to compete for the Republican nomination.
On September 24th, 2005, the Oregonian reported that there has been a movement among Oregon Democrats to draft Kulongoski's predecessor, John Kitzhaber, for the 2006 election. The Oregonian cited confidential sources in saying that Kitzhaber was unhappy with Kulongoski's leadership, as well with Kulongoski's comments about the previous administration. Kitzhaber would neither confirm nor deny the report, saying only that such a run "would be hard to imagine."
Kulongoski's recent approval rating was 42% according to a poll done by SurveyUSA. [10]
See also
External links
- Biography (from Governor's Office)
- Page in official state voter's guide
- 2002 Offical Election Results Oregon Secretary of State
| Preceded by: John Kitzhaber | Governor of Oregon 2003–present | Incumbent |