Kim Thatcher

Kim Thatcher
Member of the Oregon Senate
from the 13th district
Assumed office
2015
Preceded by Larry George
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 25th district
In office
2005–2015
Succeeded by Bill Post
Personal details
Born 1964 (age 51–52)
Pocatello, Idaho
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Karl
Residence Salem, Oregon
Alma mater Portland State University

Kim Thatcher (born 1964) is an American politician. She is currently a Republican state senator from Oregon's Senate District 13, having won election in 2014. Prior to becoming a senator, she was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from House District 25. She is a resident of Keizer.

Early life

Thatcher was born in Pocatello, Idaho in 1964 and attended Portland State University.[1]

Political Career

Thatcher was first elected to the Oregon House District 25 in 2004, representing the Keizer area. Early in her career, as the owner of the highway construction firm KT Contracting, she was well known as a critic of the Oregon Department of Transportation.[2] In May 2005, Thatcher successfully sponsored a bill to limit public access to information about concealed handgun license.[3] She was reelected in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012. In 2014, Thatcher chose to run for Oregon State Senate Seat 13, held by the retiring Larry George, rather than seek reelection to her house seat.[4]

Thatcher's 2014 campaign for State Senator got off to a strong start. She earned the endorsement of The Oregonian on October 9, 2014.[5] However, one day later, the Oregonian's news staff uncovered court records showing Thatcher's closely held construction company, KT Contracting, had been fined $60,000 in 2010 for destroying evidence of public contract fraud. The case had escaped public notice at the time. Thatcher was also personally investigated for racketeering, but no charges were filed.[6] In light of these revelations, The Oregonian took the unusual step of retracting its endorsement of Thatcher and endorsing her opponent, Newberg City Council President Ryan Howard.[7] Despite the bad press, Thatcher defeated Howard in the election.[8]

Thatcher was a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention, where she cast her vote for Donald Trump as the nominee. While she initially was a Cruz supporter, she came away from the convention supporting Trump for president, stating “I can honestly say I feel less uncomfortable with Trump.”[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Representative Kim Thatcher (OR)". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  2. ↑ Esteve, Harry (2009-04-19). "Keizer lawmaker says ODOT crosses line into politics". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
  3. ↑ "State House OKs bill regulating handgun data". Associated Press. Salem, Oregon. 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
  4. ↑ "Rep. Kim Thatcher seeks Senate Seat". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2014-10-19.
  5. ↑ "Bruce Starr, Alan Olsen, Kim Thatcher and Chuck Thomsen for Senate: Editorial endorsement". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2014-10-19.
  6. ↑ "Oregon legislator's firm caught in cover up over suspected contract fraud". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2014-10-19.
  7. ↑ "Democrat Ryan Howard the best choice in Senate District 13: Editorial endorsement do-over". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2014-10-19.
  8. ↑ Silverstein, Jason (November 4, 2014). "Rep. Kim Thatcher promoted to State Senate". Statesman Journal. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Republican convention brought unity, state senator says". Portland Tribune. Portland, Oregon. 2016-07-30. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.