Vicki Walker

Infobox Politician
name = Vicki Walker


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state_senate = Oregon
district = 7^th
term_start = 2003
term_end =
predecessor =
successor =
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majority =
state_house2 = Oregon
district2 = 41^st
term_start2 = 1998
term_end2 = 2002
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majority2 =
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birth_date = Birth date and age|1956|5|29|mf=y
birth_place = Monroe, Washington
death_date =
death_place =
party = Democratic
relations =
spouse = Steven Walker
civil partner =
children = Adam and Sara
residence = Eugene, Oregon
occupation =
religion =


website = [http://www.vickiwalker.com vickiwalker.com]
footnotes =

Vicki Walker (Born on May 29, 1956 in Monroe, Washington) is a politician from the U.S. state of Oregon and a member of the Democratic Party. She has been elected to political office in both houses of the Oregon Legislature, and currently represents the 7th District (Eugene, Junction City, and Harrisburg) in the Oregon Senate.

Walker is known as an advocate for utility customers [cite news
title=Rogues of the Week:A substantial contingent of the Oregon Legislature
url=http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3224/7459/
work=Willamette Week
date=2006-04-19
accessdate=2007-05-07] and as an outspoken critic of influential former Governor Neil Goldschmidt.

Background

Walker graduated from Reedsport High School in Reedsport, Oregon in 1974. She attended the University of Oregon and graduated in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. After college, Walker has been a self-employed court reporter since 1983, and is a certified shorthand reporter. Walker and her husband Steven live in Eugene, and have two adult children, Adam and Sara.

Political career

From 1992 to 1994, Walker served as the chair of the Lane County Democratic Central Committee. In addition, she served as secretary-treasurer and area representative for the Cal Young Neighborhood Association in Eugene. Walker has also volunteered on campaigns and has helped to fundraise for non-profit organizations.

Oregon Legislature

In November, 1998, Walker was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives. While serving as a State Representative, Walker proposed legislation making the prevention of youth suicide a state priority as well as a bill that provides consumers protection from predatory lending practices. Walker was re-elected as a State Representative in 2000. She was assigned to the Oregon House Judiciary, Criminal Law Subcommittee, Labor and Consumer Affairs, and Smart Growth & Commerce Committees.

Walker then was elected to the Oregon State Senate in November, 2002. In the State Senate, she served as Vice-Chair of the Business and Labor Committee as well as a member of the Judiciary, Health Policy and General Government Committees. Legislation she sponsored included strengthening workers compensation and establishing civil penalties for e-mail spam. [ [http://www.ncsl.org/programs/lis/legislation/spam03.htm Spam Legislation: 2003 ] ] More recently during the 2005 legislative session, Walker served as the Chair of the Education and Workforce Committee.

In addition to her service in the legislature, Walker also serves on The Council of State Governments (CSG) and as an associate member of the Western Governors’ Association Clean and Diversified Energy Council. (CDEAC). For the 2005-2006 biennium, she was chosen to serve as the Vice Chair of the Energy and Public Lands Committee.

Walker was elected to her second Senate term in 2006, defeating former Eugene mayor Jim Torrey (R).

2006 race for Governor

Walker, who has been critical of Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski on many issues, considered challenging his bid for re-election in 2006, but ultimately did not run.

On September 6 2005, Walker stated, "I'm tired of the status quo, I'm not one of the good ol' boys. The good ol' boys have had a stranglehold over this state for a long time." [cite news
author=
title=Eugene Democrat aims to challenge Kulongoski
work=The Oregonian
date=September 6, 2005]

Walker, who has run only for offices in the Willamette Valley, would have faced an uphill battle in a statewide race. Fellow Democrat Pete Sorenson, another Willamette Valley Democrat who did run for Governor in 2006, predicted that Walker would have a hard time raising money for her campaign. A poll done by Mike Riley in late 2005 showed Walker and several other Democratic challengers in single digits. [cite news
author=Brad Cain
url=http://www.kgw.com/politics/stories/kgw_120105_politics_walker_gov.29ec5744.html
title=Sen. holding off while Kitzhaber ponders gov. race
work=KGW
date=December 1, 2005
accessdate= 2006-11-13]

Another factor that loomed over Walker's gubernatorial candidacy was the possibility that former two-term Governor John Kitzhaber might enter the race. A December 1 2005 article asserted that Kitzhaber was considering challenging his predecessor, Kulongoski. Walker said "I wouldn't run against John Kitzhaber. That's the deciding factor." [cite news
author=David Steves
url=http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/12/01/d1.cr.walker.1201.p1.php?section=cityregion
title=Walker puts decision on hold
work=The Register-Guard
date=December 1, 2005
accessdate=2006-11-13]

On January 13, 2006, Kitzhaber said that he would not enter the race, leaving the door open for a possible run by Walker. [cite news
author=Ley Garnett
url=http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=865496
title=Kitzhaber Passes On 2006 Governor's Race
work=Oregon Public Broadcasting
date=January 13, 2006
accessdate=2006-11-13]

However, Walker announced on February 1 2006 that she would not seek the office, but would instead listen to voters in her State Senate District and run for re-election. [cite news
title=Eugene senator decides not to run for governor
last=Cain
first=Brad
work=KATU TV
publisher=Associated Press
date=February 1, 2006
url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060403165014/www.katu.com/stories/82973.html]

Goldschmidt scandal

Vicki, a sexual assault victim, is partially responsible for forcing former Governor Neil Goldschmidt to admit publicly that he had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl in 1975 which lasted three years. Goldschmidt was Mayor of Portland at the time the relationship took place. Walker received the information from "Portland Tribune" Columnist Phil Stanford about the scandal, though it reportedly was not enough proof to go public and he knew that as an angry woman, Vicki would act. Vicki, who had been a longtime critic of Goldschmidt, tried unsuccessfully to prevent his appointment to the Oregon State Board of Higher Education in January 2004. [cite news
author=Nigel Jaquiss
url=http://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=5256
title=Breaking Silence
work=Willamette Week
date=June 30, 2004
accessdate=2006-11-13]

A few months later, Vicki passed the documents she had received from Stanford to a "Willamette Week" newspaper reporter. On May 6, 2004, Goldschmidt confessed publicly to the relationship after being told that an article in "Willamettee Week" was going to be printed about the scandal. The story appeared in the paper less than a week later, and revealed that close friends and colleagues had kept quiet about the relationship for 30 years. Goldschmidt subsequently resigned from the Oregon State Bar and the Board of Higher Education. [cite news
author=Nigel Jaquiss
url=http://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=5091
title=The 30-Year Secret
work=Willamette Week
date=May 12, 2005
accessdate=2006-11-13]

Candidate for Secretary of State

At the conclusion of the 2007 legislative session, Walker announced her candidacy for Oregon Secretary of State in 2008. [cite news
title=Vicki Walker jumps into race for secretary of state
url=http://blog.oregonlive.com/politics/2007/06/vicki_walker_jumps_into_race_f.html
work=The Oregonian
date=June 28, 2007] She finished third in the Democratic primary to Kate Brown and Rick Metsger. [url=https://secure.sos.state.or.us/eim/goToElectionResults.do?actionId=viewLoad&mode=view]

References