Barbara Roberts

Infobox Governor
name= Barbara Roberts


caption= Former Governor Roberts speaking at women's leadership conference in 2006. [http://www.andiepetkus.com/ Andie Petkus photo.]
order=34^th
office= Governor of Oregon
term_start= January 14, 1991
term_end= January 9, 1995
lieutenant=
predecessor= Neil Goldschmidt
successor= John Kitzhaber
order2=21^st Oregon Secretary of State
term_start2= January 7, 1985
term_end2= January 14, 1991
predecessor2= Norma Paulus
successor2= Phil Keisling
birth_date= Birth date and age|1936|12|21|mf=y (age 70)
birth_place= Oregon
death_date=
death_place=
spouse= Frank Roberts
profession= Politician
party= Democratic
footnotes=

Barbara K. Roberts (born on December 21, 1936 in Corvallis, Oregon) is a Democratic politician. She served as Governor of Oregon from 1991 to 1995, the first and, to date, only woman to be elected to that office. Roberts is a fourth generation Oregonian and grew up in Sheridan, Oregon, where she graduated from Sheridan High School. She attended Portland State University from 1961 to 1964 and, later, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Marylhurst University.

Roberts has two sons, Mark and Mike. She was married to Oregon State Senator Frank Roberts from 1974 until his death in 1993 from prostate cancer. After the death of her husband, Roberts wrote the book "Death Without Denial Grief Without Apology: A Guide for Facing Death and Loss". [ cite book
title=Death Without Denial Grief Without Apology: A Guide for Facing Death and Loss
url=http://www.newsagepress.com/deathwithoutdenial.html
id=ISBN 0-939165-43-0
author=Barbara K. Roberts
coauthor = Ann Jackson, Executive Director of Oregon Hospice
publisher=New Sage Press
date=February 252002
accessdate=2006-12-11 ] The character of adult Gertrude Lang in the 1995 film "Mr. Holland's Opus" may have been based on Roberts due to the movie being filmed in Oregon.Fact|date=March 2007

Career

Politics

Early career

Roberts became involved in public service as an advocate for handicapped children. She became an unpaid lobbyist in 1969, spurred by concerns for her autistic son, Mike. Roberts served on the Parkrose School Board and the Mount Hood Community College Board. After she married Senator Frank Roberts, who became her political mentor, she was appointed to finish the term of a Multnomah County Commissioner.

tate Representative

Barbara Roberts was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1981. She was Oregon's first female House Majority Leader from 1983 to 1984.

ecretary of State

In 1984, Roberts was elected as Oregon Secretary of State, the first Democrat elected to that post in over one hundred years. She was re-elected in 1988. Her significant achievements as Secretary of State include election reform legislation, the construction of a new state archives building, and broader audit powers for the Secretary of State. The Portland Gay Men's Chorus sang at her inauguration. It is widely believed that this was the first time that a gay identified chorus sang for the inauguration of a statewide elected official of any state.

Governor

Roberts ran unopposed in the Democratic Gubernatorial primary in 1990. She defeated Republican Attorney General David B. Frohnmayer and Independent Al Mobley in the November 1990 General Election, succeeding Neil Goldschmidt as Governor of Oregon. During that same election, voters passed Ballot Measure 5, which established constitutional limits on property tax rates.

During her term as Governor, Roberts worked with the Clinton administration to secure federal waivers and funding for the Oregon Health Plan. She also helped to increase the number of children in the Head Start program, secured financing for additional units of affordable housing, and developed programs to help move Oregonians from welfare to the workplace. The Roberts administration was known for its strong support of gay rights and appointed women to positions in state government.

There were several factors that were responsible for Roberts decision not to seek re-election in 1994. The first factor was her low approval rating with the voters. A refusal by voters to pass a measure to enact a sales tax which would have funded the Oregon Health Plan was the second factor. As a result of the failed sales tax measure, Roberts was forced to break her campaign promise not to cut spending. The death of Roberts' husband from prostate cancer in October 1993 also played a role in her decision not to seek a second term.Fact|date=April 2007

Educator

Soon after she left office, Roberts accepted a position at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as director of the Harvard Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government and later as a senior fellow to the Women and Public Policy Program. In 1998, Roberts joined Portland State University's Hatfield School of Government's Executive Leadership Institute as Associate Director of Leadership Development.

Roberts has continued community service, sitting on the board of trustees for several major nonprofit organizations, including the Oregon Hospice Association, the Human Rights Campaign, and the advisory council of Oregon’s Compassion in Dying. She has also maintained an active public speaking career, addressing issues of death and grieving, leadership, women in politics, and environmental stewardship.cite web|url=http://www.newsagepress.com/deathwithoutdenial.html|title=Death Without Denial Grief Without Apology|accessdate=2006-12-11|publisher=New Sage Press|year=2002|work=New Sage Press (Official website)|format=HTML]

Roberts High School in Salem, Oregon is named after her.

ee also

List of Governors of Oregon

References

External links

* [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/governors/Roberts/inaugural1991.html Barbara Roberts' Inaugural Message]
* [http://www.sos.state.or.us/archives/governors/Roberts/farewell1995.html Barbara Roberts' 1995 Farewell Message]
* [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/governors/Roberts/robertsmenu.html Oregon State Archives, Governor Barbara Roberts]
* [http://www.eli.pdx.edu/staff/bio_BR.htm Biography at Portland State University]
* [http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/narratives/subtopic.cfm?subtopic_ID=178 Oregon Historical Project, Women in Oregon politics]