Anitra Kitts Rasmussen is a former member of the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

representing District 11 (now District 36). She served as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. Rasmussen attended the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

where she graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

. Rasmussen served from 1995 to 2001, and was succeeded by

Mary Nolan Mary Nolan (born Mariam Imogene Robertson; December 18, 1902 – October 31, 1948) was an American stage and film actress, singer and dancer. She began her career as a Ziegfeld girl in the 1920s performing under the stage name Imogene "Bubbles ...

Political career

Rasmussen defeated incumbent Tom Mason in the Democratic primary in 1995. Rasmussen was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1995. In 1996, Rasmussen ran against Republican candidate Jim Pasero. Pasero received 8,977 votes while the incumbent Rasmussen received 15,713 votes. The next election, Rasmussen ran against

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

candidate Joshua R. Poulson and won with 16,064 votes, opposed to Poulson's 2,882 votes. She did not run for re-election in the 2000 Democratic

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

. The ''

Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history ''Willame ...

'' criticized Rasmussen, writing, "Rasmussen is proof that liberal politics don't automatically translate into a high ranking." During her tenure, Rasmussen was a member of the State and School Finance Committee, the Human Resources Ways and Means Committee, the Interim Revenue Committee, the Joint Trade and Economic Development Committee, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, and was the chairperson of the Portland School District Talented and Gifted Advisory Committee. Rasmussen introduced House Bill 3442 in 1999 that would set up a trust fund to provide basic needs for low-income people using finances from the national

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

settlement. The same year, Rasmussen also promoted a bill that would fine motorists or suspend their

drivers license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...

s when they engaged in

harassment Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...

or get out of their vehicle to threaten or harass

pedestrians A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or Road surface, pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is dis ...

or other drivers after an incident.

Other activities

In 2003, Covenant Network hired Rasmussen as a Director of Communications.

References

External links

Official Voter Information
*''Follow the Money'' – Anitra Rasmussen
199419961998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasmussen, Anitra Living people Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Women state legislators in Oregon University of Portland alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women