Gregory Hector Macpherson (born May 3, 1950) is a Democratic politician in the US state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. From 2003 to 2009, he served as the

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

from District 38, which includes most of

Lake Oswego Lake Oswego () is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties. Located about south of Portland and surrounding the Oswego Lake, the town w ...

and portions of southwestern

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Early life

Macpherson was born in

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city and the county seat of Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2020 United ...

, and grew up in rural Linn County. His paternal grandfather, Hector Macpherson, Sr., was elected in 1926, 1928, and 1938 as a progressive

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

. During his political career his grandfather helped found the

Oregon Department of Education The Department of Education of the U.S. state of Oregon is responsible for implementing the state's public education policies, including academic standards and testing, credentials, and other matters not reserved to the local districts and boar ...

. His father, Hector Jr., served in the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

and was a cosponsor of the 1973 law that established Oregon's land-use planning system. Macpherson earned his undergraduate degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1972 and his

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1975. He was admitted to the Oregon bar in 1975.After 41 years, he retired in 2016 as a partner at

Stoel Rives Stoel Rives LLP is a U.S. business law firm with 10 office locations in seven U.S. states and Washington, D.C. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, in the Park Avenue West Tower, it is the largest law firm in the state of Oregon, having 391 attorn ...

LLP in Portland.

Political career

In 2002, Macpherson was elected to 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 ...

, defeating Republican Jim Zupancic. He was re-elected in 2004 and 2006. In the Oregon House, he played a prominent role opposing

Measure 37 Oregon Ballot Measure 37 was a controversial land-use ballot initiative that passed in the U.S. state of Oregon in 2004 and is now codified as Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 195.305. Measure 37 has figured prominently in debates about the rights of ...

, a controversial ballot

initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...

that invalidated much of Oregon's land use regulation. He was the plaintiff in ''Macpherson v. Department of Administrative Services'', an unsuccessful challenge to Measure 37's constitutionality. As chair of the House Judiciary Committee, he was instrumental in writing Measure 49, a 2007 ballot measure that scaled back some of Measure 37's provisions. In 2006, Macpherson was one of only three Democrats in the Oregon legislature who urged the PUC to oppose refunding Portland General Electric (PGE) customers who had been illegally overcharged by the utility. He was a candidate for

Oregon Attorney General The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The attorney general is ch ...

in 2008, running to succeed incumbent

Hardy Myers Hardy Myers (October 25, 1939 – November 29, 2016) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served three terms as the 15th attorney general of the state of Oregon, United States. Prior to taking office in 1997, he served from 1975 ...

, but lost in the Democratic primary to

John Kroger John Richard Kroger (born 1966) is an American lawyer who served as the president of Reed College. He served as Attorney General for the U.S. state of Oregon from 2009 to 2012. Prior to being elected in 2008, he had earlier served in the Marine ...

. In 2012, Macpherson announced that he would run for mayor of his hometown of

Personal

Macpherson and his wife Tory live in

. He has two adult children.

References

External links

Stoel Rives LLP resume
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, Greg Members of the Oregon House of Representatives Living people 1950 births Politicians from Corvallis, Oregon Politicians from Lake Oswego, Oregon Harvard University alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni Oregon lawyers 21st-century American politicians