James Lee Bunn (born December 12, 1956) is an American politician from

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 ...

. A native of

Yamhill County Yamhill County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 107,722. The county seat is McMinnville. Yamhill County was named after the Yamhelas, members of the Kalapuya Tribe. Yamhill Cou ...

, he 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 ...

before election to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

where he served one term. A

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 ...

, he now works as a correctional officer for the county.

Early life and education

James Lee Bunn was born in McMinnville and graduated from Dayton High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern Nazarene College in 1979, and remains a member of the

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa within Johnson County, Kansas. With its members co ...

Career

Bunn worked in

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit w ...

, and from 1987 until his election to Congress, served in the

Oregon National Guard The Oregon Military Department is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, which oversees the armed forces of the state of Oregon. Under the authority and direction of the governor as commander-in-chief, the agency is responsib ...

. A

, he was a member of the

from 1987 to 1995, where he served as Republican

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

from 1990 to 1995.

United States House of Representatives

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, he was elected to the

, representing . During his one term in the House from 1995 to 1997, Bunn divorced his wife of 17 years, with whom he had five children, and married Sonja Skurdal, an aide in his congressional office whom he made his

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

. Bunn then paid Skurdal more than any other congressional aide in Oregon at that time. In the 1996 election, this scandal contributed to his loss to Democrat

Darlene Hooley Darlene Kay Olson Hooley (born April 4, 1939) is an American politician and former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon who represented the state's . A high school teacher by profession, she served as a city counc ...

Later career

After leaving Congress, Bunn became a

sheriff's deputy A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

at the

jail. In 2008, he was a candidate for 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 ...

in the state's 24th district which includes McMinnville, but was defeated in the primary by Jim Weidner.

Personal life

Bunn's family includes other notable public figures, such as his brother

Stan Bunn Stan Bunn (born June 25, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer in the U.S. state of Oregon. Born and raised in Yamhill County, he is part of a political family that includes his brother Jim Bunn who served in Congress. A self-described moder ...

, a former

Oregon superintendent of public instruction The Superintendent of Public Instruction, sometimes referred to as the State Superintendent of Schools, was a constitutional officeOR Const. art. VIII. within the executive branch of the Oregon state government from 1872 to 2012, when it was elim ...

and member of both houses of the state legislature. Another brother, Tom Bunn, is a former Yamhill County commissioner and was briefly a state senator. All three brothers served in the legislature for a short time in from July 1992 to January 1993.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunn, Jim 1956 births American members of the Church of the Nazarene American prison officers Businesspeople from Oregon Businesspeople in agriculture Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Living people Northwest Nazarene University alumni Republican Party Oregon state senators People from Dayton, Oregon People from McMinnville, Oregon Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon United States Army soldiers