Jim Torrey (born 1940) is an American politician who served as mayor of Eugene from 1997 to 2004. Torrey was nominated in 2006 for an

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 ...

seat, but was defeated by incumbent

Vicki Walker Vicki Lynn Walker (born May 29, 1956) is an American politician. She served as the Oregon State Director for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A member of the Democratic Party, Walker previously served in both houses of ...

. He then served was elected to the Eugene School Board as Representative 5 in 2007, but was defeated by Shabram Martina in 2019. Torrey was first elected to public office at the age of 21, when he won a seat on the Waldport,

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 ...

city council. Torrey was a member of the

Oregon Republican Party The Oregon Republican Party is the U.S. state, state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party in Oregon, headquartered in Salem, Oregon, Salem. The party was established in the Oregon Territory in February ...

from age 21 until age 67; in 2007, he switched his registration to the newly formed

Independent Party of Oregon The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) is a centrist political party in the U.S. state of Oregon with more than 135,000 registrants since its inception in January 2007. The IPO is Oregon's third-largest political party and the first political part ...

Early life and career

Jim Torrey was born in 1940 and grew up in Waldport, Oregon. After graduating from Waldport High School in 1958, he spent a year at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

majoring in

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

but did not graduate. He then worked in

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

and

workers' compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

Mayoral tenure

Torrey's mayoral tenure was marked by allegations of police brutality against Eugene citizens. Shortly after his election in 1997, Torrey's Eugene police sprayed pepper spray at

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

peaceful protestors during a confrontation at a downtown parking garage, after which the city had to settle payments with those who they injured. On August 6th, 1997, a protestor vomited on Torrey at a Eugene City Council meeting. On June 18th, 1999, Eugene police used tear gas on an

anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economi ...

protest, which affected over 200 people and arrested 20 demonstrators. Citizens claimed that the mayor had directed police to needlessly harass individuals in black clothing.

2008 mayoral candidacy

Torrey ran again for mayor of Eugene in 2008. He qualified for a runoff election in November of that year, but lost to incumbent

Kitty Piercy Catherine "Kitty" Piercy (born July 6, 1942) is an American politician. She was elected mayor of Eugene, Oregon in 2004, and was re-elected in 2008, and again in 2012, serving three full terms until January 2017. During the 1990s she served as M ...

. Torrey's decision as a former two-term mayor to challenge a first term was described as an "unprecedented contest" in Eugene politics.

Post-mayoral career

After his time as mayor, Torrey unsuccessfully ran for the

in 2006 as the Republican nominee. He was then elected Eugene School Board Representative 5 as an Independent Party of Oregon member in 2007. He served three terms before being defeated in 2019 by Shabram Martina, an educator.

References

External links

Oregon Voters' GuideIndependent Party of Oregon
Living people Mayors of Eugene, Oregon Oregon city council members Oregon Republicans Independent Party of Oregon politicians School board members in Oregon 1940 births People from Lincoln County, Oregon {{Oregon-mayor-stub