Loren Parks (born 1926) is a businessman from the U.S. state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. He previously lived in

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 1957–2002), and is the biggest political contributor in the history of that state. He has financed numerous

ballot measure A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

initiative petitions and campaigns since the mid-1990s. He has also contributed heavily to races for prominent offices by his attorney,

Kevin Mannix Kevin Leese Mannix (born November 26, 1949) is an American politician, business attorney, and former chairman of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Oregon. Mannix has served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, as a Demo ...

, a frequent chief petitioner of ballot campaigns.

Early life

Parks was born in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

in 1926. He served in the military from 1944–1946. He has a BA in psychology, having studied at five different universities. He speaks several languages. Parks later started a business while living in

Aloha, Oregon Aloha (, not ) is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Washington County, Oregon, United States. By road it is west of downtown Portland. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 53,828. Fire protection and EMS services ...

. He founded Parks Medical Electronics in 1961. The business sells a number of instruments, including a plethysmograph, which measures the blood flow to sexual organs and is used in treating sexual dysfunction and assessing the arousal of sex offenders.

Philanthropic Work

Loren donates to many local, national and worldwide charities now and throughout his lifetime. His generous donations help numerous people.

Influential in Oregon politics

From 1996 to 2006, Parks contributed over $6 million to various political campaigns – far more than any other individual, and more than most organized lobbies. His entry into backing political concerns followed the passage of Ballot Measure 5 in 1990. His support was instrumental in launching Oregon Taxpayers United, according to executive director

Bill Sizemore Bill Sizemore (born June 2, 1951) is an American political activist and writer in Happy Valley, Oregon, United States. Sizemore has never held elected office, but has nonetheless been a major political figure in Oregon since the 1990s. He is consi ...

. Parks' dominance of the ballot measure system has been said to undermine the grassroots intent of the system. In 2001, a former employee filed a

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

complaint and lawsuit against Parks. Parks moved from Oregon to

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Vall ...

in 2002. Parks made contributions to uphold the

Oregon Death with Dignity Act Measure 16 of 1994 established the U.S. state of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (ORS 127.800–995), which legalizes medical aid in dying (commonly referred to as physician-assisted suicide) with certain restrictions. Passage of this initiativ ...

in 1997. Parks has been a strong supporter of former

state legislator 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 S ...

and

gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

candidate

. Mannix has served as Parks' attorney. Parks' staff once said: "Mr. Parks thinks Kevin is one of the few leaders who keeps his word and gets things done." Parks has not indiscriminately backed Mannix's proposed measures. In 2008, for instance, he declined to fund a proposed initiative that would have allowed for expanded local regulation of

strip club A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...

s. As a result, Mannix stopped pursuing ballot qualification. In 2008, Parks was the source of over half the money used to qualify

ballot measures A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

for the statewide ballot. None of the measures he supported in that year was successful. Parks is also a major contributor to charitable organizations, including health care and environmental concerns. Parks is not religious, but is a believer in

faith healing Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...

. In March 2014, Parks gave a $30,000 donation to Greg Barreto (R) of Cove, OR towards his campaign for Oregon State Assembly. That donation was returned in April.

References

External links

Psychological Research Foundation Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Loren 1926 births Living people People from Henderson, Nevada People from Aloha, Oregon People from Wichita, Kansas Oregon politicians Businesspeople from Nevada

Early life

Philanthropic Work

Influential in Oregon politics

See also

References

External links