Marshall "Marty" Wilde (born 1974) 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

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 ...

, he served in 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 ...

where he represented

District 11 District 11 can refer to: *District 11 (Ho Chi Minh city), Vietnam *District 11 (Zürich), Switzerland * District 11, an electoral district of Malta *Colorado Springs School District 11, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States *District 11 (Hu ...

. This district included all or parts of Eugene, Creswell, Brownsville, rural Lane County, and rural Linn County. Wilde was first elected in 2018. Wilde retired from the legislature in 2022 to make an unsuccessful run for Circuit Court judge.

Early life and career

Wilde was raised on a small farm in

Blachly, Oregon Blachly is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States, on Oregon Route 36 in the Coast Range. Blachly lies along Lake Creek, about from Triangle Lake. Before the Blachly post office was established in 1892, area reside ...

. His father was an organic farmer and his mother was an educator. He credits community investment in

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

food stamps In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people. It is a federal aid program, ad ...

, and public schools for helping his family escape the cycle of poverty. After graduating from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, Wilde joined the

Oregon Army National Guard The Oregon Army National Guard is a federally mandated and equipped military organization under the civilian direction of the Oregon Military Department, with the Governor of Oregon as its Commander-in-Chief. It responds to state and national eme ...

and later the

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

. He has spent more than 27 years as an active member of the

US military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...

. During his military career, he served as Chief, Rule of Law in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, for which he was awarded a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. In addition, he was deployed in support of peace operations in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

, served in

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

prosecuting cases of

Sexual assault in the United States military Sexual assault in the United States armed forces is an ongoing issue which has received extensive media coverage in the past. A 2012 Pentagon survey found that approximately 26,000 women and men were sexually assaulted that year; of those, onl ...

, and served in the NORAD Air Operations Center. He fought forest fires in Oregon, and worked on the conversion of a coal plant at the

Elmendorf Air Force Base Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally known as Elmendorf Field, it became Elmendorf Air Force Base after World War II. It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command (AL ...

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

to less-polluting natural gas. While serving in the military, Wilde attended the

University of Oregon School of Law The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus in ...

and earned a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

in health law at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, and a

Master of Healthcare Administration The Master of Health Administration, Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA), or Master of Health Management (MHM), is a master's-level professional degree granted to students who complete a course of study in the knowledge and competencies neede ...

from the University of Maryland. From 2007 to 2010, Wilde was the deputy

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

for Linn County. Prior to his election, Wilde served as the Executive Director of the Lane County Medical Society where he worked to help improve access to care for patients on the

Oregon Health Plan The Oregon Health Plan is Oregon's state Medicaid program. It is overseen by the Oregon Health Authority. History The Oregon Health Plan was conceived and realized in 1993 by emergency room doctor (and subsequent Oregon governor) John Kitzhabe ...

Political career

In January 2018, Wilde filed his candidacy for the Oregon House of Representatives seat representing District 11 to replace incumbent Representative

Phil Barnhart Phil Barnhart (born 1946) is an American politician and psychologist from the state of Oregon. He was a Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 11 from 2003 to 2019 and District 40 from 2001 to 2003. Ea ...

, who chose to retire after serving in the role for 17 years. In the election the following year, he defeated Kimberly Koops in the Democratic primary and later defeated

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 ...

Mark Herbert in the general election, securing 57% of the vote. Wilde attributed his long career of public service as a deciding factor in the race. Wilde's legislative goals include advocating for public schools, a clean environment, a fair tax system, education, healthcare, and housing. Believing healthcare to be a universal right, he supports universal coverage and expansion of the Oregon Health Plan. He plans to work across party lines with House Republicans to see how the business community could work with tax reform and to ensure that the Oregon tax rate is competitive nationwide to attract and keep businesses from moving or going out of business. Since his election, Wilde has served on the Advisory Commission On Transparency, the House Committees on Energy and the Environment, and the Committee on Veterans and Emergency Preparedness.

Personal life

Wilde lives in Eugene with his wife Monique, daughter Bella, and son Griffin.

References

External links

Campaign website

Legislative website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilde, Marty Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Living people 21st-century American politicians University System of Maryland alumni University of Houston alumni 1974 births People from Lane County, Oregon Politicians from Eugene, Oregon Oregon lawyers 21st-century American lawyers