Richard Devlin (born September 9, 1952) is an American politician who 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 ...

from 2003 to 2018, representing the 19th Senate district.

Early life and education

Devlin was born in Eugene. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

in 1976 and a Master of Arts in Management from

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

in 1980.

Career

He has worked in adult and juvenile corrections and as a civil and criminal investigator. From 1985 to 1988, Devlin was a member of the Tualatin City Council. In 1988, he was elected to the

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

Council, serving on it until 1995. In 1994, Devlin won the Democratic nomination 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 ...

representing the 24th district, but lost in the general election to Republican Bob Tiernan. In 1996, Devlin again faced Tiernan, but this time, defeated him. Devlin was re-elected to the Oregon House in 1998 and 2000. In 2002, Devlin ran for the

to represent the 19th senate district; again, he faced Tiernan in the general election, and narrowly defeated him by a margin of 50% to 47%. He was re-elected to another 4-year term in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. In the Senate, Devlin has served on the Joint Ways and Means Committee and has chaired the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education and the Subcommittee on Natural Resources. He served as Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2010, succeeding

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...

, who successfully ran for

Oregon Secretary of State The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in line of succession to the governor. The duties of the office are auditor of public accounts, ch ...

. Devlin was elected for a third term in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, defeating Republican Mary Kremer. In 2014, he was unopposed for re-election. On October 23, 2017, Devlin was appointed by Governor Kate Brown to the

Northwest Power and Conservation Council The Northwest Power and Conservation Council is a regional organization that develops and maintains a regional power plan and a fish and wildlife program to balance the Northwest's environment and energy needs. Based in Portland, Oregon, the Counci ...

, which he accepted and began serving on January 16, 2018.

Personal life

Devlin and his wife Eliza live in

Tualatin, Oregon Tualatin () is a city located primarily in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon. A small portion of the city is also located in neighboring Clackamas County. It is a southwestern suburb in the Portland Metropolitan Area that is located ...

. They have two children.

Electoral history

References

External links

Legislative websiteCampaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devlin, Richard 1952 births Living people Portland State University alumni Pepperdine University alumni Oregon state senators Politicians from Eugene, Oregon Members of the Oregon House of Representatives People from Tualatin, Oregon Oregon city council members 21st-century American politicians