Armand Richard Vial (born September 28, 1954) is an American lawyer, farmer, small business owner, and

Nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

candidate for Oregon's State Senate District 18, which covers parts of Washington County, in the November 2022 midterm election. He previously served in the 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 ...

in 2016 representing the 26th district. He has served in the state legislature as a Republican.

Biography

Vial was born in

Lynwood, California Lynwood is a city in Los Angeles County, California. At the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 69,772, down from 69,845 at the 2000 census. Lynwood is located near South Gate and Compton in the central portion of the Los Angeles ...

. He attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

, from where he graduated in 1978, and the

Willamette University College of Law Willamette University College of Law is the law school of Willamette University. Located in Salem, Oregon, and founded in 1883, Willamette is the oldest law school in the Pacific Northwest. It has approximately 24 full-time law professors and ...

. He has served on the Washington County Land Use Advisory Committee, and the

Clean Water Services Clean Water Services is the water resources management utility for more than 600,000 residents in urban Washington County, Oregon and small portions of Multnomah County, Oregon and Clackamas County, Oregon, in the United States. Clean Water Serv ...

Advisory Committee. He ran for the state House as a Republican in 2016. During his campaign, a complaint filed by Kathleen Stuart, the director of a state Democratic Party organization, alleged that Vial did not reside in the district he was campaigning to represent. The case was resolved in Vial's favor. He defeated Democratic candidate Ray Lister in the general election. Vial is the former Chair of the Washington County Planning Commission and has previously served as Chair of the Groner School District Board and the Washington County Fair Board. Vial was defeated in 2018 by

Courtney Neron Courtney Neron is an American politician from Oregon. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, she represents Oregon's 26th House district, District 26 in the Oregon House of Representatives, which is currently assembled for its 81st Oregon ...

, a Democrat. After leaving the state legislature, Vial served as the Oregon Deputy Secretary of State under

Bev Clarno Beverly A. Clarno (born March 29, 1936) is an American politician who served as the 27th Oregon Secretary of State from 2019 to 2021. She was the only Republican statewide official in Oregon at the time. Clarno previously served as a member of t ...

from April 2019 to January 2020. In 2020, Vial changed his political affiliation to Nonpartisan. In 2020, he announced his candidacy for Secretary of State, organizing a nominating convention to be held on July 25, but did not receive the signatures necessary to qualify. In August of 2022, Vial qualified to run as the non-affiliated candidate for the Oregon State Senate District 18 in the November 8, 2022 General Election.

Personal life

Vial and his wife, Paula, who have been married since 1975, have 13 children, including 7

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

ese refugee children, and 46 grandchildren. Vial and his family are members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

and Vial has previously served as a Mormon

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

References

External links

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vial, Rich Living people Members of the Oregon House of Representatives Oregon lawyers People from Lynwood, California People from Washington County, Oregon 21st-century American politicians Brigham Young University alumni Willamette University College of Law alumni School board members in Oregon 1954 births Latter Day Saints from Oregon Oregon Republicans Oregon Independents