Theodore Ralph Kulongoski ( ; born November 5, 1940) is an American politician, judge, and lawyer who served as the 36th Governor of Oregon from 2003 to 2011. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he served in both houses of the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

and also served as the state Insurance Commissioner. He was the

Attorney General of Oregon The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The attorney general is ...

from 1993 to 1997 and an associate justice of the

Early life and education

Kulongoski was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, in 1940 to Theodore Kulongoski (1905-1941), the son of Polish immigrants, and his wife Helen, née Newcomer (1915-1997).Governor Ted Kulongoski About Governor Kulongoski
He was one year old when his father died of cancer, and spent the rest of his childhood in a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

boys' home. After

High school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, Kulongoski served in the

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

. With the help of the

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

, he obtained an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

and

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Missouri School of Law The University of Missouri School of Law (Mizzou Law or MU Law) is the law school of the University of Missouri. It is located on the university's main campus in Columbia, forty minutes from the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The sc ...

in 1970.

Career

After graduating from law school, Kulongoski moved to

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, and became a labor lawyer. In 1974, Kulongoski was elected 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 ...

and, in 1978, to 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 ...

. In Oregon's 1980 United States Senate election, he ran an unsuccessful race against

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 ...

Bob Packwood Robert William Packwood (born September 11, 1932) is an American retired lawyer and politician from Oregon and a member of the Republican Party. He resigned from the United States Senate, under threat of expulsion, in 1995 after allegations of s ...

. In 1982, he made his first bid for governor; he was defeated by Republican incumbent Victor G. Atiyeh. At the

1980 Democratic National Convention The 1980 Democratic National Convention nominated President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale for reelection. The convention was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City from August 11 to August 14, 1980. The 1980 convention ...

then-State Senator and U.S. Senate nominee Kulongoski received 8 (0.24%) delegate votes for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

. Kulongoski was not a candidate and incumbent

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

was easily renominated. In 1987, Oregon Governor

Neil Goldschmidt Neil Edward Goldschmidt (born June 16, 1940) is an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the United States Secretary of Transportat ...

appointed Kulongoski to the post of state

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

commissioner. In that role, Kulongoski reformed the state's

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 ...

insurance system, a move that is widely credited for lowering costs to business.

1992 and 1996 elections

In 1992, Kulongoski was elected as

Oregon Attorney General The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The attorney general is ch ...

, defeating Republican Rich Rodeman. As Attorney General, he focused on reforming the juvenile

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

system. In 1996, Kulongoski decided against running for re-election as Attorney General, and instead successfully ran for the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.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 ...

. Kulongoski ran a low-key campaign, emphasizing his reputation as a consensus-builder and problem solver. His

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

s featured such feel-good scenes as the candidate

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

. He argued for a

pragmatic Pragmatism is a philosophical movement. Pragmatism or pragmatic may also refer to: *Pragmaticism, Charles Sanders Peirce's post-1905 branch of philosophy *Pragmatics, a subfield of linguistics and semiotics *''Pragmatics'', an academic journal in ...

approach to solving the state's

budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmenta ...

crisis and

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

, a marked departure from the more confrontational style of outgoing governor (and fellow Democrat)

John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician who served as the 35th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003, and as the 37th governor of Oregon from 2011 until his resignation in 2015. A member of the Democratic Part ...

. Mannix argued that the Democratic Party had held the governorship in Oregon too long, and pledged to reduce government spending without cutting vital services. Kulongoski narrowly won the election, winning 618,004 votes (49%), with 581,785 votes (46%) going to Mannix, and 57,760 votes (5%) going to

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

candidate Tom Cox. Kulongoski took office on January 13, 2003. He inherited a state facing a massive

budget deficit Within the budgetary process, deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue over a particular period of time, also called simply deficit, or budget deficit; the opposite of budget surplus. The term may be applied to the budget ...

and high

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

. Furthermore, he faced the task of dealing with problems with the public employees'

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

system without angering the

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s that backed his campaign. As Governor, he was a member of the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

and the

Democratic Governors Association The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1983, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Democratic Party. The mission of the organization is to provide party ...

2006 gubernatorial election

On December 1, 2005, the Eugene ''

Register-Guard ''The Register-Guard'' is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, published in Eugene, Oregon. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the ''Eugene Daily Guard'' and the ''Morning Register''. The paper serves the Eugene- ...

'' reported that former Democratic Governor

was considering challenging Kulongoski in the Democratic primary. One month later, Kitzhaber announced he would not do so, as did another potential Democratic rival, State Senator

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 ...

. This left Kulongoski with two challengers: Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson, and former State treasurer Jim Hill, both of whom accused Kulongoski of betraying Democratic Party principles. Stated Hill, "From my standpoint, he Democratic Party primary debateis a good opportunity to show what a horrible Democrat Ted has been". The

Service Employees International Union Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare (over half of member ...

Local 503 endorsed Jim Hill, and the

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thou ...

Democratic Central Committee decided to endorse Kulongoski's rivals but not him at a February 19, 2006 meeting. On May 16, 2006, Kulongoski won the Democratic primary with 54% of the vote. Jim Hill finished second with 25%, Pete Sorenson third with 16% of the vote. Kulongoski faced multiple opponents in the general election: Republican Party candidate

Ron Saxton Ronald L. Saxton (born 1954) is an American lawyer, business person, and Republican politician in Oregon. He has run twice for Governor of Oregon, losing in the 2002 primary election, and winning the Republican nomination in 2006, but losing ...

, Constitution Party candidate Mary Starrett,

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

candidate Richard Morley, and

Pacific Green Party The Pacific Green Party of Oregon (PGP) is a political party in the U.S. state of Oregon, recognized by the Oregon Secretary of State. It is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. The party has occasionally elected candidates to p ...

candidate Joe Keating. Former Republican

Ben Westlund Bernard John "Ben" Westlund II (September 3, 1949 – March 7, 2010) was an American politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. A Democrat, he was elected State Treasurer in 2008. Previously, Westlund served in both houses of the Oregon Legislati ...

planned on running as independent, but on August 10, 2006, withdrew from the race, stating that "I made a commitment to the people of Oregon that I was in it to win it and that I absolutely would not play a spoiler role". On November 7, 2006, Kulongoski won a second term, 51% to 43% over

Second term

In February 2007, Kulongoski and State Senator

Brad Avakian Brad Peter Avakian (born February 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as a Democrat in the Oregon House, the Oregon Senate, and as the state's nonpartisan elected Labor Commissioner. He was appointed Labor Commissioner by Governor Ted ...

worked to clarify that Oregon recognizes no position of "state climatologist" in response to the use of that title by

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

professor George H. Taylor, who believes that human activities are not the main cause of global climate change. Kulongoski said the state needs a consistent message on reducing greenhouse gases to combat climate change. Beginning the week of April 24, 2007, Kulongoski gained national attention when he joined a campaign, known as the

food stamp challenge A food stamp challenge or SNAP challenge is a trend in the United States popularized by politicians, religious groups, community activists and food pantries, in which a family of means chooses to purchase food using only the monetary equivalent of ...

, that portrays the difficulty living on the average weekly food stamp allotment of $21. Kulongski announced May 8, 2007 that Oregon will join the Climate Registry to track dangerous

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...

. Kulongoski signed two

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

bills into law: a

domestic partnership A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee r ...

bill and an anti-discrimination bill at a ceremony May 9, 2007.Basic Rights Oregon » Blog Archive » Kulongoski Signs Domestic Partnerships and Anti-Discrimination
Governor signs Jobs and Transportation Act (3772593103)

Governor signs Jobs and Transportation Act (3772593103)

In May 2010, Kulongoski suffered a vitreous hemorrhage in the eye due to fragile, abnormal blood vessels that have grown in the retina of the eye. According to Kulongoski spokeswoman Anna Richter Taylor, he was scheduled for outpatient surgery at

Oregon Health & Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon Medi ...

on June 30, 2010, to surgically remove the vitreous gel from the middle of the eye so full vision can be restored.AP. "Ore. governor to have eye surgery." The Columbian. The Columbian, 23 June 2010. Web. 24 June 2010. .

Later life

After leaving the governor's office, he was appointed by John Kitzhaber to the Public Safety Commission as part of a review of Oregon's sentencing guidelines. In 2012, Kulongoski joined the faculty at

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 the school's Mark O. Hatfield School of Government.

Electoral history

References

External links

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski
(''official state site'')
biographyTed Kulongoski
in the Oregon State Voter's Guide, 2006 May primary * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kulongoski, Ted 1940 births 21st-century American politicians American politicians of Polish descent Democratic Party governors of Oregon Catholics from Missouri Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Living people Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Oregon Attorneys General Democratic Party Oregon state senators Politicians from St. Louis State insurance commissioners of the United States United States Marines University of Missouri alumni