Vicki Berger (born 1949) is an American businessperson and politician in the state of

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 native Oregonian, she is a Salem civic leader and a former Republican member of 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 ...

. Her father, Richard Chambers, came up with the idea for the

Oregon Bottle Bill The Oregon Bottle Bill is a container-deposit legislation enacted in the U.S. state of Oregon in 1971 that went into effect in October 1972. It was the first such legislation in the United States. It was amended in 2007 and 2011. It requires ap ...

Early life

Born Vicki Chambers in 1949, she was the youngest of three children of Richard Chambers.Cole, Michelle. "In Salem, moderate + Republican = power", ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'', March 5, 2007, A1. In 1967, she graduated from

South Salem High School South Salem High School is a public high school in Salem, Oregon. It was built in 1954 as the second public high school in the city. After South Salem opened, the former Salem High School was renamed North Salem High School. History South Salem ...

in the state's capital city before she married Jerry Berger in 1969.Wong, Peter. "Berger to run for seat in House", ''Statesman Journal'', August 21, 2001, p. 3C. The couple had three children, and she earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

in 1974 from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

. From 1972 to 1975, Berger worked as a

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

for the county court. She taught racquetball at

Chemeketa Community College Chemeketa Community College is a public community college in Salem, Oregon, with a campus in McMinnville, and education centers in Dallas, Brooks, and Woodburn. In addition, the college has a Center for Business and Industry in downtown Salem ...

in the early 1980s and then as a project manager for a local manufacturing company from 1988 to 1995. That year she became a franchisee of a Lazerquick copy shop in West Salem, retaining ownership until 2000.

Civic leader

In 1985, she joined the board of the Salem

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

where she remained until 1998."Vicki Berger", ''Statesman Journal'', October 11, 2004, p. 4C. From 1995 to 1998 she served as that organization's first female president. Berger was on the

Salem-Keizer School District Salem-Keizer School District (24J) is a school district in the U.S. state of Oregon that serves the cities of Salem and Keizer. It is the second-largest school district in the state with approximately 40,000 students and nearly 4,000 full-time e ...

board from 1988 to 1992 and helped lead the campaign for a bond measure for capital improvements in what is the state's second largest school district. In 2001, along with her husband, she shared the award as First Citizens from the local chamber of commerce.

Political career

In August 2001, Berger announced she would run for a seat in the

. In the May 2002, primary she defeated Greg Warnock and Irv Blake to win the Republican nomination. Berger defeated Democrat Lloyd Kumley in the November general election with 13,408 votes to 7,884. She joined the House beginning with the 2003 session representing District 20, which spans parts of

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

and

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mari ...

counties. After running unopposed in the May 2004 primary, she beat Democrat Jeanne E. Deane 17,595 votes to 11,400 votes in general election. Berger again ran without competition in the Republican primary in 2006, and then beat her Democratic Party opponent Connie Garcia, collecting 13,382 votes to Garcia's 9,040. During the 2007 to 2008 legislature she served on the Revenue Committee. In 2007, she worked to pass legislation to amend the

to require deposits on water bottles.Casper, Beth. "Governor signs two bills to keep Oregon's 'green' reputation intact", ''Statesman Journal'', June 8, 2007, p. 1. Her father, Richard Chambers, was the person responsible for proposing the original bill that passed the

Oregon Legislature 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 ...

in 1971. She was the first Republican in the House to vote in favor of an increase in the tax on cigarettes to pay for more health insurance of children in 2007. Seeking a fourth term in 2008, Berger was unopposed in the May primary, and then defeated Richard Riggs in the November election to win another term. Her district covers parts of Salem,

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, and

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

, and switched from a primarily Republican district to a primarily Democratic district in 2008.Wong, Peter. "Democrats have edge in race for District 20", ''

Statesman Journal The ''Statesman Journal'' is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851 as the ''Oregon Statesman'', it later merged with the ''Capital Journal'' to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Orego ...

'', September 28, 2008, p. 1. Berger is considered a moderate Republican whose votes are occasionally inline with the Democrats. Berger calls herself a fiscally conservative and business-oriented politician.Wong, Peter. "House District 20 candidates focus on education issues", ''Statesman Journal'', September 28, 2006, p. 1. In 2008, she became the first person in the Oregon House to be cross-nominated by the

Independent Party of Oregon The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) is a centrist political party in the U.S. state of Oregon with more than 135,000 registrants since its inception in January 2007. The IPO is Oregon's third-largest political party and the first political party ...

. Berger did not run for reelection in 2014. Her seat was the only one to change party control in the Oregon House of Representatives that year, with

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 ...

Paul Evans, a former mayor of

, defeating Republican candidate Kathy Goss.

References

External links

Vicki Berger
– Oregon House of Representatives {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Vicki 1949 births Living people Politicians from Salem, Oregon University of Wyoming alumni Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Women state legislators in Oregon South Salem High School alumni Businesspeople from Oregon 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians