Rod Monroe (born August 20, 1942) is a Canadian-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician who served in the

Oregon 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 ...

, representing District 24 in the middle part of

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 ...

, which includes most of eastern

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

and the city of Happy Valley.

Early life and education

Born in

McBride, British Columbia McBride is a village in the Robson Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. The village is located southeast of Prince George, British Columbia, and west of Jasper, Alberta. Incorporated in 1932, McBride is located in the Robson Valley surro ...

, Monroe was raised in Oregon and graduated from

's Franklin High School in 1960. He attended college at

Warner Pacific University Warner Pacific University is a Private university, private Christianity, Christian university in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1937, the university is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on ...

and received bachelor's and master's degrees from Portland State College (now

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 1965 and 1969 respectively.

Career

He became a teacher at Tigard High School in

Tigard, Oregon Tigard ( ) is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. The population was 48,035 at the 2010 census. As of 2007, Tigard was the state's 12th largest city. Incorporated in 1961, the city is located south of Beaverton and north of Tua ...

in 1965, teaching history and government and later served on the David Douglas school board. In 1976, Monroe 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 ...

, representing District 12 in Portland. He served two terms and then was elected to the

in 1980, representing the 7th district in Portland. He was re-elected to a second Senate term in 1984. During this legislative tenure, Monroe was known for sponsoring safety-oriented legislation, such as mandatory seat belt laws, tougher drunk driving legislation, and bans on indoor smoking. Monroe ran for the Democratic nomination in the 1986 U.S. Senate election in Oregon, but came in second behind Jim Weaver. In 1988, he lost a close election in the Democratic primary to Oregon House Majority Leader Shirley Gold, who had been elected to Monroe's seat when he was elected to the Senate. In the 1990 Democratic primary, Monroe sought to upset incumbent Judy Bauman for a seat in the Oregon House, but he was narrowly defeated. In 1992, Monroe was elected to the council of

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 ...

., the regional government for greater Portland. He served three terms, where he advocated for federal funding of light rail projects and the

Portland Streetcar The Portland Streetcar is a streetcar system in Portland, Oregon, that opened in 2001 and serves areas surrounding downtown Portland. The NS Line runs from Northwest Portland to the South Waterfront via Downtown and the Pearl District. The L ...

, as well as for biking and pedestrian trails such as the

Springwater Corridor The Springwater Corridor Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian rail trail in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It follows a former railway line from Boring through Gresham to Portland, where it ends south of the Eastbank Espla ...

. In 2004, he was defeated for a fourth term by environmentalist Robert Liberty. In Oregon's 2006 legislative elections, Monroe was again elected to the Oregon Senate in the District 24 seat vacated by the retiring

Frank Shields Francis Xavier Alexander Shields Sr. (November 18, 1909 – August 19, 1975) was an American amateur tennis player of the 1920s and 1930s, and an actor known for ''Hoosier Schoolboy'' (1937). Tennis career Between 1928 and 1945 he was ranked e ...

. In 2018, Monroe ran for reelection but was defeated in the Democratic primary by former state Representative

Shemia Fagan Shemia Patricia Fagan (born September 20, 1981) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Oregon secretary of state. She previously served as a Democratic member of the Oregon Senate, representing Senate District 24 from in 2019 to ...

. Fagan ran unopposed in the general election later that year and won the election to become Monroe's successor in the state Senate.

Personal life

Monroe lives in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

with his wife Billie.

References

External links

Legislative website

Project VoteSmart biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monroe, Rod Living people 1942 births Oregon state senators Members of the Oregon House of Representatives Politicians from Portland, Oregon Portland State University alumni Warner Pacific University alumni People from the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George School board members in Oregon Franklin High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni 21st-century American politicians Schoolteachers from Oregon