Barbara Roberts | |
|---|---|
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| 34thGovernor of Oregon | |
| In office January 14, 1991 – January 9, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Neil Goldschmidt |
| Succeeded by | John Kitzhaber |
| 21stSecretary of State of Oregon | |
| In office January 7, 1985 – January 14, 1991 | |
| Governor | Victor Atiyeh Neil Goldschmidt |
| Preceded by | Norma Paulus |
| Succeeded by | Phil Keisling |
| Member of theOregon House of Representatives from the 17th district | |
| In office January 12, 1981 – January 7, 1985 | |
| Preceded by | George Starr |
| Succeeded by | Mike Burton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Barbara Kay Hughey (1936-12-21)December 21, 1936 (age 88) Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Relations | Robert M.SandersKaitlin R. Sanders |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Portland State University (BA) |
Other office(s)
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Barbara Kay Roberts (néeHughey; born December 21, 1936) is an American politician from the state ofOregon. A native of the state, she served as the34th Governor of Oregon from 1991 to 1995. She was the firstwoman elected to serve as Oregon governor, and the only woman elected to that office until 2016.[1] ADemocrat, Roberts was also the first woman to serve as majority leader in theOregon House of Representatives. She also won two terms asOregon Secretary of State, and served in local and county government inPortland. Roberts was married to Oregon state Sen.Frank L. Roberts from 1974 until his death in 1993. From February 2011[2] until January 2013, she served on the council ofMetro, the regional government in thePortland metropolitan area.[3]
Roberts was born Barbara Kay Hughey on December 21, 1936, inCorvallis, Oregon, to Bob and Carmen Murray Hughey. Her father, a millworker, was a descendant ofOregon Trail pioneers.[4] The Hugheys' second daughter Pat was born a few years later and then they moved toLos Angeles, California in 1940 where her father worked as amachinist. FollowingWorld War II, the Hugheys returned to Oregon, settling in Gold Creek inYamhill County in 1945, and then finally inSheridan.[4]
In 1954, she married her high-school sweetheart Neal Sanders, graduating the following year fromSheridan High School.[4] The couple moved to Texas, where they had two children, Mike and Mark, before returning to Oregon several years later, settling inPortland where she attendedPortland State University from 1961 to 1964.[5]
With her older son, Mike, diagnosed in 1962 as "severely emotionally disturbed" (later identified asautism), she became an advocate for special-needs children. In 1971, she successfullylobbied theOregon State Legislature to require public schools to guarantee educational rights to these children.[5][6] In 1972, her marriage to Neal ended in divorce.[4]
In 1973, she was elected toParkrose School Board and, later, to theMount Hood Community College board.[5][7] In 1974, she marriedOregon state representative and laterstate senatorFrank L. Roberts, who became her political mentor. In 1980, she was elected to theOregon House of Representatives as aDemocrat, was re-elected in 1982. Her Democratic colleagues chose her as HouseMajority Leader, Oregon's first woman to hold that post.[5]
In 1984, Roberts was elected asOregon Secretary of State, the first Democrat elected to that post in over 100 years. She was re-elected in 1988. Her significant achievements as Secretary of State includeelection-reform legislation, the construction of a new state archives building, and broader audit powers for the Secretary of State. ThePortland Gay Men's Chorus sang at her inauguration. It is widely believed that this was the first time that a gay-identified chorus sang for the inauguration of a statewide elected official of any state.[4] During her second term, Roberts attended an executive program at theHarvard Kennedy School atHarvard University.[4][5]
Democratic Gov.Neil Goldschmidt announced that he would not seek a second term asgovernor in 1990. Roberts, halfway through her second term as secretary of state, announced she would run for governor.[4] She ran unopposed in the Democraticprimary and went on to defeat RepublicanAttorney GeneralDavid B. Frohnmayer and IndependentAl Mobley in the Novembergeneral election.
Roberts became the first woman elected Governor of Oregon.
During that same election, voters passedBallot Measure 5, which established constitutional limits on property-tax rates.
During her term as governor, Roberts worked with theClinton administration to secure federal waivers and funding for the Oregon Health Plan. She also helped to increase the number of children in theHead Start Program, secured financing for additional units of affordable housing, and developed programs to help move Oregonians from welfare to the workplace. The Roberts administration was known for its strong support ofgay rights and appointed women to positions in state government.
Her husband,Frank L. Roberts, died in 1993 fromprostate cancer while she was still governor. After his death, Barbara Roberts wrote the bookDeath Without Denial Grief Without Apology: A Guide for Facing Death and Loss.[8]
There were several factors that were responsible for Roberts' decision not to seek re-election in 1994. The leading cause was to process the loss of her husband.
Soon after she left office, Roberts accepted a position at theHarvard Kennedy School atHarvard University as director of the Harvard Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government and later as a senior fellow to the Women and Public Policy Program. In 1998, Roberts joinedPortland State University'sHatfield School of Government's Executive Leadership Institute as Associate Director of Leadership Development.
Roberts has continued her community service, sitting on the board of trustees for several major nonprofit organizations, including the Oregon Hospice Association, the Human Rights Campaign, and the advisory council of Oregon's Compassion in Dying. She has also maintained an active public speaking career, addressing issues of death and grieving, leadership, women in politics, and environmental stewardship. Roberts has two sons, Mike and Mark Sanders, and two grandchildren, Robert M. Sanders and Kaitlin Sanders.
Roberts High School inSalem, Oregon, was named after her in 1996.
In early 2011, Roberts returned to government service, as a member of the six-personMetro council, thePortland metropolitan area's elected regional government, after Robert Liberty resigned in January from his position as councillor representing Metro district 6. Roberts was appointed to the council in February to fill the remainder (about 22 months) of Liberty's four-year term, by a vote of the council.[9] Although Metro council positions are publicly elected offices, an election is not required when filling a council vacancy in mid-term. She was sworn in on February 24, 2011.[2] Metro district 6 includes portions of Northeast, Southeast and Southwest Portland. She indicated that she would not be a candidate for the position when it next came due for election, in May 2012,[9] andBob Stacey was elected to the district 6 seat at that time.[10] Roberts' council term ended, and Stacey succeeded her, in January 2013.[3]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secretary of State of Oregon 1985–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Oregon 1991–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Oregon 1990 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Senator | Order of precedence of the United States Within Oregon | Succeeded byas Former Governor |
| Preceded byas Former Governor | Order of precedence of the United States Outside Oregon | |
