Greg Walden

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Greg Walden
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Bob Smith
Born	January 10, 1957 (1957-01-10) (age 52) The Dalles, Oregon
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mylene Walden
Residence	Hood River, Oregon
Alma mater	University of Oregon
Occupation	broadcasting executive
Religion	Episcopalian

Gregory "Greg" Walden (born January 10, 1957, in The Dalles, Oregon) is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon and represents its Second District, which covers more than two-thirds of the state (generally, east of the Cascades.) Walden earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Oregon in 1981. He is the son of Paul E. Walden, three-term Oregon state representative.^[1]

Walden and his wife, Mylene, live in Hood River with their son Anthony. They were the owners of Columbia Gorge Broadcasters and MSW Communications. They are Episcopalian and participate in local civic groups such as the Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce.^{[citation needed]} On October 20, 2009, it was reported that Walden was the first Member of Congress to contract the H1N1-A (Swine Flu) Virus^[2].

[edit] Legislative career

Prior to being elected to the House, Walden served as Press Secretary and Chief of Staff to Congressman Denny Smith from 1981 to 1987. He was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1988 and served in the House until 1995, when he was appointed to the Oregon State Senate to fill a vacancy. In the Senate, Walden rose to the position of assistant majority leader. Walden was moving toward a bid for Oregon Governor in 1994, even winning a key straw poll in the March 2003 Republican Dorchester Conference in Seaside. However, upon discovering that his and his wife's unborn son had a heart defect, Walden decided to not run for Governor and to not seek re-election to the Senate. Their son died soon after birth.

Walden first came into the spotlight in 1996, when he announced he was running for the 2nd District as an independent. The district's freshman Republican incumbent, Wes Cooley, whose 1994 campaign Walden had managed, had been caught in several lies about his military service. Cooley's reelection chances were already in serious jeopardy, but it was generally believed that an independent bid by Walden would allow the Democrats to sneak up the middle and win a seat they hadn't held since 1981. Ultimately, the Republicans persuaded Cooley's predecessor, Robert F. Smith, to come out of retirement. Walden promptly dropped his independent bid and he and his wife clearly felt betrayed, as Mrs Walden made clear in media interviews.

Smith didn't run for reelection in 1998, and endorsed Walden as his successor; the two are longtime friends. Walden easily won the Republican primary and breezed to election in November. He has been reelected five times. Though his district contains some liberal-leaning communities such as Ashland, most of the district leans heavily Republican, and Walden has always been reelected easily. In 2002, he defeated Democrat Peter Buckley, who later became a member of the Oregon House of Representatives. In 2006, Walden defeated Democratic candidate Carol Voisin, and in 2008 he won a sixth term with 70% of the vote over Democrat Noah Lemas and Pacific Green Tristin Mock. Following the defeat of Senator Gordon Smith in the 2008 elections, Walden became the only Republican to represent Oregon in the United States Congress.

Walden is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as the Resources Committee where he served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health when the Republicans had control of Congress. He is also a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership and supports stem-cell research. Walden founded the Small Brewers Caucus (see Alcohol in Oregon) and the Digital Television Caucus; as of 2007, he was a member of 39 congressional caucuses:^[3]

Oregon Congressmen Blumenauer (left) and Walden, hiking on Mount Hood during 2005 fact finding trip.

[edit] Business interests

On January 31, 2007, Walden sold Columbia Gorge Broadcasting, which runs five stations in the eastern Columbia River Gorge, to Bicoastal Columbia River LLC in order to avoid any conflict of interest that might arise with his congressional duties.^[4]

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Ranking Member)
• Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

[edit] Organizations and Civic Involvement

• Hood River Elks Club
• Hood River Rotary
• National Student Leadership Foundation, Honorary Board of Advisors
• Former Member, Boy Scouts of America Board of Directors
• Former Member, Columbia Bancorp Board of Directors
• Former Member, Hood River Memorial Hospital Board of Directors
• Former Member, Oregon Health Sciences Foundation Board of Trustees

[edit] References

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2006) (Find sources: Greg Walden – news, books, scholar)

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman Greg Walden official U.S. House website
• Greg Walden for Congress official campaign website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Committee on Energy and Commerce