Kurt Schrader
| The Honorable Kurt Schrader |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's 5th district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Darlene Hooley |
| Member of the Oregon Senate from the 20th district |
|
| In office 2003 – 2008[1] |
|
| Preceded by | Verne Duncan |
| Succeeded by | Martha Schrader |
| Member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 23rd district |
|
| In office 1997–2003 |
|
| Preceded by | Jerry Grisham |
| Succeeded by | Wayne Scott |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 19, 1951 Bridgeport, Connecticut |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Martha Northam Schrader |
| Residence | Canby, Oregon |
| Alma mater | Cornell University, University of Illinois |
| Occupation | Veterinarian |
| Religion | Episcopal[2] |
Kurt Schrader (born October 19, 1951) is the U.S. Representative for Oregon's 5th congressional district. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly.
Contents |
[edit] Early life, education, and early career
Schrader was born in Connecticut and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1973. While at Cornell, Schrader met Martha Northam, and the two were married in 1975.[3] Schrader earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Illinois in 1977. A year later, the Schraders moved to Oregon, and Kurt opened the Clackamas County Veterinary Clinic in Oregon City to begin his veterinary practice.[3]
Schrader served for 16 years on the Canby Planning Commission.
[edit] Oregon legislature
[edit] Elections
Starting with his first winning election in 1996, Schrader served four terms in the Oregon House of Representatives. Schrader ran for the Oregon House of Representatives in 1994, where he lost to Republican Jerry Grisham in the general election by just 38 votes.[4] In 1996, Schrader ran again, and this time, defeated Paul Kraxburger.[5] He was subsequently reelected to the House in 1998 and 2000.
In 2002, Schrader ran for the Oregon State Senate seat vacated by the retiring Verne Duncan, representing the 20th district in southwestern Clackamas County, including the cities of Barlow, Canby, Gladstone, Johnson City, Oregon City, and portions of Milwaukie. He defeated fellow Oregon House member Kathy Lowe in a contentious Democratic primary, and then faced no Republican opposition in the general election.[6] Martha Schrader was the Democratic nominee to succeed her husband, but lost in the general election to Wayne Scott.[6] She served as a Clackamas County commissioner until 2009, when she was appointed by the same commission (with Martha recusing herself from voting) to replace her husband in the State Senate.[1]
[edit] Committee assignments
In the Oregon Senate, Schrader served as co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee in the 2003[7] and 2005 sessions and chair of the Interim Joint Legislative Audit Committee in the 2005 session.[citation needed] To prepare for his House seat, Schrader resigned effective December 17.[1]
[edit] U.S. House of Representatives
[edit] Election
- 2008
In May 2008, Schrader won the Democratic nomination for Oregon's 5th congressional district for the seat being vacated by Darlene Hooley.[1] In the general election, Schrader defeated Republican Mike Erickson to win election to the U.S. House.[8] Schrader won the election with 54 percent of the vote to Erickson's 38 percent. Schrader won all seven of the counties in the 5th congressional district, though he posted a plurality win in Polk County.
- 2010
Schrader was challenged by Republican nominee Oregon State Representative Scott Bruun and Pacific Green nominee Chris Lugo. Despite several polls showing Bruun ahead and expert tracker Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight predicting Schrader would likely lose his bid for reelection, the final vote tally had Schrader winning by a fairly comfortable five-point margin, picking up 51% of the vote to Bruun's 46%. It was the closest House race in Oregon in 2010, a year in which Republicans picked up at least 63 House seats, but only one on the West Coast.
[edit] Tenure
In one of Schrader's first votes in Congress, he supported the $819 billion economic stimulus package.
Schrader has voted with Democratic leadership 97.58% of the time during the 111th Congress, meaning he breaks with his party more frequently than 63% of the Democratic Caucus.[9]
On December 17, 2009, Schrader announced that he would become a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.[10]
[edit] Committee assignments
[edit] Caucus Memberships
- Congressional Arts Caucus
[edit] Personal life
Schrader is married to former Oregon state senator Martha Schrader and the couple have five children.[3] In May 2011, the Schraders announced that they are divorcing.[11] Every one of Schrader's predecessors in the 5th District has also divorced while serving in that office: Denny Smith, Mike Kopetski, Jim Bunn, and Darlene Hooley.[12]
Schrader's district residence is the Kraft-Brandes-Culberston Farmstead in Canby, also known as Three Rivers Farm, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Schrader Submits Resignation to Secretary of State". Salem News. http://www.salem-news.com/articles/december182008/schrader_resigns_12-18-08.php. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
- ^ "Bio : Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Oregon) biography". Congress.org. http://www.congress.org/bio/id/7279. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ a b c Kohler, Vince (May 1, 1997). "Vet makes a house call". The Oregonian.
- ^ Hunsberger, Brent (November 11, 1996). "More absentees vote but alter few races". The Oregonian.
- ^ Kohler, Vince (November 15, 1994). "Grisham wins by 38 votes". The Oregonian.
- ^ a b Mayes, Steve (May 22, 2002). "Schraders ahead in legislative races". The Oregonian.
- ^ "Senator Kurt Schrader". Oregon State Legislature. Archived from the original on December 11, 2004. http://web.archive.org/web/20041211124245/http://www.leg.state.or.us/schrader/bio.htm. Retrieved April 14, 2007.
- ^ "Schrader wins 5th District". OregonLive.com. November 4, 2008. http://www.oregonlive.com/special/index.ssf/2008/11/fifth.html. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
- ^ "House Voting with Party Scores, 111th Congress". Washington Post. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/111/house/party-voters/. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
- ^ "Blue Dogs Welcome New Members". Blue Dog Coalition. December 17, 2009. http://www.house.gov/melancon/BlueDogs/Press%20Releases/2009%20-%20BD%20New%20Member%20Announcement%20-%2012.16.09.pdf. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
- ^ Mayes, Steve (May 19, 2011). "Martha, Kurt Schrader, one of Oregon's best-known political couples, to divorce". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/05/martha_kurt_schrader_one_of_oregons_best-known_political_couples_to_divorce.html. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ "Schraders continue divorce curse of Oregon's 5th District". The Oregonian. May 23, 2011. http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2011/05/schraders_continue_divorce_cur.html. Retrieved Mary 23, 2011.
- ^ "Oregon – Clackamas County". National Register of Historic Places. http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/or/Clackamas/state.html. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congressman Kurt Schrader official U.S. House site
- Kurt Schrader for U.S. Congress official campaign site
- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Clackamas County Veterinary Clinic
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Darlene Hooley |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's 5th congressional district 2009–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Aaron Schock R-Illinois |
United States Representatives by seniority 327th |
Succeeded by Glenn Thompson R-Pennsylvania |
|
|||||||||||
| Representatives to the 111th–112th United States Congresses from Oregon (ordered by seniority) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 111th | Senate: R. Wyden | J. Merkley | House: P. DeFazio | E. Blumenauer | G. Walden | D. Wu | K. Schrader |
| 112th | Senate: R. Wyden | J. Merkley | House: P. DeFazio | E. Blumenauer | G. Walden | D. Wu | K. Schrader |
- 1951 births
- Living people
- Cornell University alumni
- University of Illinois alumni
- Oregon State Senators
- American veterinarians
- People from Bridgeport, Connecticut
- Members of the Oregon House of Representatives
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon
- Oregon Democrats
- People from Canby, Oregon
