Chuck Thomsen
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name= Chuck Thomsen
|image name= Chuck Thomsen.jpg
|imagesize=
|state_senate= Oregon
|district= 26th
|term_start = January 11, 2011
|term_end = January 9, 2023
|preceded= Rick Metsger
|succeeded= Daniel Bonham
|birth_date= {{Birth date and age|1957|01|20}}
|birth_place= Hood River, Oregon
|death_date=
|death_place=
|party= Republican
|spouse= Kristi
|profession= Orchardist
|footnotes=
| module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Chuck Thomsen Voice.ogg|title=Chuck Thomsen's voice|type=speech|description=Thomsen speaking about the then-upcoming 77th Oregon Legislative Assembly
Recorded April 21, 2013}}
}}
Charles William Thomsen (born January 20, 1957) is an American Republican politician from the US state of Oregon. From 2011 to 2023 he served in the Oregon Senate representing District 26, which includes all of Hood River County and parts of eastern Multnomah County and northeastern Clackamas County.
Early life and career
Thomsen was born in Hood River, Oregon, and graduated from Hood River Valley High School and then attended Willamette University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science and economics.{{cite web
|url=http://www.chuckthomsen.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=2
|title=Chuck Thomsen
|accessdate=January 12, 2011
|publisher=ChuckThomsen.com
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165557/http://www.chuckthomsen.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=2
|archive-date=March 3, 2016
|url-status=dead
|title=Chuck Thomsen
|url=http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=119275
|publisher=Project VoteSmart
|accessdate=January 12, 2011
|archive-date=December 15, 2019
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215023924/http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=119275
|url-status=live
}} Thomsen returned to Hood River where he worked as an orchardist, raising pears and apples.
Political career
Thomsen was appointed to the Hood River Planning Commission in 1990, and then elected to the Hood River County Board of Commissioners in 1994. He was re-elected to the commission four times and served until 2010. In 2010, Thomsen ran for the Oregon State Senate seat held by Rick Metsger, who vacated the seat to run for Oregon State Treasurer. In the 2010 general election, Thomsen defeated Democrat Brent Barton 53%–47%.{{cite web
|url=http://gov.oregonlive.com/election/2010/Legislature/
|title=2010 Oregon Legislature Election Results
|accessdate=January 12, 2011
|publisher=OregonLive.com
|archive-date=November 5, 2010
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105194230/http://gov.oregonlive.com/election/2010/Legislature/
|url-status=dead
}} His support and advocacy in animal-related measures saw him labeled as a 2011 "Top Dog" by the Oregon Humane Society.[http://www.oregonhumane.org/advocacy/documents/2011_ohs_legislative_web_000.pdf 2011 Oregon Humane Society Legislative Scorecard] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628174509/http://www.oregonhumane.org/advocacy/documents/2011_ohs_legislative_web_000.pdf |date=June 28, 2012 }} at the Oregon Humane Society
On December 11, 2020, Thomsen and 11 other state Republican officials signed a letter requesting Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum join Texas and other states contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election in Texas v. Pennsylvania. Rosenblum announced she had filed in behalf of the defense, and against Texas, the day prior.{{Cite web |title=A Dozen Oregon Republican Lawmakers Urged the Attorney General to Support Texas Lawsuit Undermining U.S. Election Results |author=Tess Riski |work=Willamette Week |date=13 December 2020 |access-date=13 December 2020 |url=https://www.wweek.com/news/courts/2020/12/13/a-dozen-oregon-republican-lawmakers-urged-the-attorney-general-to-support-texas-lawsuit-undermining-u-s-election-results/ |archive-date=December 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214022229/https://www.wweek.com/news/courts/2020/12/13/a-dozen-oregon-republican-lawmakers-urged-the-attorney-general-to-support-texas-lawsuit-undermining-u-s-election-results/ |url-status=live }}
Recall effort
From June 20, 2019, all 11 Republican state senators for Oregon, including Thomsen, refused to show up for work at the Oregon State Capitol, instead going into hiding, some even fleeing the state. Their aim was to prevent a vote on a cap-and-trade proposal that would dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to combat climate change. The Senate holds 30 seats, but 1 is vacant due to a death. Without the Republican senators, the remaining 18 Democratic state senators could not reach a quorum of 20 to hold a vote.{{cite web |title=Oregon Republicans walk out on state Senate over climate change bill as governor threatens police roundup |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oregon-republicans-climate-change-bill-lawmakers-walk-out-of-state-legislature-as-governor-orders-police-round-up/ |website=CBS News |accessdate=24 June 2019 |archive-date=June 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624145338/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oregon-republicans-climate-change-bill-lawmakers-walk-out-of-state-legislature-as-governor-orders-police-round-up/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Osborne |first1=Mark |last2=Youn |first2=Soo |title=Oregon's Republican state senators go into hiding over climate change vote amid militia threat |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/oregons-republican-state-senators-hiding-democrats-delay-climate/story?id=63880562 |website=ABC News |accessdate=June 24, 2019 |date=June 23, 2019 |archive-date=June 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623192337/https://abcnews.go.com/US/oregons-republican-state-senators-hiding-democrats-delay-climate/story?id=63880562 |url-status=live }}
The walk-out led to one of Thomsen's Hood River constituents, Lara Dunn, to file a petition for a recall of his seat on March 5, 2020. “Senator Chuck Thomsen broke his promise to represent us in the Legislature,” Dunn wrote in a prospective petition. “He stopped going to work but still collected his taxpayer-funded salary and daily stipend. He must be recalled and replaced by someone who will show up and fight for our jobs, our schools, our healthcare and our future.” Thomsen's opponents pointed to comments Thomsen had made to Oregon Public Radio regarding his plans to head for warm weather if a walkout occurred, and that he'd packed polo shirts and shorts.{{cite web |last1=VanderHart |first1=Dirk |title=Oregon Republican Walkout Spurs Recall Attempt, Campaign Complaint |url=https://www.opb.org/news/article/republican-walkout-spurs-recall-attempt-campaign-complaint/ |website=Oregon Public Broadcasting |accessdate=March 23, 2020 |date=March 4, 2020 |archive-date=March 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323214943/https://www.opb.org/news/article/republican-walkout-spurs-recall-attempt-campaign-complaint/ |url-status=live }}
In order to force a recall election, Dunn's petition effort needed to gather 9,025 valid signatures by June 2, according to the Secretary of State's Office.{{cite web |title=Recall Chuck Thomsen |url=https://www.recallthomsen.com/ |accessdate=March 23, 2020 |date=March 23, 2020 |archive-date=March 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323214941/https://www.recallthomsen.com/ |url-status=live }} The recall effort failed.{{Cite web|title=Effort Fails To Recall Oregon Republican For State Senate Walk-Out|url=https://www.opb.org/news/article/recall-fails-oregon-republican-senator-chuck-thomsen/|access-date=2020-08-06|website=opb|archive-date=June 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607070626/https://www.opb.org/news/article/recall-fails-oregon-republican-senator-chuck-thomsen/|url-status=live}}
Personal life
Electoral history
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 2010 Oregon State Senator, 26th district{{cite web
| title = Official Results November 2, 2010
| url = http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873642
| website = Oregon Secretary of State
| access-date = October 30, 2023
| archive-date = August 31, 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230831080329/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873642
| url-status = live }}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Chuck Thomsen
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 24,925
| percentage = 52.9}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Brent Barton
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 22,144
| percentage = 47.0}}
{{Election box write-in with party link no change
| votes = 70
| percentage = 0.1}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 47,139
| percentage = 100%}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 2014 Oregon State Senator, 26th district{{cite web
| title = November 4, 2014, General Election, Official Abstract of Votes
| url = http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873735
| website = Oregon Secretary of State
| access-date = October 30, 2023
| archive-date = April 6, 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230406223359/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873735
| url-status = live }}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Chuck Thomsen
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 24,422
| percentage = 56.5}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Robert R Bruce
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 18,641
| percentage = 43.1}}
{{Election box write-in with party link no change
| votes = 183
| percentage = 0.4}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 43,246
| percentage = 100%}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 2018 Oregon State Senator, 26th district{{cite web
| title = November 6, 2018, General Election Abstract of Votes
| url = http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873825
| website = Oregon Secretary of State
| access-date = October 30, 2023
| archive-date = April 6, 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230406153942/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873825
| url-status = live }}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Chuck Thomsen
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 29,472
| percentage = 50.1}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Chrissy Reitz
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 29,263
| percentage = 49.8}}
{{Election box write-in with party link no change
| votes = 79
| percentage = 0.1}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 58,814
| percentage = 100%}}
{{Election box end}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/thomsen Legislative website]
- [http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=119275 Project VoteSmart biography]
{{Oregon State Senators}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomsen, Chuck}}
Category:Republican Party Oregon state senators
Category:21st-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly
Category:Politicians from Hood River, Oregon