Ellen Rosenblum
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Ellen Rosenblum
|image = Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum addresses attendees at the conference (15478927731) (cropped).jpg
|office = 17th Attorney General of Oregon
|governor = John Kitzhaber
Kate Brown
Tina Kotek
|term_start = June 29, 2012
|term_end = December 31, 2024
|predecessor = John Kroger
|successor = Dan Rayfield
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|1|6}}
|birth_place = Berkeley, California, U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = Democratic
|spouse = Richard Meeker
|education = Scripps College
University of Oregon (BA, JD)
}}
Ellen F. Rosenblum (born January 6, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 17th Oregon Attorney General from June 2012 to December 2024. She is the first female state attorney general in Oregon's history, and previously was a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals from 2005 to 2011.
Early life
Rosenblum was born in Berkeley, California, one of eight children of Jewish parents Victor and Louise Rosenblum. The family moved to Evanston, Illinois, where her father was a law professor at Northwestern University for 40 years;{{cite web
|url=http://www.osbar.org/_docs/COE/PlenarySessions.pdf
|title=Ellen F. Rosenblum
|publisher=Oregon State Bar
|access-date=June 7, 2012
|archive-date=September 20, 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920025620/https://www.osbar.org/system/newerror.asp
|url-status=live
|url=http://www.northwestern.edu/observer/issues/2006/03/30/rosenblum.html
|title=Noted legal scholar Victor Rosenblum dies at 80
|publisher=Northwestern University
|date=March 30, 2006
|access-date=June 7, 2012
|archive-date=May 30, 2010
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530165841/http://www.northwestern.edu/observer/issues/2006/03/30/rosenblum.html
|url-status=live
}} he was also president of Reed College from 1968 to 1970. She graduated from Evanston Township High School and attended Scripps College before earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon in 1971, where she also earned a J.D. degree in 1975.{{cite web
|url=http://www.americanbarfoundation.org/about/Officersdirectors/Directors.html
|title=Board of Directors, Biographies
|publisher=American Bar Foundation
|access-date=June 7, 2012 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318071801/http://www.americanbarfoundation.org/about/Officersdirectors/Directors.html
|archive-date=March 18, 2012 }}{{cite news
|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/01/former_appeals_court_judge_ell.html
|title=Former Appeals Court Judge Ellen Rosenblum will seek Oregon attorney general job
|date=January 4, 2012
|access-date=June 7, 2012
|last=Jung
|first=Helen
|newspaper=The Oregonian
|archive-date=January 9, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109081454/http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/01/former_appeals_court_judge_ell.html
|url-status=live
|url=http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/leadership/candidates/Rosenblum.authcheckdam.pdf
|title=American Bar Association
|publisher=American Bar Association
|access-date=June 7, 2012
|archive-date=March 28, 2016
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328042113/http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/leadership/candidates/Rosenblum.authcheckdam.pdf
|url-status=live
}}
Law and judicial career
In 1975, Rosenblum became an associate at the Eugene law firm of Hammons, Phillips and Jensen, and later became a partner in the firm. In 1980, she became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, specializing in financial crimes.{{cite web
|url=http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/139751/ellen-rosenblum
|title=Ellen Rosenblum
|publisher=Project Votesmart
|access-date=June 7, 2012
|archive-date=June 7, 2013
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607101445/http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/139751/ellen-rosenblum
|url-status=live
}} In 1989, she was appointed by Governor Neil Goldschmidt as a judge to the Multnomah County District Court where she presided until 1993, when Governor Barbara Roberts appointed her as a judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court. In 2005, Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed her to fill a vacancy on the Oregon Court of Appeals, and she was elected to a full six-year term in 2006, and retired as a judge in May 2011.{{cite web
|url=http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6873552
|title=November 7, 2006, General Election Abstracts of Votes: Judge of the Court of Appeals, Position 9
|access-date=June 7, 2012
|publisher=Oregon Secretary of State
|archive-date=August 22, 2019
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822003922/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6873552
|url-status=live
}}
Attorney General
After Attorney General John Kroger decided not to seek another term, Rosenblum in January 2012 started her campaign for the Democratic nomination for the position. U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton also entered the race, and held an early fundraising advantage with the support of most of the state's law enforcement community.{{cite news
|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/05/ellen_rosenblum_dwight_h.html
|title=Ellen Rosenblum defeats Dwight Holton for attorney general
|date=May 15, 2012
|access-date=June 8, 2012
|last=Manning
|first=Jeff
|newspaper=The Oregonian
|archive-date=May 19, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519042049/http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/05/ellen_rosenblum_dwight_h.html
|url-status=live
}} Rosenblum focused on social issues, and when Holton criticized the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, Rosenblum gained the support of Oregon marijuana legalization supporters by pledging to "make marijuana enforcement a low priority, and protect the rights of medical marijuana patients." In the May Democratic primary, she went on to defeat Holton by nearly 30 percentage points to move on to the general election.{{cite news
|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/06/oregon_gov_john_kitzhaber_name_2.html
|title=Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber names Ellen Rosenblum as interim attorney general
|date=June 6, 2012
|access-date=June 7, 2012
|last=Cole
|first=Michelle
|newspaper=The Oregonian
|archive-date=June 8, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608085914/http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/06/oregon_gov_john_kitzhaber_name_2.html
|url-status=live
}}
In 2012, Kroger announced his resignation effective June 29, 2012, to become President of Reed College, and Governor John Kitzhaber named Rosenblum to replace Kroger effective that same day.{{cite news
|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/06/ellen_rosenblum_becomes_oregon.html
|title=Ellen Rosenblum becomes Oregon's first woman attorney general
|date=June 29, 2012
|access-date=June 29, 2012
|last=Barron-Lopez
|first=Laura
|newspaper=The Oregonian
|archive-date=September 18, 2013
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918062355/http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/06/ellen_rosenblum_becomes_oregon.html
|url-status=live
}} Coincidentally, Rosenblum's father, Victor Rosenblum, had served as President of Reed from 1968 to 1970. Rosenblum became Oregon's first female Attorney General. She served in the appointed position until January and won the general election in November for a full term. Though no Republican filed in the primary, Portland attorney James Buchal received enough write-in votes to qualify for the November ballot as a Republican.{{cite news
|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/06/oregon_republicans_now_have_ca.html
|title=Oregon Republicans now have candidates for attorney general and treasurer, courtesy of write-in votes
|date=June 6, 2012
|access-date=June 8, 2012
|last=Mapes
|first=Jeff
|newspaper=The Oregonian
|archive-date=June 8, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608090121/http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/06/oregon_republicans_now_have_ca.html
|url-status=live
}}
Rosenblum was re-elected to another term as attorney general in November 2016, defeating Republican candidate Daniel Crowe.{{cite web |url=http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/RecordView/6873777 |title=November 8, 2016, General Election Abstract of Votes |last=Atkins |first=Jeanne |date=November 2006 |website=Oregon Secretary of State |publisher=State of Oregon |access-date=September 23, 2017 |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922111443/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/RecordView/6873777 |url-status=live }} She also served on the Executive Committee of the Democratic Attorneys General Association.
In July 2020, Rosenblum filed a lawsuit against the federal government, accusing it of unlawfully detaining protesters, after footage emerged of agents in unmarked vehicles (but not unmarked police officers) appearing to forcefully seize protesters.{{cite web |title=Portland protests: Oregon sues over 'unlawful detentions' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53460495 |website=bbc.co.uk |date=July 19, 2020 |access-date=July 19, 2020 |archive-date=January 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119215442/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53460495 |url-status=live }}
On September 19, 2023, Rosenblum announced she would not seek a 4th term as attorney general in the 2024 election.{{cite news|date=September 19, 2023|title=Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum says she won't run in 2024|url=https://www.kgw.com/article/news/politics/elections/oregon-attorney-general-ellen-rosenblum-reelection-campaign-2024/283-af178f6b-07d2-451e-8aa7-12cf6003fcd0|url-status=live|work=KGW|location=Portland, Oregon|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920025052/https://www.kgw.com/article/news/politics/elections/oregon-attorney-general-ellen-rosenblum-reelection-campaign-2024/283-af178f6b-07d2-451e-8aa7-12cf6003fcd0|archive-date=September 20, 2023|access-date=September 19, 2023}} During her last year in office, Rosenblum served as President of the National Attorneys General Association {{Cite web |date=2024-01-28 |title=Ellen Rosenblum on her accomplishments as Oregon Attorney General, future plans |url=https://www.koin.com/nwpolitics/ellen-rosenblum-on-her-accomplishments-as-oregon-attorney-general-future-plans/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=KOIN.com |language=en-US}}
Personal
Rosenblum is married to Richard Meeker, who until 2015 was the publisher and co-owner of the Willamette Week newspaper in Portland.{{cite news
|url=http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19127-election_is_coming.html
|title=Election is coming
|newspaper=Willamette Week
|date=April 25, 2012
|access-date=June 7, 2012
|archive-date=May 29, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529023815/http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19127-election_is_coming.html
|url-status=live
Electoral history
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 2006 Judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals, Position 9
| title = Official Results | November 7, 2006
| url = http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873552
| website = Oregon Secretary of State
| access-date = October 30, 2023
| archive-date = September 10, 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230910004315/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873552
| url-status = live }}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Ellen F. Rosenblum
| party = Nonpartisan politician
| votes = 802,565
| percentage = 98.3}}
{{Election box write-in with party link no change
| votes = 13,606
| percentage = 1.7}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 816,171
| percentage = 100%}}
{{Election box end}}
| class="wikitable"
! colspan="4" |2012 Oregon Attorney General Democratic Primary election{{cn|date=November 2023}} |
| Party
|Candidate |Votes |% |
| Democratic
|Ellen Rosenblum |202,935 |64.53 |
| Democratic
|Dwight Holton |110,891 |35.26 |
| Democratic
|Write-ins |657 |0.21 |
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 2012 Oregon Attorney General election
| title = Official Results | November 6, 2012
| url = http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873690
| website = Oregon Secretary of State
| access-date = October 30, 2023
| archive-date = April 6, 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230406223358/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873690
| url-status = live }}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Ellen Rosenblum
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 917,627
| percentage = 56.2}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = James L Buchal
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 639,363
| percentage = 39.1}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = James E Leuenberger
| party = Constitution Party (United States)
| votes = 45,451
| percentage = 2.8}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Chris Henry
| party = Oregon Progressive Party
| votes = 28,187
| percentage = 1.7}}
{{Election box write-in with party link no change
| votes = 2,975
| percentage = 0.2}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 1,633,603
| percentage = 100%}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 2016 Oregon Attorney General election
| title = November 8, 2016, General Election Abstract of Votes
| url = http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873777
| website = Oregon Secretary of State
| access-date = October 30, 2023
| archive-date = January 19, 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230119071743/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873777
| url-status = live }}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Ellen Rosenblum
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 1,011,761
| percentage = 55.0}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Daniel Zene Crowe
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 766,753
| percentage = 41.7}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Lars D H Hedbor
| party = Libertarian Party (United States)
| votes = 58,609
| percentage = 3.2}}
{{Election box write-in with party link no change
| votes = 3,507
| percentage = 0.2}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 1,840,630
| percentage = 100%}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 2020 Oregon Attorney General election
| title = November 3, 2020, General Election Abstract of Votes
| url = https://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Documents/results/november-general-2020.pdf
| website = Oregon Secretary of State
| access-date = October 30, 2023
| archive-date = November 12, 2022
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221112205917/https://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Documents/results/november-general-2020.pdf
| url-status = live }}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Ellen Rosenblum
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 1,264,716
| percentage = 56.0}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Michael Cross
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 934,357
| percentage = 41.3}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Lars D H Hedbor
| party = Libertarian Party (United States)
| votes = 52,087
| percentage = 2.3}}
{{Election box write-in with party link no change
| votes = 8,490
| percentage = 0.4}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 2,259,650
| percentage = 100%}}
{{Election box end}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [https://www.doj.state.or.us/ Government website]
- [https://www.ellenrosenblum.com/ Campaign website]
- {{C-SPAN|112518}}
{{CongLinks|votesmart=139751}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=John Kroger}}
{{s-ttl|title=Attorney General of Oregon|years=2012–2024}}
{{s-aft|after=Dan Rayfield}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenblum, Ellen}}
Category:20th-century American Jews
Category:21st-century American Jews
Category:21st-century American women politicians
Category:21st-century Oregon politicians
Category:American women judges
Category:Jewish American people in Oregon politics
Category:Jewish American women in politics
Category:Lawyers from Eugene, Oregon
Category:Lawyers from Portland, Oregon
Category:Oregon attorneys general
Category:Oregon Court of Appeals judges
Category:Politicians from Evanston, Illinois
Category:Politicians from Berkeley, California
Category:Politicians from Eugene, Oregon
Category:Scripps College alumni