Karen Minnis
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Karen Minnis
| image =
| office = 63rd Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives
| term_start = January 13, 2003
| term_end = January 3, 2007
| predecessor = Mark Simmons
| successor = Jeff Merkley
| constituency = Multnomah County
| office2 =
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| party = Republican
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1954|07}}
| birth_place=
| death_date =
| death_place=
| residence = Fairview, Oregon{{cite web|title=2003 Regular Session (72nd)|url=http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6785359|website=Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide|publisher=Oregon State Archives|accessdate=30 August 2016|archive-date=October 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001202700/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6785359|url-status=live}}
| spouse = John Minnis
| profession = Politician
| religion =
| footnotes =
}}
Karen Minnis (born July 1954) is an Oregon Republican politician in United States. She was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from 1998 to 2009, and served as Speaker of the House from 2003 to 2007
Early life
Born and raised in Portland, Minnis is a graduate of James Monroe High School in Portland and attended Clark Community College in Vancouver, Washington. She married her high school sweetheart, John Minnis, in 1972, with whom she has three children:{{cite news|first=Peter|last=Prengaman|title=Minnis duo stands apart in Oregon Legislature|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=20030629&id=KFoUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=l-sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3484,6635829|work=The Register-Guard|publisher=Guard Publishing Co.|location=Eugene, Oregon|date=June 29, 2003|accessdate=March 6, 2018|archive-date=March 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329192017/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=20030629&id=KFoUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=l-sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3484,6635829|url-status=live}} two married sons and a daughter. They also have three grandsons and one granddaughter.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}
While a housewife, Minnis held jobs as a dental assistant, a waitress, and delivering newspapers, putting John through college. John first told Minnis he wanted to run for office when she was pregnant with their third child. She then worked as his legislative aide for a decade, an experience she credited with providing a valuable education in politics.
Political career
Karen ran for John's seat in the House in 1998, when he was forced out of office by newly enacted (and short-lived) term limits. He went on to serve in the Oregon State Senate.
Minnis served her fifth term in the House, during the 2007–2008 sessions. She represented District 49, which included the cities of Fairview, Troutdale, and Wood Village, and a portion of Gresham, in east Multnomah County. She served as Speaker during the 2003 and 2005 legislative sessions and the 2006 Special Session.
Minnis was first elected to the House in 1998 and served as House majority leader from 2001 to 2003. Her 2004 and 2006 bids for reelection drew a strong challenge from Democrat Rob Brading. In 2004, Brading spent only $33,000 to Minnis' $200,000, but came within seven percentage points of winning the race; in 2006, total spending by both candidates approached $1 million, in one of the most expensive House races in Oregon history.{{cite news|title=Speaker, foe spending big bucks|first=Janie|last=Har|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:ORGB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=114DD421441516F8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=8CE642B8CA5C4083BE84A2539D6E1A73|work=The Oregonian|publisher=Oregonian Media Group|location=Portland, Oregon|date=October 18, 2006|accessdate=March 6, 2018|archive-date=November 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101220541/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&docref=news/114DD421441516F8&f=basic|url-status=live}} In the 2006 election, Democrats took control of the House.{{Cite web |url=http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6873552 |title=Oregon Secretary of State – 2006 General Election Results |access-date=September 11, 2019 |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 }} After the election, Minnis stated she would not seek any leadership positions, but would instead focus on representing her district.{{cite news|first=Jerry|last=Casey|url=http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/09/former_house_leader_minnis_won.html|title=Former House leader Minnis won't run in 2008|work=The Oregonian|publisher=Oregonian Media Group|location=Portland, Oregon|date=September 12, 2007|accessdate=March 6, 2018|archive-date=March 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307082318/http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/09/former_house_leader_minnis_won.html|url-status=live}}
On the last day of the 2007 legislative session, Minnis announced that she would not seek re-election.{{cite news
|first1=Harry|last1=Esteve|first2=Edward|last2=Walsh|title=Walker announces bid for secretary of state|work=The Oregonian|publisher=Oregonian Media Group|location=Portland, Oregonian|date=June 29, 2007}} She was succeeded in District 49 by Democrat Nick Kahl, who won a closely contested election in November 2008; Democrat Jeff Merkley succeeded her as House Speaker.
Electoral history
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 2004 Oregon State Representative, 49th district{{cite web
| title = Official Results | November 2, 2004
| url = http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873503
| website = Oregon Secretary of State
| access-date = October 30, 2023
| archive-date = September 10, 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230910004416/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873503
| url-status = live }}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Karen Minnis
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 12,038
| percentage = 53.1}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Rob Brading
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 10,514
| percentage = 46.4}}
{{Election box write-in with party link no change
| votes = 103
| percentage = 0.5}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 22,655
| percentage = 100%}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change
| title = 2006 Oregon State Representative, 49th district{{cite web
| 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 = Karen Minnis
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 8,601
| percentage = 51.8}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Rob Brading
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 7,911
| percentage = 47.6}}
{{Election box write-in with party link no change
| votes = 92
| percentage = 0.6}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 16,604
| percentage = 100%}}
{{Election box end}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Mark Simmons}}
{{s-ttl|title=Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives|years=2003-2006}}
{{s-aft|after=Jeff Merkley}}
{{s-end}}
External links
- {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605175426/http://www.leg.state.or.us/minnis/ |date=June 5, 2008 |title=Official legislative website }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minnis, Karen}}
Category:Portland, Oregon, Republicans
Category:Speakers of the Oregon House of Representatives
Category:Members of the Oregon House of Representatives
Category:Women state legislators in Oregon
Category:21st-century American women politicians
Category:Women legislative speakers
Category:People from Multnomah County, Oregon
Category:21st-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly