Ellen F. Rosenblum (born January 6, 1951) is an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as the 17th Oregon Attorney General from June 2012 to December 2024. She is the first female

state attorney general The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the District of Columbia, federal district, or of any of the Territories of the United States, territories is the chief legal advisor to the State governments of the United States, sta ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

's history, and previously was a judge on the

Oregon Court of Appeals The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the US state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has thirteen judges and is located in Salem. Except for death penalty cases, which are reserved to the O ...

from 2005 to 2011.

Early life

Rosenblum was born in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, one of eight children of Jewish parents Victor and Louise Rosenblum. The family moved to

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, where her father was a law professor at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

for 40 years; he was also president of

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

from 1968 to 1970. She graduated from

Evanston Township High School Evanston Township High School (ETHS) (District 202) is a public high school in Evanston, Illinois. The campus is located in a northern suburb of Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS was established in 1883 and serves the city of Evanston a ...

and attended

Scripps College Scripps College is a private liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1926, a year after the consortium's formation. Journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps pr ...

before earning her undergraduate degree from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in 1971, where she also earned a J.D. degree in 1975.

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. In 1989, she was appointed by Governor

Neil Goldschmidt Neil Edward Goldschmidt (June 16, 1940 – June 12, 2024) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state, and federal offices over three decades. After serving as mayor of Portland, Oregon, ...

as a judge to the

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The state's smallest and most populous county, it ...

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

, and she was elected to a full six-year term in 2006, and retired as a judge in May 2011.

Attorney General

After

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

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. 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 Medical cannabis, medicinal cannabis or medical marijuana (MMJ) refers to Cannabis (drug), cannabis products and cannabinoid, cannabinoid molecules that are prescription drug, prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabi ...

patients." In the May Democratic primary, she went on to defeat Holton by nearly 30 percentage points to move on to the general election. In 2012, Kroger announced his resignation effective June 29, 2012, to become President of

, and

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

John Kitzhaber named Rosenblum to replace Kroger effective that same day. 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 A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

votes to qualify for the November ballot as a Republican. Rosenblum was re-elected to another term as attorney general in November 2016, defeating Republican candidate Daniel Crowe. 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. On September 19, 2023, Rosenblum announced she would not seek a 4th term as attorney general in the 2024 election. During her last year in office, Rosenblum served as President of the National Attorneys General Association

Personal

Rosenblum is married to Richard Meeker, who until 2015 was the publisher and co-owner of the ''

Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history '' ...

'' newspaper in Portland. The couple have two adult children.

Electoral history

References

External links

Government websiteCampaign website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenblum, Ellen 1951 births 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century Oregon politicians American women judges Jewish American people in Oregon politics Jewish American women in politics Lawyers from Eugene, Oregon Lawyers from Portland, Oregon Living people Oregon attorneys general Oregon Court of Appeals judges Oregon Democrats Politicians from Evanston, Illinois Politicians from Berkeley, California Politicians from Eugene, Oregon Scripps College alumni University of Oregon School of Law alumni Women in Oregon politics