Richard Devlin (born September 9, 1952) is an American politician who served in the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the State legislature (United States), statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Ther ...

from 2003 to 2018, representing the 19th Senate district.

Early life and education

Devlin was born in

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

in 1976 and a Master of Arts in Management from

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

in 1980.

Career

He has worked in adult and juvenile corrections and as a civil and criminal investigator. From 1985 to 1988, Devlin was a member of the Tualatin City Council. In 1988, he was elected to the

Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

Council, serving on it until 1995. In 1994, Devlin won the Democratic nomination to the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

representing the 24th district, but lost in the general election to Republican

Bob Tiernan Bob Tiernan (born May 24, 1955) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Oregon House of Representatives from January 1993 to January 1997, representing Oregon's 24th House district, in the earl ...

. In 1996, Devlin again faced Tiernan, but this time, defeated him. Devlin was re-elected to the Oregon House in 1998 and 2000. In 2002, Devlin ran for the

to represent the 19th senate district; again, he faced Tiernan in the general election, and narrowly defeated him by a margin of 50% to 47%. He was re-elected to another 4-year term in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. In the Senate, Devlin has served on the Joint Ways and Means Committee and has chaired the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education and the Subcommittee on Natural Resources. He served as Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2010, succeeding

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 38th governor of Oregon from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th distr ...

, who successfully ran for

Oregon Secretary of State The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in the line of succession to the List of Governors of Oregon, governor. The duties of the offi ...

. Devlin was elected for a third term in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, defeating Republican Mary Kremer. In 2014, he was unopposed for re-election. On October 23, 2017, Devlin was appointed by Governor Kate Brown to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, which he accepted and began serving on January 16, 2018.

Personal life

Devlin and his wife Eliza live in

Tualatin, Oregon Tualatin ( ) is a city located primarily in Washington County, Oregon, Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon. A small portion of the city is also located in neighboring Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County. It is a southwestern sub ...

. They have two children.

Electoral history

References

External links

Legislative websiteCampaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devlin, Richard 1952 births Living people Portland State University alumni Pepperdine University alumni Oregon state senators Politicians from Eugene, Oregon Members of the Oregon House of Representatives People from Tualatin, Oregon Oregon city council members 21st-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly