Dennis Richardson (politician)

Dennis Michael Richardson (July 30, 1949 – February 26, 2019) was an American attorney, businessman, and politician. He served as the 26th Secretary of State of Oregon from 2017 until his death in 2019. Richardson was from Central Point, Oregon and served six terms in the Oregon House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party. He represented House District 4, which included portions of Jackson and Josephine counties, and was the Republican nominee for Governor of Oregon in the 2014 election, losing to incumbent Democrat John Kitzhaber.

For the Canadian politician with a similar name, see Dennis Richards (politician).
Not to be confused with Dennis Richardson (diplomat).

Dennis Richardson
26th Secretary of State of Oregon
In office
January 2, 2017 – February 26, 2019
GovernorKate Brown
Preceded byJeanne Atkins
Succeeded byLeslie Cummings (acting)
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 4th district
In office
January 2003 – January 2015
Preceded byCherryl Walker
Succeeded byDuane Stark
Personal details
Born
Dennis Michael Richardson

(1949-07-30)July 30, 1949
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedFebruary 26, 2019(2019-02-26) (aged 69)
Central Point, Oregon, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Cathy Richardson
Children9
EducationBrigham Young University (BA, JD)
Signature
Military service
AllegianceUnited States of America
Branch/service United States Army
Battles/warsVietnam War

In 2016, Richardson was the successful Republican nominee for Oregon Secretary of State, defeating Democratic candidate Brad Avakian with 47% of the vote to Avakian's 43%.

Early life education

The son of a carpenter, Richardson grew up in Southeast Los Angeles. He moved permanently to Oregon in 1979.[1] Richardson was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He enlisted in the United States Army's Warrant Officer Helicopter Pilot Training Program. During his 1971 deployment, he flew combat missions out of Chu Lai, Vietnam. The South Vietnamese Army awarded him its Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.[2]

Richardson earned his bachelor's and law degrees at Brigham Young University.[3]

Career

Early career

After law school, Richardson set up his legal practice in Central Point, Oregon, where he worked for more than 30 years before retiring in 2010.[4]

In 1984, Richardson was invited by the Reagan Administration to participate at the White House in a series of briefings by President Ronald Reagan and his Cabinet. Richardson served as Chairman of the Oregon Republican Party’s Second Congressional District in 1996–2000, and Treasurer of the Oregon Republican Party from 1999 to 2003. In 2000, Richardson was recruited to serve on the Central Point City Council, which helped inspire his decision to run for the Oregon State Legislature.[5]

Oregon Legislature

Richardson was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2002, where he served for 12 years.[6]

In his second term, Richardson was elected by unanimous vote of both Democratic and Republican colleagues as Speaker Pro Tempore of the Oregon House of Representatives’ 73rd Legislative Session (2005) and chosen to oversee multibillion-dollar health and human service budgets as Chair of the Joint Senate–House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health and Human Services.

In his third term, Richardson was reelected and served in the 74th Legislative Assembly (2007), where he was selected to serve as the Minority Whip and as Vice-Chair of the House Health Care Policy Committee.

Prior to the opening of the 2011 session, Richardson served on the Republican negotiations team and helped craft the "Oregon Co-Governance Model." Later in 2011, Richardson was selected to oversee the $55 billion combined state budgets as Co-Chair of the Full Joint Senate–House Ways and Means Committee.

2014 gubernatorial campaign
Main article: 2014 Oregon gubernatorial election

In July 2013, Richardson announced his candidacy as a Republican candidate for the Governor of Oregon in 2014, with a strong focus on small business growth in the state.[7] He won the nomination with 65% of the vote.[8] Richardson went on to lose the 2014 General Election to Democratic incumbent, John Kitzhaber, who was elected to his fourth non-consecutive term as Governor.

In the concluding weeks of the campaign, Richardson emphasized the corruption of Governor Kitzhaber and his administration and called for a federal investigation with a 13-page letter sent to the Federal Prosecutor in Portland, Oregon.[9] Although insufficient to turn the tide on election day, newly re-elected Governor John Kitzhaber announced his resignation three months later on February 13, 2015.[10]

Secretary of State
Richardson speaking to members of the Oregon Army National Guard in January 2017

In October 2015, Richardson announced he would be running for Oregon Secretary of State in the 2016 election.[11] He defeated his opponent, Brad Avakian, in the November 2016 election.

He was the first Republican to win a statewide election in Oregon since 2002, the first Republican to be elected Oregon Secretary of State since Norma Paulus was reelected in 1980, and the only Republican to hold statewide office in Oregon. Richardson was administered the oath of office on December 30, 2016,[12] and formally took office on January 2, 2017.[12][13][14]

Personal life

Two years following his honorable discharge from the Army, Richardson and his wife Cathy were married. Together they were the parents of one son and eight daughters.[15]

In May 2018, Richardson was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer.[16] He died from the effects of that illness on February 26, 2019 in Central Point, Oregon, aged 69.[17][18]

Electoral history
Oregon House District 4 election, 2002[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 13,919 60.36
Democratic Shayne Maxwell 9,050 39.25
Other 91 0.39
Total votes 23,060 100.00
Oregon House District 4 Republican primary, 2004[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 6,432 98.80
Republican Other 78 1.20
Total votes 6,510 100.00
Oregon House District 4 election, 2004[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 21,649 70.58
Democratic Richard Koopmans 8,937 29.13
Other 88 0.30
Total votes 30,674 100.00
Oregon House District 4 Republican primary, 2006[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 6,248 98.69
Republican Other 83 1.31
Total votes 6,331 100.00
Oregon House District 4 election, 2006[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 16,604 69.50
Democratic Richard Koopmans 7,214 30.20
Other 71 0.30
Total votes 23,889 100.00
Oregon House District 4 Republican primary, 2008[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 6,996 87.64
Republican Ronald Schutz 962 12.05
Republican Other 25 0.31
Total votes 7,983 100.00
Oregon House District 4 Democratic primary, 2008[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dennis Richardson (write-in) 73 29.92
Democratic Other 171 70.08
Total votes 244 100.00
Oregon House District 4 election, 2008[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 19,641 70.63
Independent Keith Wangle 8,053 28.95
Other 116 0.42
Total votes 27,810 100.00
Oregon House District 4 Republican primary, 2010[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 6,307 99.28
Republican Other 46 0.72
Total votes 6,353 100.00
Oregon House District 4 election, 2010[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 17,495 70.46
Democratic Rick Levine 7,279 29.32
Other 57 0.23
Total votes 24,831 100.00
Oregon House District 4 Republican primary, 2012[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 5,821 99.30
Republican Other 41 0.70
Total votes 5,862 100.00
Oregon House District 4 Democratic primary, 2012[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dennis Richardson (write-in) 42 48.84
Democratic Other 44 51.16
Total votes 86 100.00
Oregon House District 4 election, 2012[29]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 21,284 86.95
Constitution Richard D. Hake 3,047 12.45
Other 148 0.60
Total votes 24,479 100.00
Oregon gubernatorial Republican primary, 2014[30]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 163,695 65.86
Republican Gordon Challstrom 24,693 9.93
Republican Bruce Cuff 23,912 9.62
Republican Mae Rafferty 16,920 6.8
Republican Tim Carr 14,847 5.97
Republican Darren Karr 2,474 1.0
Write-ins 2,011 0.8
Total votes 248,552 100
County results
Oregon gubernatorial election, 2014[31]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John Kitzhaber 733,230 49.89
Republican Dennis Richardson 648,542 44.13
Pacific Green Jason Levin 29,561 2.01
Libertarian Paul Grad 21,903 1.49
Constitution Aaron Auer 15,929 1.08
Progressive Chris Henry 13,898 0.95
Write-ins 6,654 0.45
Total votes 1,469,717 100
Oregon Secretary of State Republican primary, 2016[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 260,622 77.89
Republican Sid Leiken 71,992 21.51
Republican Write-ins 2,006 0.60
Total votes 334,620 100
County results
Oregon Secretary of State election, 2016[33]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dennis Richardson 903,623 47.06%
Democratic Brad Avakian 834,529 43.47%
Independent Paul Wells 66,210 3.45%
Pacific Green Alan Zundel 48,946 2.55%
Libertarian Sharon Durbin 47,675 2.48%
Constitution Michael Marsh 15,372 0.80%
Write-ins 3,594 0.19%
Total votes 1,919,949 100%

References
  1. "Dennis Richardson Dies Tuesday Night, Secretary Of State Was 69". Portland, OR Patch. February 27, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  2. Cecil, Neita. "GOP state leader runs for governor". The Dalles Chronicle. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  3. Oregonian/OregonLive, Laura Gunderson | The (October 3, 2014). "Dennis Richardson: Conservative record that helped him soar in southern Oregon may sink him statewide". oregonlive. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  4. Tribune, Damian Mann of the Mail (March 4, 2019). "Dennis Richardson funeral Central Point Oregon Secretary of State". Mail Tribune. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  5. Staver, Anna. "Battle of values: Dennis Richardson wants to lead". Statesman Journal. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  6. Oregonian/OregonLive, Gordon R. Friedman | The (February 27, 2019). "Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson dies of brain cancer". oregonlive. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  7. Gaston, Christian (July 24, 2013). "Oregon Rep. Dennis Richardson announces run for governor". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  8. Esteve, Harry (May 20, 2014). "Dennis Richardson wins GOP governor primary, will face Democrat John Kitzhaber". The Oregonian. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  9. "Letter outlined legal case against Hayes and Kitzhaber". Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  10. "Oregon Gov. Kitzhaber resigns amid ethics scandal". Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  11. Friedman, Gordon (October 29, 2015). "Dennis Richardson announces Secretary of State bid". The Statesman Journal. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  12. Hernandez, Lauren E. (December 30, 2016). "Dennis Richardson sworn in as secretary of state". Statesman Journal. Salem, Oregon. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  13. "Secretaries of State of Oregon". Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  14. "Oregon's 1st Republican Elected To Statewide Office In 14 Years Takes Office Friday". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  15. Tribune, Damian Mann Mail (March 2, 2019). "Dennis Richardson made every moment teachable". Mail Tribune. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  16. "Secretary of State Dennis Richardson Will Further Reduce Work Schedule to Battle Cancer". WWeek. February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  17. "Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson dies of cancer," The Oregonian, Feb. 27, 2019, www.oregonlive.com/
  18. Ryan, Jim (February 27, 2019). "Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson dies of cancer". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon: Advance Publications. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  19. "OR State House 04 2002". Our Campaigns. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  20. "Official Results" (pdf).
  21. "Official Results" (pdf).
  22. "Official Results" (pdf).
  23. "Official Results" (pdf).
  24. "Official Results" (pdf).
  25. "Official Results" (pdf).
  26. "Official Results" (pdf).
  27. "Official Results" (pdf).
  28. [records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6873711 "Official Results"] Check |url= value (help) (pdf).
  29. "Official Results" (pdf).
  30. "May 20, 2014 Primary Election Abstract of Votes: Governor". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  31. "November 4, 2014, General Election, Official Abstract of Votes: Governor". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  32. "Secretary of State County Totals". Oregon Secretary of State. State of Oregon. May 26, 2016.
  33. "Official Results 2016 General Election, November 8, 2016" (PDF). sos.oregon.gov. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Chris Dudley		 Republican nominee for Governor of Oregon
2014		 Succeeded by
Bud Pierce
Political offices
Preceded by
Jeanne Atkins		 Secretary of State of Oregon
2017–2019		 Succeeded by
Bev Clarno
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