Dennis Richardson

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Oregon State Representative Dennis Richardson

Dennis Richardson (born July 30, 1949) is an American Republican politician from Central Point, Oregon who is serving in his third term in the Oregon House of Representatives. Richardson represents House District 4, which includes portions of Jackson and Josephine counties.

Richardson was first elected in 2002 after defeating incumbent (and fellow Republican) Cheryl Walker in a contentious race. Richardson was involved in reforming the state employee retirement system (PERS) during the 72nd Legislative Session. During the 73rd Legislative Session he was elected Speaker Pro Tempore and was an opponent of Senate Bill 1000 which would have allowed civil unions of same-sex couples. He debated this issue with Democratic Connecticut State Senator Andrew J. McDonald on MSNBC's political talkshow "Hardball" on April 26, 2005. He was reelected to the 74th Legislative Assembly on November 7, 2006 and was selected to be the Minority Whip during the 74th Legislative Session where he is the Vice-Chair of the House Health Care Committee as well as Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Health Care Access. He was originally named to the Consumer Protection Committee but was subsequently discharged from it in order to serve on the Guidelines Committee, which answers questions about ethics for House members specifically as it relates to gifts from lobbyists and other organizations.

On April 19, 2007 Richardson sent an e-mail to supporters that some interpreted to equate the Oregon senate's recent vote to create domestic partnerships and accompanying rights for gay couples to the Virginia Tech massacre:

This past week has been like no other. On Monday the world witnessed the tragedy at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. On Tuesday Oregon witnessed the passage of Domestic Benefits for same-sex couples (HB 2007) and Civil Rights based on sexual orientation. ^[1]

Richardson has stated that his intent was not to equate the two, but he was simply introducing the two topics his newsletter dealt with that week.

Richardson has led three trade missions to the People's Republic of China. The State of Oregon has an official sister state relationship with the Fujian Province.

[edit] Personal

Born in Los Angeles, California, Richardson volunteered for the U.S. Army where he was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. After his military service he married his wife in 1973. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and earned his J.D. as a member of the charter class of the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1976. He has practiced law in Central Point since that time. He and his wife Cathy have eight daughters and one son.