Lynn Snodgrass (née Lynn Dee Grenz, born c. 1951) is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. She served in the Oregon House of Representatives. A Republican, she was elected Speaker in 1998, succeeding fellow Republican Lynn Lundquist.[1][2] At the time, many Republicans felt Lundquist was too accommodating to Democratic Governor John Kitzhaber. Snodgrass was the first Portland-area Speaker since Vera Katz, whose term in that position ended in 1991.[1]
Lynn Snodgrass | |
|---|---|
| CEO of the Gresham Chamber of Commerce | |
| Assumed office January 5, 2015 | |
| 61st Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives | |
| In office January 1999 – January 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Lynn Lundquist |
| Succeeded by | Mark Simmons |
| Member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 10th district | |
| In office January 1995 – January 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Ken Baker |
| Succeeded by | Jan Lee |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1951 (age 72–73) Oregon, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Oregon State University Portland State University (BA) |
Early life
editSnodgrass was born in Oregon, growing up in Milwaukie.[1] She attended Oregon State University, and earned an elementary teaching degree at Portland State University.[1] She competed for the Miss Oregon crown in 1969, losing to Margie Elaine Huhta.[3] She competed again, and was crowned Miss Oregon in 1971.[1] She married Drake Snodgrass in 1974.[1] As of 1998[update], they owned a successful local nursery and landscaping company.[1] They moved to Boring, Oregon in the early 1980s.[1] She held a seat on the Damascus school board, and served on Portland's Metro Home Builder Association.[1] (Drake's family owned the $15 million business 7 Dees Nursery.[1])
Political career
editSnodgrass' political involvement began when a bill advanced by then-Speaker Larry Campbell forced Boring's school district to merge with that of neighboring Gresham.[1] Snodgrass was enraged by that and her daughter's increasing class size, and made her first run for the legislature in 1994, which she won.[1]
She represented District 10, which included her home town of Boring as well as Clackamas, Happy Valley, Damascus, South Gresham, Estacada, and portions of Oregon City.[1] It straddled Portland's urban growth boundary.[1] She ascended quickly in the ranks of the Oregon House, as a result of the term limits that were in place in the late 1990s.[1]
Snodgrass was chosen Republican majority leader for the 1997 session. In 1998 Snodgrass defeated Democratic challenger Mike Smith, who got only 35% of the vote.[1]
She supported sending the then-recently approved Oregon Death with Dignity Act back to voters, and pushed for a bill to recriminalize marijuana.[4] She supported Senate Bill 600, an early version of Measure 37, and a bill requested by the Associated Oregon Industries that would have limited student activity fees for political purposes.[1] The Oregon League of Conservation Voters asserted that she cast environmentally-friendly votes 7 percent of the time in the 1997 session, and 0% in 1995.[1] She led the campaign to send Measure 65 to the voters in 1997.[1]
She drew support from the Oregon Right to Life PAC and the National Rifle Association of America.[1]
She is a deeply religious woman, and holds early-morning bible studies in her home.[1] She occasionally sang hymns with fellow legislator Margaret Carter.[1] (Carter considered Snodgrass a close friend, but worried in 1998 that her social agenda would undermine important social services.[1])
Snodgrass tried to pass a law in 1997 that would have established April as "Christian Heritage Month."[1]
A 1998 Willamette Week article questioned the accuracy of Snodgrass's understanding of how tax laws affected urban and rural school funding. The article asserted that Measure 5 of 1990 impacted Portland schools negatively, while benefitting schools like those in Snodgrass's district; and contrasted that fact with Snodgrass's assertion that her district's schools had suffered while Portland schools did not.[1]
Kate Brown was elected Senate Minority Leader in the same year.[1] Fellow Representative Chris Beck, a Democrat, noted that Snodgrass was the first Portland-area speaker in over 10 years, and expressed hope that she would rise above partisan politics and help solve the problems of Portland.[1] Snodgrass was noted for strongly supporting an openly gay candidate for the House, Chuck Carpenter, over a more religious and conservative Republican (Bill Witt, who went on to win the election).[1] She had a contentious relationship with her predecessor, Lynn Lundquist, over education funding.[5]
Snodgrass ran unsuccessfully for Oregon Secretary of State in 2000.[5] She was defeated by Democrat Bill Bradbury.
Lynn currently holds the Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center, CEO position. [6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Feit, Josh (November 24, 1998). "The most powerful woman in Oregon". Willamette Week. City of Roses Newspapers. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ Speakers of the House of Representatives of Oregon. Oregon Blue Book, Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on June 9, 2008.
- ^ Parrott, Charlotte (October 26, 2016). "Community Spotlight: Lynn Snodgrass, CEO of Gresham Chamber of Commerce". Gresham Patch. Gresham, Oregon: Patch Media. Archived from the original on Oct 28, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ Howell, Claire (June 23, 2017). "Marijuana business regulations still raise questions". The Outlook. Gresham, Oregon: Pamplin Media Group. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ a b Mapes, Jeff (April 9, 2013). "Former Oregon House Speaker Lynn Lundquist dies at age of 78". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon: Oregonian Media Group. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ "About Us". Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center. Retrieved 2023-02-20.