Ellen Rosenblum

Ellen F. Rosenblum (born January 6, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the Oregon Attorney General since 2012. She is the first female state attorney general in Oregon's history, and previously was a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals from 2005 to 2011.

Ellen Rosenblum
17th Attorney General of Oregon
Assumed office
June 29, 2012
GovernorJohn Kitzhaber
Kate Brown
Tina Kotek
Preceded byJohn Kroger
Personal details
Born (1951-01-06) January 6, 1951
Berkeley, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRichard Meeker
EducationScripps College
University of Oregon (BA, JD)
WebsiteGovernment website

Early life

Rosenblum was born in Berkeley, California, one of eight children of Jewish parents Victor and Louise Rosenblum. The family moved to Evanston, Illinois, where her father was a law professor at Northwestern University for 40 years;[1][2] he was also president of Reed College from 1968 to 1970. She graduated from Evanston Township High School and attended Scripps College before earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon in 1971, where she also earned a J.D. degree in 1975.[3][4][5]

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.[1] In 1980, she became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, specializing in financial crimes.[1][6] In 1989, she was appointed by Governor Neil Goldschmidt as a judge to the Multnomah County District Court where she presided until 1993, when Governor Barbara Roberts appointed her as a judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court.[4] In 2005, Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed her to fill a vacancy on the Oregon Court of Appeals, and she was elected to a full six-year term in 2006, and retired as a judge in May 2011.[4][7]

Attorney General

After Attorney General John Kroger decided not to seek another term, Rosenblum in January 2012 started her campaign for the Democratic nomination for the position.[4] 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.[8] 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 patients."[8] In the May Democratic primary, she went on to defeat Holton by nearly 30 percentage points to move on to the general election.[9]

In 2012, Kroger announced his resignation effective June 29, 2012 to become President of Reed College, and Governor John Kitzhaber named Rosenblum to replace Kroger effective that same day.[9][10] Coincidentally, Rosenblum's father, Victor Rosenblum, had served as President of Reed from 1968 to 1970.[2] Rosenblum became Oregon's first female Attorney General.[9][10] She served in the appointed position until January and won the general election in November for a full term.[9] Though no Republican filed in the primary, Portland attorney James Buchal received enough write-in votes to qualify for the November ballot as a Republican.[11]

Rosenblum was re-elected to another term as Attorney General in November 2016, defeating Republican candidate Daniel Crowe.[12]

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.[13]

On September 19, 2023 Rosenblum announced she would not seek a 4th term as attorney general in the 2024 election.[14]

Personal

Rosenblum is married to Richard Meeker, until 2015 publisher and co-owner of the Willamette Week newspaper in Portland.[15] The couple have two adult children.[1]

Electoral history
Oregon Court of Appeals Judge Position 9 Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Ellen Rosenblum (inc.) 802,565 98.33
Nonpartisan Write-ins 13,606 1.67
Oregon Attorney General Democratic Primary Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ellen Rosenblum 202,935 64.53
Democratic Dwight Holton 110,891 35.26
Democratic Write-ins 657 0.21
Oregon Attorney General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ellen Rosenblum (inc.) 917,627 56.17
Republican James Buchal 639,363 39.14
Constitution James Leuenberger 45,451 2.78
Progressive Chris Henry 28,187 1.73
Write-ins Write-ins 2,975 0.18
Oregon Attorney General Election, 2016[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ellen Rosenblum (inc.) 1,011,761 54.97
Republican Daniel Crowe 766,753 41.66
Libertarian Lars Hedbor 58,609 3.18
Write-ins Write-ins 3,507 0.19

See also

References
  1. "Ellen F. Rosenblum" (PDF). Oregon State Bar. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  2. "Noted legal scholar Victor Rosenblum dies at 80". Northwestern University. March 30, 2006. Archived from the original on May 30, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  3. "Board of Directors, Biographies". American Bar Foundation. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  4. Jung, Helen (January 4, 2012). "Former Appeals Court Judge Ellen Rosenblum will seek Oregon attorney general job". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  5. "American Bar Association" (PDF). American Bar Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 28, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  6. "Ellen Rosenblum". Project Votesmart. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  7. "November 7, 2006, General Election Abstracts of Votes: Judge of the Court of Appeals, Position 9". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  8. Manning, Jeff (May 15, 2012). "Ellen Rosenblum defeats Dwight Holton for attorney general". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on May 19, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  9. Cole, Michelle (June 6, 2012). "Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber names Ellen Rosenblum as interim attorney general". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  10. Barron-Lopez, Laura (June 29, 2012). "Ellen Rosenblum becomes Oregon's first woman attorney general". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  11. Mapes, Jeff (June 6, 2012). "Oregon Republicans now have candidates for attorney general and treasurer, courtesy of write-in votes". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  12. Atkins, Jeanne (November 2006). "November 8, 2016, General Election Abstract of Votes". Oregon Secretary of State. State of Oregon. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  13. "Portland protests: Oregon sues over 'unlawful detentions'". bbc.co.uk. 19 July 2020. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  14. "Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum says she won't run in 2024". KGW. Portland, Oregon. September 19, 2023. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  15. "Election is coming". Willamette Week. April 25, 2012. Archived from the original on May 29, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
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