Kate Brown

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Kate Brown (2017)

Katherine "Kate" Brown (born June 21, 1960 in Madrid , Spain ) is an American politician of the Democratic Party . She has been the governor of the state of Oregon since February 18, 2015 . Previously, she practiced the Office of the Minister of State ( Secretary of State ) and was one of two chambers of the federal legislature to. Since Brown, as Minister of State, was also the governor's deputy, she took over as head of government after the resignation of Governor John Kitzhaber .

Earlier years and political advancement

Kate Brown was born on June 21, 1960 to a US soldier stationed in Spain . Shortly after their birth, the Republican Browns moved back to the United States. She grew up mostly in Minnesota ; later she lived in Colorado. At the University of Colorado they initially made the Bachelor of Arts and received a degree in Oregon law . There her focus was on environmental law . Brown then worked for a while as a lawyer ; Among other things, she was involved in charitable organizations . At the same time, she joined the Democratic Party.

In 1991, Brown was elected to the state House of Representatives by the leadership of the Oregon Democratic Party organization after a vacancy appeared there. She was re-elected as a Member of Parliament in 1992 and 1994. In 1996 she successfully applied for a seat in the Oregon Senate . In 2000 and 2004 it was confirmed by the voters. In 2004 she was the first woman to be elected leader of her party. In July 2007, Brown said not to run in the following year for the state Senate, but the Office of the Minister of State ( Secretary of State ) to strive, an office which in Oregon through a statewide direct dial is occupied in every four years. After her victory in the internal party primaries in May 2008, she also prevailed in November of that year against the Republican Rick Dance with 51 against 46% of the votes. She then took up the post of Minister of State in January 2009. In November 2012, Brown was re-elected with 51% to 43% of the vote, beating Republican Knute Buehler . In office she caused little attention; her style is described as approachable: she can listen and is able to work together across material differences.

Governor of Oregon

Governor Brown made a public appearance in April 2015

On February 13, 2015, Governor John Kitzhaber announced that he would step down from his post effective February 18. The background to this was that the governor, who had only been re-elected three months earlier, and his partner had been charged with corruption and the public prosecutor had initiated criminal proceedings. Most recently, democratic party friends had distanced themselves from their governor. Since Oregon is one of the five US states without a lieutenant governor , the state secretary takes over the governor's representation. Unlike in most states, Brown did not manage the rest of the (four-year) term in office, but only until the new election in November 2016 (the term ends in January 2017). A special election then took place parallel to the next presidential election. This election should then decide on the governor for the remaining two years of the current term of office. However, this did not affect the next ordinary gubernatorial election, which was scheduled to take place in November 2018. In late 2015, Brown announced her intention to run for election in November 2016. On November 8, 2016, Brown won the Oregon gubernatorial election for the end of the current term until January 2019. In the rotating gubernatorial election on November 6, 2018, she won again, this time for a full four-year term. There was another duel with Knute Buehler, whom she defeated in 2012 when she was elected Secretary of State.

Kate Brown was therefore sworn in as the new governor after Kitzhaber's resignation on February 18, 2015. She is the second woman in the highest office in the state. After taking office as governor, she also had the appointment of a new minister of state, as an immediate by-election is not legally provided for. This post was then temporarily filled with Robert Taylor .

It can rely on a democratic majority in both houses of the State Legislature .

A few days after taking office, Brown announced that she would continue to suspend the death penalty completely in Oregon. Her predecessor, John Kitzhaber, had already commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment in 2011. The new governor said she wanted to abolish the death penalty in the long term. She also wants to work for an increase in the minimum wage and for administrative transparency and easier access to administrative documents .

On March 16, 2015, she signed a new Oregon Suffrage Bill to automatically register voters using driver's license information. The bill was introduced into the legislature in 2013 and has been supported by Brown ever since. While a number of Republican politicians voiced privacy concerns , the Democrats cited the new legal framework as a trailblazer for making it easier to exercise the right to vote.

Private life

Kate Brown is married and has two adopted children with her husband Dan Little from a previous Littles relationship. She made her bisexuality public in 2008 as the first woman to hold a government position in a US state. LGBT activists hope that they will legally strengthen their civil rights, as they have declared that they want to focus more on this issue in their politics.

Web links

Commons : Kate Brown  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Kate Brown: Next Oregon governor described as tenacious, personable , The Oregonian, February 13, 2015 (English).
  2. ↑ Kate Brown 'ready' to replace John Kitzhaber as Oregon governor. The Oregonian, February 12, 2015
  3. ↑ Telegraph: People are celebrating women who made history on US Election night in response to Donald Trump win
  4. ^ New Oregon Governor Kate Brown to extend death penalty moratorium , Reuters, February 20, 2015.
  5. ↑ Shelby Sebens: New Oregon Governor Kate Brown to extend death penalty moratorium. In: Reuters .com , February 20, 2015.
  6. ↑ Kate Brown gets to sign her own bill, for automatic voter registration in Oregon , OregonLive, March 16, 2015 (English)
  7. ↑ Oregon Governor Signs Sweeping Automatic Voter Registration Into Law , Huffington Post, March 16, 2015 (English)
  8. ↑ Democrats sweep to capture statewide jobs , The Oregonian, November 5, 2008 (English); Political Notebook: Bisexual, lesbian politicians stump in SF , Bay Area Reporter, February 12, 2015
  9. ^ Kate Brown to make history as next Oregon governor. In: Fox News , February 14, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Brown, Kate
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brown, Katherine
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician (Democratic Party)
DATE OF BIRTH June 21, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Madrid , Spain