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Kim Thatcher for State Senate
(Keizer) “It’s time for me to move to the next level and run for the Oregon Senate,” said State Representative Kim Thatcher [2] (R-Keizer, Newberg, St. Paul) today as she announced her candidacy for Senate District 13 [3] covering Thatcher’s current House District 25 [4] as well as House District 26 [5] which includes Wilsonville, Sherwood, King City, Bull Mountain, as well as parts of Hillsboro and Tigard.
“I’ve been honored to serve in the Oregon House of Representatives over the past 10 years and work closely [6] with Senator Larry George on a number of important issues,” explained Thatcher. “Senator George’s skills and leadership will be missed. I will do my best to go forward in some of the key areas the Senator and I have worked on and look for new opportunities to help the citizens of our great state.”
The hallmarks of Representative Thatcher’s legislative accomplishments include creating the Oregon Transparency Website [7] (www.oregon.gov/transparency [8]), assisting small businesses [9], enhancing government accountability [10], combating drunk driving [11], protecting the rights of gun owners [12] and pushing for sensible immigration reform.
Representative Thatcher currently serves on the Joint Committee on Legislative Audits, Information Management and Technology [13], House Committee On Consumer Protection and Government Efficiency, [14]the House Committee on Rural Communities [15], the House Small Business Taskforce [16], the
Transparency Oregon Advisory Commission [17], and the E-Government Portal Advisory Board [18].
As the owner of two small businesses — one for highway contracting, the other provides equipment sales and rentals — Representative Thatcher understands how the policies enacted at the state level can often lead to negative impacts on Oregon’s economy. She is a member of the chambers of commerce in Keizer and Newberg, volunteers for her church, and gets involved in many other community activities. Representative Thatcher has four children and has been married to her husband Karl for nearly 30 years, and is an instrument rated pilot.