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 Oregon Attorney General
Assumed office
June 29, 2012
GovernorJohn Kitzhaber
Kate Brown
Preceded byJohn Kroger
Personal details
Born (1951-01-06) January 6, 1951
Berkeley, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Richard 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

Attorney General John Kroger announced in October 2011 that he would not seek another term, and in January 2012, Rosenblum announced that she would run 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 without justification.[13]

Personal

Rosenblum is married to Richard Meeker, the publisher and co-owner of the Willamette Week newspaper in Portland until he was done in 2015.[14] The couple have two grown 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
  • List of female state attorneys-general in the United States

References
  1. "Ellen F. Rosenblum" (PDF). Oregon State Bar. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  2. "Noted legal scholar Victor Rosenblum dies at 80". Northwestern University. March 30, 2006. 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. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  5. "American Bar Association" (PDF). American Bar Association. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  6. "Ellen Rosenblum". Project Votesmart. 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. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  8. Manning, Jeff (May 15, 2012). "Ellen Rosenblum defeats Dwight Holton for attorney general". The Oregonian. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  9. Cole, Michelle (June 6, 2012). "Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber names Ellen Rosenblum as interim attorney general". The Oregonian. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  10. Barron-Lopez, Laura (June 29, 2012). "Ellen Rosenblum becomes Oregon's first woman attorney general". The Oregonian. 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. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  12. Atkins, Jeanne (November 2006). "November 8, 2016, General Election Abstract of Votes" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. State of Oregon. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  13. "Portland protests: Oregon sues over 'unlawful detentions'". bbc.co.uk. 19 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  14. "Election is coming". Willamette Week. April 25, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
Legal offices
Preceded by
John Kroger		 Attorney General of Oregon
2012–present		 Incumbent
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