John Kitzhaber

John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician and physician who served as governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2011 to 2015.

Kitzhaber was born on March 5, 1947, in Colfax, Washington, to Annabel Reed (née Wetzel) and Albert Raymond Kitzhaber.

He graduated from South Eugene High School in 1965, Dartmouth College in 1969, and Oregon Health & Science University with a medical degree in 1973.

Kitzhaber practiced medicine from 1973 to 1986 in Roseburg, Oregon, as an emergency physician.

A physician in Roseburg, Kitzhaber was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1978.

Kitzhaber began his political career in 1978 when he won election to the Oregon House of Representatives, where he served for one term.

After one term, he won an Oregon Senate seat in 1980, serving three terms, until 1993.

In 1980, he was elected to the Oregon State Senate, where he served three terms from 1981 to 1993 and was the president of the Senate from 1985 to 1993.

As Oregon Senate President, he was the chief author of the state's government-funded health care plan, the Oregon Health Plan.

He was Senate President from 1985 to 1993.

Sizemore had founded Oregon Taxpayers United, a political action committee that lobbied against tax increases and promoted ballot measures limiting the use of union dues in political campaigns, in 1993.

During the general election, The Oregonian newspaper reported Sizemore's controversial business practices in his personal life, as well as in the operation of his political action committees and non-profit educational foundation.

Kitzhaber won 64% of the vote to 30% for Sizemore.

Kitzhaber won 35 of 36 counties in Oregon, with only rural Malheur County on the Idaho border going for Sizemore

In his second term, Kitzhaber developed policy initiatives related to natural resources during his two terms as governor, including The Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds aimed at restoring dwindling runs of threatened salmon species to Oregon's rivers and streams.

The plan was a collaborative effort that encouraged federal, state and local government agencies to work with private landowners to restore watershed health and recover threatened salmon runs.

Kitzhaber also took a high profile and controversial stand in favor of breaching several Northwest dams to help restore salmon populations.

Managing growth, particularly in the Willamette Valley, was a priority of Kitzhaber and he was a staunch supporter of Oregon's comprehensive land use system.

He opposed attempts to weaken protection of farmland and enforcement of urban growth boundaries.

Kitzhaber also created the Governor's Growth Task Force and the Willamette Valley Livability Forum to help gather accurate information and outline integrated approaches for developing sustainable communities.

His related Community Solutions program attempted to focus the efforts of numerous state agencies, other governments and interested groups in collaborative problem solving and coordination to manage various community development projects across Oregon.

In 1994, he was elected governor of Oregon, defeating his Republican opponent Denny Smith.

In 1994, Kitzhaber won the Democratic nomination for governor when the sitting governor, Barbara Roberts (also a Democrat), withdrew from the race in January of that year.

Roberts opted against a second term after voters refused to pass a sales tax to fund the Oregon Health Plan and she was forced to break her campaign promise not to cut spending.

Kitzhaber won the general election in November 1994 with 51% of the vote.

The Republican candidate, former Rep. Denny Smith, won 42%.

He was sworn into office on January 9, 1995.

During his first term, Kitzhaber introduced the Oregon Children's Plan, which was designed to identify and assist at-risk children and their families.

Despite being personally opposed to the death penalty, Kitzhaber allowed two executions to be carried out in his first term: Douglas Franklin Wright in 1996 and Harry Charles Moore in 1997.

He was reelected by a wide margin in 1998 and left office in January 2003.

Republican anti-tax activist Bill Sizemore challenged Kitzhaber in 1998.

In 2010, Kitzhaber ran for governor again and narrowly defeated his Republican opponent Chris Dudley.

In a statement in 2011, Kitzhaber said "They were the most agonizing and difficult decisions I have made as Governor... I have regretted those choices ever since."

He was reelected in 2014, to become Oregon's longest serving governor.

In February 2015, shortly after beginning his fourth term, Kitzhaber resigned from office and was replaced by Secretary of State Kate Brown.

A member of the Democratic Party, Kitzhaber was the longest-serving governor in the state's history.

Kitzhaber resigned from office only a month into his fourth term on February 18, 2015, as state and federal authorities were investigating criminal allegations against him and his fiancée Cylvia Hayes.

In 2017, the federal government dropped its investigation against Kitzhaber without filing charges.

The Oregon ethics commission found 10 instances when Kitzhaber used his political office for personal gain.

He agreed to pay a settlement fine of $20,000.