Mike Erickson

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Mike Erickson
Born January 27, 1963 (1963-01-27) (age 45)
Seattle, Washington
Occupation Founder, AFMS Logistics Management Group
Political party Republican

Mike Erickson (born January 27, 1963[1]) is a businessman and the Republican nominee for the United States House of Representatives in Oregon's 5th congressional district in 2008. The district's current representative, Democrat Darlene Hooley, has announced that she will not be seeking reelection.[2]

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[edit] Life and career

The son of a police officer, Erickson attended Portland State University where he was a placekicker and punter on Portland State's football team, and still holds the record for career field goals made with 32.[3] Erickson earned a business degree from Portland State in 1987.[4]

After Portland State, he started AFMS Logistics Management Group, which helps companies negotiate competitive shipping contracts. The company made Inc.'s list of the 5000 fastest-growing companies in the United States twice: in 2004, it was number 319 and in 2005, it was number 350.[5][6]

[edit] Political career

In 1988, Erickson was the Republican candidate for the Oregon House of Representatives seat representing Tigard, but lost to Democrat Tom Brian.[7] In 1992, Erickson again ran for a different Oregon House seat in Southeast Portland, losing to incumbent Kate Brown.[8]

In 2006, Erickson ran for the United States House of Representatives against incumbent Darlene Hooley, but was defeated.

In 2008, he again sought the Republican nomination for the seat against former gubernatorial candidate Kevin Mannix. In the closing weeks of the campaign, Mannix mailed 60,000 of his supporters copies of an email that alleged that in 2000, Erickson, who is pro-life,[9] drove his pregnant girlfriend to an Portland abortion clinic and paid for her to have an abortion.[10] The author of the email, a friend of the pregnant woman, originally sent the email in 2006 during Erickson's first congressional campaign, but had declined to give on-the-record interviews at that time. In 2008, both women were interviewed by the Portland Tribune about the incident.[11] Erickson denied the charges, stating that he drove a former girlfriend named Tawnya to a doctor's appointment and gave her $300, but did not know she was pregnant or had an abortion.[12] Erickson defeated Mannix in the primary, and Mannix refused to endorse him in the general election.[13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ U.S. House, Oregon District 5. Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-05-09.
  2. ^ Democratic Rep. Darlene Hooley Won't Seek Re-Election. FOXnews.com (02-07-2008).
  3. ^ Viking Football Wraps Up 7-4 Season. GoViks.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
  4. ^ About Mike. EricksonForCongress.org. Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
  5. ^ AFMS. Inc. Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
  6. ^ AFMS. Inc. Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
  7. ^ Ota, Alan K. "Battle rages for House", The Oregonian, 1988-11-09. 
  8. ^ "Multnomah Co.", The Oregonian, 1992-11-05. 
  9. ^ Mike's GOP Credentials. EricksonForCongress.org. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
  10. ^ Kraushaar, Josh (2008-05-14). Oregon GOP Primary Gets Personal. cbsnews.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
  11. ^ Law, Steve. "Woman says Erickson paid for abortion", Portland Tribune, 2008-05-12. Retrieved on 2008-05-15. 
  12. ^ Mayes, Steve. "Erickson answers Mannix's accusation", The Oregonian, 2008-05-16. Retrieved on 2008-06-10. 
  13. ^ Kraushaar, Josh (2008-05-21). Mannix refuses to endorse Erickson. CBSNews.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.

[edit] External links