Brent Barton

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Brent Barton
Barton (right) with staffer James Barta at his Salem office
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 40th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
2013
Preceded by Dave Hunt
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 51st district
In office
2009–2011
Preceded by Linda Flores
Succeeded by Patrick Sheehan
Personal details
Born (1980-03-11) March 11, 1980
Political party Democratic
Alma mater Stanford University
Harvard Law School
University of Cambridge
Profession Attorney

Brent Barton (born March 11, 1980) is a Democratic politician from the US state of Oregon. He was elected in 2008 to the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 51, which encompasses parts of Clackamas County and Multnomah County, and includes all or part of the cities of Boring, Clackamas, Damascus, Estacada, and Oregon City. In the 2010 election, Barton ran unsuccessfully for the Oregon State Senate, declining to run for reelection to his House seat. In 2012, he ran again for the House, this time defeating Republican Steve Newgard with 51% of the vote.[1]

Early life and career

Barton grew up in Oregon and attended Stanford University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science, and a master's degree in sociology in 2002 at Queens' College, Cambridge. His father, William A. Barton, has been considered one of the best lawyers in America in several areas of law,[2] and is known for representing a plaintiff in a high-profile case against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland.[3]

While at Stanford, Brent served as an aide for Oregon Congresswoman Darlene Hooley. He was also a White House intern in 2000 between his sophomore and junior years.[4] Barton went on to earn a JD from Harvard Law School, then returned to Oregon where he worked as a criminal prosecutor, volunteered as a high school teacher, and served on the board of directors of the Oregon Bus Project.[5][6][7] In 2007, he was hired to the litigation department of the Portland office of the Perkins Coie law firm.[8]

Political career

In 2008, Barton was unopposed for the Democratic nomination for House District 51 and faced incumbent Linda Flores in the general election. During the campaign Flores accused him of exaggeration regarding his time as criminal prosecutor while at Harvard Law.[9] Barton defeated Flores 52% to 48% in the November general election to win the seat.[10]

In the 2009 session, Barton served on the Judiciary and Consumer Protection committees, and as Vice-Chair of the Business and Labor Committee.[11]

In 2010, Barton ran for the Oregon State Senate seat in District 26 vacated by retiring Senator Rick Metsger, but lost to Republican candidate Chuck Thomsen 47% to 53%.[12]

Barton ran for a House seat again in 2012; he was again unopposed for the Democratic nomination for House District 40, and faced Republican Steve Newgard in the general election. In September 2012 Barton came out with two television advertisements. One advertisement shows Barton with Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts about his vote as a former legislator on House Bill 3508 - which redefined and was able to "grant changes in the terms of confinement for a range of prisoners, including those convicted of aggravated murder or murder." [13] Barton's other advertisement painted his opponent (Newgard) as a rich tax dodger along the same lines his previous campaigns attacked Linda Flores and Chuck Thomsen.[citation needed]

References

  1. ↑ http://gov.oregonlive.com/election/2012/Legislature/
  2. ↑ William Barton. Best Lawyers. Retrieved on May 1, 2007.
  3. ↑ Green, Ashbel. 85 plaintiffs seek federal trial against archdiocese. The Oregonian, April 18, 2006.
  4. ↑ Weiser, Carl (August 16, 2000). "Reporter's Notebook". Statesman Journal. pp. 2A. 
  5. ↑ "Brent Barton". Project VoteSmart. Retrieved 2008-11-12. 
  6. ↑ "Brent Barton". Archived from the original on 2008-06-23. Retrieved 2008-11-12. 
  7. ↑ http://busproject.org/about/people/
  8. ↑ Mitchner, Ted (February 19, 2007). "People Associations and Nonprofits". The Oregonian. 
  9. ↑ Har, Janie (October 26, 2008). "Blue tide could swamp GOP Enough seats are up for grabs to give Democrats a supermajority". The Oregonian. 
  10. ↑ "Oregon Legislature Results". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2008-11-12. 
  11. ↑ Legislative website
  12. ↑
  13. ↑

External links

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