Representative Dave Hunt
D-Clackamas County
District 40
Biography
State Representative Dave Hunt is serving his fifth term in the Oregon House of Representatives serving Oregon’s House District 40 in rural Clackamas County.
During his term as Speaker, Hunt led passage of a series of bills that invested in Oregon’s future, including health care coverage for all 80,000 uninsured Oregon children (HB 2116, 2009) and the largest transportation package in the history of the state (Oregon Jobs and Transportation Act, HB 2001, 2009). He also passed legislation in both 2009 and 2010 to allow for greater religious freedom in the workplace, including repeal of a 1923 KKK-inspired law that disallowed teachers from wearing religious garb in the classroom.
Rep. Hunt’s reputation is one of a pragmatic problem-solver who works across party lines to get things done. He has authored legislation to:
- Reform Oregon’s unfair double majority election law,
- Give low-income kids and seniors access to farmers markets and summer lunches,
- Cut unemployment taxes for businesses while extending benefits for workers,
- Increase State Trooper coverage on Oregon highways,
- Protect unincorporated areas from forced annexation,
- Improve benefits for veterans and soldiers,
- Expand children’s health insurance and care,
- Fund capital construction for K-12 schools, colleges, and universities,
- Strengthen Oregon’s transportation infrastructure.
A Northwest native, Rep. Hunt attended Sheldon High School in Eugene and Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in Political Science and American Government.
Since 2001 Rep. Hunt has been employed as Executive Director of the Columbia River Channel Coalition and the Association of Pacific Ports, working to enhance trade and job opportunities.
First elected to the House in 2002, Rep. Hunt was elected by his Democratic colleagues as Majority Leader in 2006. In 2009, he was elected Speaker of the House. In the 2011 session, Hunt was again chosen by his colleagues to be Democratic House Leader.
Rep. Hunt served a two-year term as the youngest-ever national President of American Baptist Churches USA, which represents 5,500 churches and 1.5 million members. He has also been involved with the Oregon City Rotary Club, Clackamas County Committee on Citizen Involvement, Jennings Lodge Community Planning Organization, Friends of Jennings Lodge and Candy Lane Schools Foundation, and both the North Clackamas and Oregon City Chambers of Commerce
Rep. Hunt, 43, and his wife Tonia, who serves as Executive Director of a non-profit organization based in Clackamas County, have been married for 18 years and have two children: Andrew, age 15, and Emily, age 11.
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