Senator
Chris Telfer
R-Bend
District 27
Biography
Chris Telfer (1950- )
Chris Telfer, the daughter of a career Marine Colonel, descends from a long line of elected officials and political activists, and continues her family legacy as a public servant today.
Telfer was born on January 2, 1950, in Philadelphia, PA. She spent her childhood living in various East Coast cities on numerous military bases with her parents, James and Marie Horn, and four brothers, James, Geoff, William and John. She attended the University of Denver in Denver, CO, where she received undergraduate degrees in Hotel and Restaurant Business Administration and Accounting. In Denver, she met her husband, Terry. They married in 1971 and had two daughters, Tiffany and Merrideth. The couple spent several years working in the hotel and restaurant industry in Columbus and Cincinnati, OH and Lexington, KY. Then in 1974, the family moved to a farm in Princeton, NJ. But the West beckoned, and Telfer and her family left New Jersey to pursue opportunities in the small city of Bend, OR. With a population of just 14,000 and a declining mill-working industry, Bend’s economy was anything but thriving. Telfer decided to pursue a career in Accounting and attended the University of Oregon for post-graduate courses, enduring the two-hour commute from Bend to Eugene twice a week for nearly two years. She worked as an Accountant for a small firm in Bend and taught Accounting courses at the Central Oregon Community College. Then in 1984, she earned her certification as a public accountant and started her own firm.
Telfer had political aspirations early on, and was not discouraged after losing the race for Deschutes County Commissioner in 1980, to Abe Young. At the age of just 30, and as a newcomer to Central Oregon, Telfer ran a tough campaign against Young. However, after her first and only political defeat, Telfer focused her efforts on her career as a CPA, and on raising her two daughters, after divorcing her husband in 1984.
The success Telfer accomplished as a CPA enabled her gain financial expertise and community recognition critical in launching her political career. She served as Chair of the Bend/La Pine Public Schools Budget Committee and the Bend Development Board, prior to being elected to the Bend City Council in 2002. Telfer served on the Bend City Council from 2003-2008, earning the reputation as the “Voice of Reason” as the often-lone vote on important issues where her financial background was critical. The Bend community embraced Telfer’s voice by re-electing her again in 2005.
By 2006, Chris Telfer was firmly established as a respectable business owner, community leader, savvy entrepreneur, political advocate and philanthropist. She sold her original CPA practice in 2005, to focus on financial consulting to non-profit businesses and organizations. Telfer has served, and continues to serve, on several dozen non-profit Boards of Directors, where her expertise, leadership and community roots are essential.
Telfer’s decision to run for the Oregon State Senate, representing most of Deschutes County, came to no surprise to members of her community. She was encouraged and supported by family, friends, fellow-community leaders, fellow members of the Oregon State Legislature and other members of the community. In January of 2009, Chris Telfer was inaugurated and currently serves on the Oregon State Senate and several Senate Committees. She continues to work diligently in her CPA Practice in Bend, Anser, and in her spare time enjoys golf, guitar, spending time with friends and family and is an avid sports enthusiast.
|
