Chuck Riley Papers

Chuck Riley is a Democratic legislator who has represented Washington County, Oregon from the 2000s-2010s. He has served as the Representative for District 19 and as the State Senator for District 15. He has championed causes including government transparency, stabilizing funding for education, and improving sick time rules for workers.

Riley was born in Illinois in 1939. He attended classes at University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, and the Army Language School while serving in the United States Air Force. Riley worked for the Jet Propulsion Lab, First Interstate Bank, Blue Cross of Oregon, and ran his own computer consulting business. His wife, Kathleen ("Katie") Riley, was a professor at Oregon Health and Sciences University and was also involved in politics. Chuck's political career began in 2000 with a run for Hillsboro City Council. He ran against and lost to incumbent Karen McKinney. In 2001 Riley ran for the District 29 seat in the Oregon House of Representatives, narrowly losing to Mary Gallegos. In 2004 he ran against and defeated Gallegos. In 2006, Riley ran against and defeated challenger Republican Terry Rilling. In 2010, he decided to try for election to the Oregon State Senate. He won the Democratic primary, but lost in the general election to the incumbent, Bruce Starr. After a few years away from the legislature, he ran again against Starr in 2014 and won the election to represent Oregon's Senate District 15.

During his time in the House, Riley chaired the Government Accountability and Information Technology Committee and was also a member of the Consumer Protection, Legislative Commission on Indian Services, and the Workforce and Economic Development committees. In the State Senate, he chaired the General Government and Accountability and the Joint Legislative Information Management and Technology committees. He also served on the Business and Transportation, Finance and Revenue, Joint Audits and Joint Tax Credits committees.