Gail Shibley Explained

Gail Shibley
State House:Oregon
District:12th
Term Start:1991
Term End:1997
Predecessor:Phil Keisling
Successor:Chris Beck
Constituency:portions of Portland and Multnomah County
Party:Democratic
Spouse:Tiffany Harris

Gail R. Shibley (born c. 1958)[1] is an American politician who was the first openly gay person to serve in the Oregon State Legislature.[2] [1]

She was appointed to the Oregon House of Representatives in January 1991, to fill a vacancy caused by Phil Keislings resignation to serve as Oregon Secretary of State.[3] She was elected to the seat in 1992 and re-elected in 1994. In 1996, she did not run for re-election, but instead ran for an for an open seat on the City Council of Portland. She was narrowly defeated by Jim Francesconi.[2] Shibley subsequently moved to Germany, where she was an international liaison for the Saxony parliament, and then Washington, D.C., where she worked for the Federal Highway Administration, and was a senior advisor to the United States Secretary of Labor.[4]

She subsequently returned to Oregon, working on Ted Kulongoski's campaign for Governor of Oregon in the 2002 gubernatorial election. She later served as the administrator of the Office of Environmental Public Health within the Oregon Health Authority. In December 2012, newly elected Portland Mayor Charlie Hales announced that Shibley would serve as his chief of staff when he assumed office in January 2013.[5] She was described as having a "peer-to-peer" relationship with Hales, coming in as experienced chief of staff in recent times.

Early life and education

Shibley was born in North Bend and raised in Albany, Oregon.[2] She attended the University of Oregon and Lewis & Clark Law School.[2]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Jaquiss. Nigel. Nigel Jaquiss. The Candidate: Gail Shibley. November 10, 2004. Willamette Week. January 1, 2013.
  2. News: Kost. Ryan. Gail Shibley returns to Portland City Hall as most experienced chief of staff in recent history. The Oregonian. April 20, 2013. June 7, 2013.
  3. Web site: State Government Legislators and Staff, 1991 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives. January 1, 2013.
  4. News: Gail Shibley returns to Portland City Hall as most experienced chief of staff in recent history . April 20, 2013 . The Oregonian. Ryan . Kost .
  5. News: Stevens. Suzanne. Charlie Hales taps Gail Shibley as chief of staff. December 3, 2012. Portland Business Journal. January 1, 2013.