STATE OF THE LEGISLATURE
On August 20, 2009 the City Club of Central Oregon with the generous sponsorship of Pacific Power will welcome Oregon State Senators Ted Ferrioli and Chris Telfer and House Representative Judy Stiegler for an informative forum about the 2009 legislative session and its potential impacts in Central Oregon. The topics of Transportation, Education, Employment and the "Back to Basics" Budget will be discussed among other issues.
The Forum will allow for each panelist to share their viewpoint about two specific issues they feel are most important to Oregon and to the Central Oregon region. Following their comments, ample time will be provided for questions and answers about topics of interest to the Forum attendees.
Pre-registration is required by August 17, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. The cost to members is $13.00 for lunch. Nonmembers pay $25.00 for lunch and program.
The Forum will begin at 11:30 and conclude at 1:00 p.m. City Club Forums are conducted at St. Charles Center for Health and Learning, 2500 NE Neff Road in Bend.
Registration for this Forum may be done in the following ways: THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE HAS PASSED - PLEASE PHONE THE CITY CLUB TO INQUIRE ABOUT SPACE AVAILABILITY.
1) Pay online with your credit card (Visa or Mastercard)
2) Use the "Contact Us" link to indicate your attendance and pay at the door (cash or check is accepted at the door.)
3) Call the City Club 541-633-7163 to rsvp with the names of those who will attend and pay at the door (cash or check is accepted at the door.)
Speaker information accessed from individual's state sites.
Links included.
Ted Ferrioli, State Senator (R) - represents Senate District 30, which encompasses Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Malheur, Sherman, Wasco, Wheeler, and portions of Clackamas, Deschutes and Marion counties comprising more than 34,000 square miles.
Ferrioli was born in Spokane, Washington in 1951. In 1959, Ferrioli moved with his family to Portland, Oregon. He graduated from U.S. Grant High School with honors in 1969. From 1969 to 1973, Ferrioli attended University of Oregon, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. While at the University of Oregon, Ferrioli served as the Editor of Northwest Review Magazine, and worked at The Springfield News.
Throughout his career, Ferrioli has been actively involved in public service. His first elected position was on the Creswell City Council where he served as the Chair of the budget and police committees. He also served on the Lane County Economic Improvement Commission, the Community Substance Abuse Consortium and as President of Lane County Chamber of Commerce.
In 1994 Ferrioli moved to John Day, Oregon to become Executive Director of Malheur Timber Operators, Inc., and in 1996 he was elected to the Oregon State Senate.
In addition to serving as Chair or Vice Chair on dozens of Legislative Committees during his long tenure in the Oregon State Senate, Ferrioli was also elected by his peers as Senate President Pro Tempore, and currently serves as Senate Republican Caucus Leader. Today, he is the most senior member of the Senate.
In 2004 and again in 2008, Senator Ferrioli was nominated by both the Democratic and Republican parties and was elected with nearly 99% of the votes cast.
Senator Ferrioli lives in the town of John Day with his wife Mary and spends all his spare time on their ranch near Mt. Vernon, Oregon.
Judy Stiegler, State Representative (D) - District 54.....
has lived in Bend for more than 30 years, where her husband, Mike Dugan, and she raised two children, Dan and Molly, and their niece, Beth. They are the proud grandparents of three grandchildren Joel, Samir and Aurora.
Judy graduated with a law degree from Lewis and Clark and has been a member of the Oregon State Bar Association since 1979. She proudly remembers being the first woman to practice law in Redmond, many years ago. Her private practice emphasized criminal, family and juvenile law.
In the ensuing years, she was involved in programs and committees that focused on the most vulnerable members of our community. Her commitment to schools is well known and her assignments have included a seat on the Bend La Pine School Board, President of the National Association of State Boards of Education and Chair in 1996-1997 of the Oregon State Board of Education.
More recently, she was involved as Program Director for the Deschutes County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and CASA of Central Oregon, a program in which volunteers advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children in the court system. Her involvement with CASA led to her appointment as Chair of the Child Welfare Advisory Committee to the Department of Human Services.
Chris Telfer, State Senator (R) - District 27........
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 4 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, 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 2-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 wasn’t discouraged after losing the race for Deschutes County Commissioner in 1980 to Abe Young. At the age of just 30 and a new-comer 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 from 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/LaPine 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, saavy entrepreneur, political advocate, and philanthropist. She sold her 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.