Elizabeth Furse
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Furse is a small business owner and faculty member of Portland State University
. She was a member of the United States House of Representatives
from 1993 to 1999, representing Oregon's 1st congressional district
. She is a Democrat
, and was the first person born in Africa (Nairobi, Kenya) to win election to the United States Congress.
, Kenya
, to British parents
, and grew up in South Africa
. Inspired by her mother, she became an anti-apartheid activist in 1951, joining the first Black Sash
demonstration in Cape Town
, South Africa.
She moved to England in 1956, before eventually moving to the United States, settling in Los Angeles, California
. While in Los Angeles, she became involved in a women's self-help project in Watts
, and with Cesar Chavez
's United Farm Workers
movement, working to unionize grape farm workers. Moving to Seattle, Washington
, in 1968, she became involved in American Indian/Native American rights causes including fishing and treaty rights. She became a United States citizen in 1972. Two years later, she graduated from The Evergreen State College
.
In 1978, she finally settled in the Portland, Oregon
, area, where she attended Northwestern School of Law
. After dropping out of law school, she led the efforts of several Oregon-based American Indian/Native American tribes to win federal recognition, successfully lobbying the U.S. Congress to grant federal recognition to the Coquille, Klamath and Grand Ronde
tribes. In 1986, she co-founded the Portland-based Oregon Peace Institute, establishing a mission to develop and disseminate conflict resolution curriculum in Oregon schools.
, in a year where the number of women in the House grew from 29 to 48.
In 1994, Furse, called by one Northwest newspaper the "antithesis of Congress' traditional play-it-safe politicians", won reelection by 301 votes, defeating businessman Bill Witt during a year when the Republican Revolution
produced a 54-seat gain for her opponent's party. In Spring 1996, Furse and Congressman George Nethercutt
(R-WA) co-founded the Congressional Diabetes Caucus and authored legislation which passed in 1997 to improve coverage of diabetes education and supplies in the Medicare program. The Congressional Diabetes Caucus has since grown to be the largest health-related Caucus in Congress.
Later in 1996 Furse won 52% of the vote in a rematch with Witt. She declined to seek reelection in 1998, explaining that the job is "public service
and not a career."
(near Portland); the couple planted grapes in 1982, and started their winery in 1992. As of 2007 the vineyard is home to both pinot noir
and chardonnay
grapes, growing in soil made distinctive
by "pisolitic
structures that develop from weathering of the loess
".
Since retiring from Congress in 1999, she has served as Director of the Institute for Tribal Government at Portland State University
. Her continued involvement in Native American affairs has also brought her some attention during recent U.S. Senate campaigns for her high-profile endorsements of Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR
). In a 2006 interview, Furse said her support in 2002
was because they "had a lot in common on tribal issues" and cited Smith's repeated votes against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
, votes that defied pressure from Smith's fellow Republicans including Senator Stephens
[ sic
] ; she believes "you support those people who have stood up for issues that you care about" and that Smith is a "very moral person [who] if he doesn’t agree with you, he’ll tell you", something that Furse admires. Her continued support during the 2008 campaign
included praise for Smith as "one of the first to stand up to George Bush and other Republicans to end this war", a characterization challenged by Rep. Earl Blumenauer
(D-OR) among others.
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
. She was a member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from 1993 to 1999, representing Oregon's 1st congressional district
Oregon's 1st congressional district
Oregon's 1st congressional district consists of the northwest corner of Oregon. It includes Clatsop, Columbia, Washington, and Yamhill counties, and southwest Portland, part of Multnomah County, which belonged to the 3rd district before the 2002 redistricting....
. She is a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, and was the first person born in Africa (Nairobi, Kenya) to win election to the United States Congress.
Early years
Furse was born in NairobiNairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, to British parents
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
, and grew up in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Inspired by her mother, she became an anti-apartheid activist in 1951, joining the first Black Sash
Black Sash
The Black Sash was a non-violent white women's resistance organization founded in 1955 in South Africa by Jean Sinclair. The Black Sash initially campaigned against the removal of Coloured or mixed race voters from the voters' roll in the Cape Province by the National Party government...
demonstration in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa.
She moved to England in 1956, before eventually moving to the United States, settling in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. While in Los Angeles, she became involved in a women's self-help project in Watts
Watts, Los Angeles, California
Watts is a mostly residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California.-History:The area now known as Watts is located on the Rancho La Tajauta Mexican land grant...
, and with Cesar Chavez
César Chávez
César Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....
's United Farm Workers
United Farm Workers
The United Farm Workers of America is a labor union created from the merging of two groups, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee led by Filipino organizer Larry Itliong, and the National Farm Workers Association led by César Chávez...
movement, working to unionize grape farm workers. Moving to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, in 1968, she became involved in American Indian/Native American rights causes including fishing and treaty rights. She became a United States citizen in 1972. Two years later, she graduated from The Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College is an accredited public liberal arts college and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. It is located in Olympia, Washington, USA. Founded in 1967, Evergreen was formed to be an experimental and non-traditional college...
.
In 1978, she finally settled in the Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, area, where she attended Northwestern School of Law
Lewis & Clark Law School
Lewis and Clark Law School is a private American law school located in Portland, Oregon. In the last ten years, L&C's Environmental Law program has been the highest-rated in the United States eight times....
. After dropping out of law school, she led the efforts of several Oregon-based American Indian/Native American tribes to win federal recognition, successfully lobbying the U.S. Congress to grant federal recognition to the Coquille, Klamath and Grand Ronde
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon
The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon consists of twenty-seven Native American tribes with long historical ties to present-day Western Oregon between the western boundary of the Oregon Coast and the eastern boundary of the Cascade Range, and the northern boundary of...
tribes. In 1986, she co-founded the Portland-based Oregon Peace Institute, establishing a mission to develop and disseminate conflict resolution curriculum in Oregon schools.
U.S. House of Representatives
She was elected to Congress in 1992, defeating State Treasurer Tony MeekerTony Meeker
Tony Meeker is a politician in Oregon. He was appointed State Treasurer in 1987. Oregon Governor Neil Goldschmidt appointed him to fill the vacancy created when Bill Rutherford resigned from office. Meeker was elected to a full term in 1988...
, in a year where the number of women in the House grew from 29 to 48.
In 1994, Furse, called by one Northwest newspaper the "antithesis of Congress' traditional play-it-safe politicians", won reelection by 301 votes, defeating businessman Bill Witt during a year when the Republican Revolution
Republican Revolution
The Republican Revolution or Revolution of '94 is what the media dubbed Republican Party success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and a pickup of eight seats in the Senate...
produced a 54-seat gain for her opponent's party. In Spring 1996, Furse and Congressman George Nethercutt
George Nethercutt
George R. Nethercutt, Jr. is an American politician, and is the founder and chairman of The George Nethercutt Foundation. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2005, representing ....
(R-WA) co-founded the Congressional Diabetes Caucus and authored legislation which passed in 1997 to improve coverage of diabetes education and supplies in the Medicare program. The Congressional Diabetes Caucus has since grown to be the largest health-related Caucus in Congress.
Later in 1996 Furse won 52% of the vote in a rematch with Witt. She declined to seek reelection in 1998, explaining that the job is "public service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
and not a career."
Other activities
Furse and husband John C. Platt own Helvetia Vineyards in Helvetia, OregonHelvetia, Oregon
Helvetia is a small unincorporated community in Washington County, Oregon. It is located in the Tualatin Valley along U.S. Route 26 northwest of Portland. It was named by Swiss immigrants to Oregon in the 19th century. Notable features are the church, cemetery, the Rice Mineral Museum, Helvetia...
(near Portland); the couple planted grapes in 1982, and started their winery in 1992. As of 2007 the vineyard is home to both pinot noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
and chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
grapes, growing in soil made distinctive
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...
by "pisolitic
Pisolite
A pisolite is a sedimentary rock made of pisoids, which are concretionary grains - often of calcium carbonate, but sometimes of rarer minerals - which resemble ooids but are always more than 2 mm in diameter. These grains are approximately spherical and have concentric layers reaching...
structures that develop from weathering of the loess
Loess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
".
Since retiring from Congress in 1999, she has served as Director of the Institute for Tribal Government at Portland State University
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
. Her continued involvement in Native American affairs has also brought her some attention during recent U.S. Senate campaigns for her high-profile endorsements of Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR
Oregon Republican Party
The Oregon Republican Party is the state affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Oregon, headquartered in Lake Oswego. The first state party convention was held in Salem on April 21, 1859, and its first nominee for Congress, Portland attorney David Logan...
). In a 2006 interview, Furse said her support in 2002
United States Senate elections, 2002
The 2002 United States Senate election featured a series of fiercely contested elections that resulted in a victory for the Republican Party, which gained two seats and thus a narrow majority from the Democratic Party in the United States Senate. Senators who were elected in 1996, known as Senate...
was because they "had a lot in common on tribal issues" and cited Smith's repeated votes against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Arctic Refuge drilling controversy
The question of whether to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve has been an ongoing political controversy in the United States since 1997...
, votes that defied pressure from Smith's fellow Republicans including Senator Stephens
Ted Stevens
Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
United States Senate elections, 2008
Elections for the United States Senate were held on November 4, 2008, with 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested. Thirty-three seats were regular elections; the winners were eligible to serve six-year terms from January 3, 2009, to January 3, 2015, as members of Senate Class II...
included praise for Smith as "one of the first to stand up to George Bush and other Republicans to end this war", a characterization challenged by Rep. Earl Blumenauer
Earl Blumenauer
Earl Blumenauer is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1996. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes most of Portland east of the Willamette River. A native of Portland, he previously spent over 20 years as a public official representing the city.-Early...
(D-OR) among others.