{{short description|American politician}} {{for|the American bookbinder|Charles Starr (bookbinder)}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Charles Starr | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_size = | office = Member of the Oregon State Senate | district = | term_start = 1999 | term_end = 2007 | preceded = Jeannette Hamby | succeeded = Larry George | office2 = Member of the Oregon House of Representatives | term_start2 = 1993 | term_end2 = 1999 | predecessor2 = Randy Miller | successor2 = Bruce Starr | birth_date = circa {{birth year and age|1933}} <!-- {{birth based on age as of date|mos=1|73|2006|04|22}} Peter Wong of the Statesman Journal --> | birth_place = Texas | death_date = March 10th,2026 | death_place = Oregon | spouse = Kathy Starr | party = Republican | relations = | children = Bruce Starr | alma_mater = University of Idaho | occupation = Farmer, contractor | signature = | website = }} '''Charles Starr''' (born c. 1933) is an American politician and farmer in Oregon. He served as a Republican member of the Oregon Legislature for 14 years, serving in both houses. A native of Texas, Starr served in the Oregon State Senate with his son Bruce Starr, the first time in Oregon's history a father and son served in the Senate together.
==Early life== Charles Starr was born around 1933 and raised in the central part of Texas.<ref name=first>Bodine, Harry. House race in new District 3 wide open. ''The Oregonian'', October 14, 1992.</ref> The son of an oil driller, he attended 19 different schools between first grade and sixth grade.<ref name=first/> Starr married Kathy and they would have four children, all boys; Bryan, West, Alan, and Bruce.<ref name=Charles>Charles Starr. ''Statesman Journal'', April 22, 2006.</ref><ref name=family>Wong, Peter. Family's politics written in the Starrs. ''Statesman Journal'', March 1, 2003.</ref> Charles earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture in 1955 from the University of Idaho and then worked for a year as an agricultural teacher.<ref name=Charles/> He would serve in the United States Army from 1956 to 1958.<ref name=Charles/> He earned a master's degree from the University of California, Davis in 1960 in agribusiness management.<ref name=Charles/>
Starr moved to Oregon in 1962 and began working at Farmers Oil Cooperative in McMinnville, followed by a job at Pacific Farmers Cooperative in Hillsboro.<ref name=Charles/><ref name=family/> He left Pacific in 1969 and spent ten years working for Flavorland Foods before becoming a general contractor in 1979.<ref name=Charles/> Living in Hillsboro, he remained a contractor and also farmed until retirement in 2002.<ref name=Charles/> He had operated Starr Boys Garden Center.<ref name=first/>
==Political career== Starr started his political career serving on the school board of Groner Elementary School south of Hillsboro, and now part of the Hillsboro School District.<ref name=first/> He then joined the Hillsboro Union High School Board, spending a total of 12 years on the two boards.<ref name=first/> He made an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the Washington County Board of Commissioners in 1986.<ref name=Charles/> A conservative Christian politician,<ref name=wu2000>Hogan, Dave. Oregon incumbents hold on to House seats. ''The Oregonian'', November 8, 2000.</ref> Starr was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives as a Republican representing Hillsboro and Washington County in 1992.<ref>[https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/Pages/records/legislators_guide.aspx Oregon Legislative Assembly (67th) 1993 Regular Session.] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on April 6, 2008.</ref> Entering state politics at age 59, he defeated Democrat Pat Kliewer to represent the area surrounding most of Hillsboro, Forest Grove, and Cornelius.<ref name=first/>
He was re-elected to the same seat in 1994<ref>[https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/Pages/records/legislators_guide.aspx Oregon Legislative Assembly (68th) 1995 Regular Session.] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on April 6, 2008.</ref> and 1996.<ref>[https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/Pages/records/legislators_guide.aspx Oregon Legislative Assembly (69th) 1997 Regular Session.] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on April 6, 2008.</ref> Both times he defeated Democrat Marcus Simantel in the November elections.<ref>Colby, Richard. Simantel trading life as a farmer for urban condo. ''The Oregonian'', August 27, 1998.</ref> Son Bruce served as his legislative assistant during these terms.<ref name=family/>
After three terms in the House, he was elected to the State Senate in 1998, while his son Bruce Starr was elected to his former House seat.<ref>[https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/Pages/records/legislators_guide.aspx Oregon Legislative Assembly (70th) 1999 Regular Session.] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on April 6, 2008.</ref> Starr was prohibited at the time by Oregon's term limits from another term in the House, pushing towards a run at the state senate.<ref>Colby, Richard. GOP opponents for Senate seat hold differing views. ''The Oregonian'', April 24, 1998.</ref> A pro-life advocate, he had defeated incumbent and pro-choice Republican state senator Jeannette Hamby in the Republican primary.<ref>Young, Bob. [http://wweek.com/html/abortionpresent.html Beyond Roe vs. Wade: The present-chipping at choice.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080331135845/http://wweek.com/html/abortionpresent.html |date=2008-03-31 }} ''Willamette Week'', January 21, 1998. Retrieved on April 7, 2008.</ref> In 1999, he helped to pass Oregon's charter school bill.<ref name=father>Stern, Henry. Father and son aim at Senate. ''The Oregonian'', October 9, 2001.</ref>
In the legislature he was a proponent of home schooling and charter schools, while opposing same-sex unions.<ref name=loss3/> Starr ran for Oregon's 1st Congressional District in 2000, defeating Alice Schlenker in the May primary with 62% of the vote compared to 38%.<ref>Hamilton, Don. GOP's Starr wins, heads to battle Wu. ''The Oregonian'', May 17, 2000.</ref><ref>2000 Primary results – State. ''Statesman Journal'', May 18, 2000.</ref> He lost to incumbent Democrat David Wu in the November general election.<ref>Gunderson, Laura. GOP targets 1st district seat. ''The Oregonian'', November 17, 2003.</ref> He had received support in his bid from Oregon business interests including Intel due to Wu's vote against free trade with China.<ref name=wu2000/>
In 2002, the Oregon Supreme Court stuck down Oregon's 1992 law imposing term limits for state legislators.<ref>Green, Ashbel S. and Lisa Grace Lednicer. State high court strikes term limits. ''The Oregonian'', January 17, 2002.</ref> Prior to the ruling, Starr would not have been able to run for re-election to the state senate as he had served 10 years in the legislature, and the law limited people to 12 years maximum.<ref>Stern, Henry. Term limits ruling opens new choices. ''The Oregonian'', January 17, 2002.</ref> He had been a proponent of term limits.<ref name=father/> In 2002, he was re-elected to a second four-year term in the Senate where son Bruce was also elected to serve.<ref name=senate03>[https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/Pages/records/legislators_guide.aspx Oregon Legislative Assembly (72nd) 2003 Regular Session.] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on April 6, 2008.</ref> Charles' district now included parts of Marion, Clackamas, Yamhill, and Washington counties.<ref name=senate03/>
Charles and Bruce were the first father-son tandem to serve at the same time in the history of the Oregon State Senate.<ref name=loss>Wong, Peter. House's potential new speaker shares plans. ''Statesman Journal'', November 9, 2006.</ref><ref>Richards, Don. [https://wyoleg.gov/LsoResearch/2007/07RM021.pdf Research Memo: March 20, 2007.] Wyoming Legislative Service Office. Retrieved on April 8, 2008.</ref> In 2003, Charles Starr created some controversy when he told a constituent in a letter to "run - not walk - to remove their children from public schools" in response to the constituent's opposition to charter schools.<ref name=birds>Goetze, Janet. Flamingo fuss. ''The Oregonian'', June 10, 2003.</ref> At the time, Starr was chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and in June 2003 his lawn was filled with plastic pink flamingos paid for by a fundraising campaign at a local elementary school.<ref name=birds/> Democrats called for Starr to be replaced as chairman of the education committee.<ref>Party chief wants Starr replaced. ''Statesman Journal'', March 8, 2003.</ref> During the 2005 legislative session he served as vice chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, and as vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the Senate.<ref>Local assignments. ''Statesman Journal'', December 18, 2004.</ref>
In the May 2006 Republican primary, Charles lost to Larry George who would then win the general election in November, and joined his own father in the Senate.<ref name=loss/><ref name=loss1>Wong, Peter. George ousts veteran Starr in close vote. ''Statesman Journal'', May 18, 2006.</ref> The loss was attributed in part to Starr's voting record that included raising taxes, with an anti-tax group contributing $50,000 to his opponent during the election.<ref name=loss3>Har, Janie. Anti-tax group helps to give the boot. ''The Oregonian'', May 22, 2006.</ref> With the loss in the primary, Charles' time in the Oregon Legislative Assembly ended after 14 years.<ref name=loss/><ref name=loss1/>
==Later years== After leaving the legislature Starr began working as a lobbyist at the state capitol in 2007.<ref>Hogan, Dave. Bill says to lawmakers: Not so fast on lobbying. ''The Oregonian'', March 7, 2007.</ref> He publicly opposed a bill that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation that same year.<ref>Law, Steve. Panel OKs sexual-orientation protections. ''Statesman Journal'', March 13, 2007.</ref> He also came out against dual-language immersion programs over concerns that teachers were not properly trained and students would not be able to learn to read at an early age.<ref>Guerrero-Huston, Thelma. Walker's sixth-graders have twice as much to talk about. ''Statesman Journal'', December 5, 2007.</ref>
==See also== *Gary George (Oregon politician)
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Charles}} Category:1933 births Category:Living people Category:Republican Party Oregon state senators Category:Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Category:21st-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly Category:University of Idaho alumni Category:University of California, Davis alumni Category:People from Texas Category:Politicians from Hillsboro, Oregon Category:School board members in Oregon Category:Farmers from Oregon Category:20th-century Oregon politicians