1. Elizabeth Katharine "Betsy" Johnson was born on January 12,1951 and is an American aviator, entrepreneur, and politician who served in the Oregon House of Representatives from the 1st and 31st House districts from 2001 to 2005, and in the Oregon Senate from the 16th district from 2005 to 2021, as a member of the Democratic Party.
Betsy Johnson was raised in Redmond, Oregon, and educated at Oregon Episcopal School, Carleton College, and Lewis and Clark College.
Betsy Johnson operated a helicopter business and participated in international helicopter competitions.
Betsy Johnson was active in local politics in Columbia County, Oregon, where she served on the boards of multiple groups and she was elected to the Port of St Helens board in a 1993 special election.
Betsy Johnson was the manager of aeronautics in the Oregon Department of Transportation from 1993 to 1998.
Betsy Johnson was elected to the state house in the 2000 election and reelected in the 2002 and 2004 elections.
Betsy Johnson was appointed to replace Joan Dukes in the state senate in 2005, and was reelected in the 2006,2010,2014, and 2018 elections.
Betsy Johnson was a moderate and conservative member of the Democratic caucus and held a controlling swing vote.
Betsy Johnson resigned from the state senate in 2021, to run in the 2022 gubernatorial election as an independent candidate, losing to Tina Kotek.
Betsy Johnson was raised in Redmond, Oregon, and graduated from Oregon Episcopal School in 1969.
Betsy Johnson graduated from Carleton College with a bachelor's degree in history in 1974, and from Lewis and Clark College with a Juris Doctor in 1977.
Betsy Johnson represented the United States at a helicopter competition in Vitebsk, Soviet Union, in 1978.
Betsy Johnson created Trans-Western Helicopters in 1978, and it merged into Hillsboro Helicopters in 1993.
Betsy Johnson served as president of the Columbia County Economic Development Council, and was on the boards of the Columbia County Health District, St Helens Chamber of Commerce, and United Way of Columbia County.
Betsy Johnson was appointed to the board of the Oregon Tourism Alliance in 1989.
Betsy Johnson replaced Betty Roberts as the chair of the Tom McCall lectureship committee at Oregon State University in 1992.
Betsy Johnson was the director of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Portland Branch for six years.
Betsy Johnson defeated four other candidates in the 1993 special election and won without opposition in the 1997 election.
Betsy Johnson replaced Eric Dahlgren as chair of the board in 1999.
Betsy Johnson was appointed as the Manager of Aeronautics in the Oregon Department of Transportation in 1993, and served until her resignation on September 7,1998.
Betsy Johnson faced no opposition in the Democratic primary and won the Republican primary as a write-in candidate and defeated Constitution nominee Bob Ekstrom, the chair of the party, and Libertarian nominee Don McDaniel.
Betsy Johnson won the Democratic and Republican nominations and was elected from the 31st district in the 2002 election against Constitution nominee Ekstrom and independent candidate Mervin Arnold.
Betsy Johnson won the Democratic and Republican nominations and defeated Constitution nominee Ron Ross in the 2004 election.
Betsy Johnson was appointed to a shared seat on the Oregon Emergency Board with Representative Dan Doyle in 2001.
Betsy Johnson worked as Ron Wyden's campaign chair during the 2004 United States Senate election.
Betsy Johnson announced on November 24,2004, that she was interested in replacing Dukes in the state senate.
Betsy Johnson defeated Republican nominee Don Fell and Constitution nominee Robert J Simmering in the 2006 election.
Betsy Johnson defeated Republican nominee Bob Horning in the 2010 election.
Howard Dean, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, called for Betsy Johnson to be replaced after she voted with the Republicans against voter registration legislation in 2013.
Betsy Johnson defeated independent candidate Andrew Kaza, Constitution nominee Ekstrom, and Libertarian nominee Perry Roll in the 2014 election.
Betsy Johnson won the Democratic, Republican, and Independent nominations, with write-in votes in the Republican and Independent primaries, and defeated Constitution nominee Ray Biggs in the 2018 election.
Betsy Johnson was later investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Betsy Johnson endorsed Dennis Richardson, the Republican nominee for Oregon Secretary of State, in the 2016 election.
Johnson hit a driver with her car in 2013, resulting in Betsy Johnson spending six months in a wheelchair and not fully recovering until 2019.
Betsy Johnson was sued by the driver in 2015, but Johnson's lawyers argued the lawsuit was frivolous, and a violation of the Oregon Constitution due to her being in transit to her complete her duties as an elected official.
Betsy Johnson was considered as a possible gubernatorial or secretary of state candidate in the 2000s.
Betsy Johnson received endorsements that included former Governor Kulongoski and former United States Senator Gordon H Smith.
Betsy Johnson's campaign spent $897,000 to collect 48,214 signatures, with 23,744 being required to appear on the ballot, and 37,679 were validated by the secretary of state.
Betsy Johnson was considered as a moderate and conservative member of the state legislature.
Betsy Johnson supported the construction of a $230 million ethanol plant in Clatskanie, Oregon.
Betsy Johnson voted in committee in favor of legislation to ban smoking in restaurants, but stated that she did so only to send it to a vote in the state house.
In 2002, Betsy Johnson voted in favor of the unsuccessful effort to overturn legislation to borrow $50 million for education against revenue made from a cigarette tax.
Betsy Johnson voted against increasing the minimum wage gradually from 2016 to 2022, to between $12.50 and $14.75 per hour.
Betsy Johnson received a D rating from the Service Employees International Union in 2018.
Betsy Johnson opposed four pieces of gun control legislation in 2013, stating "I would do something meaningful rather than symbolic" and wanted more mental health access instead.
Betsy Johnson voted against background checks for private gun sales and red flag legislation.
Betsy Johnson is a member of the National Rifle Association and received an "A" rating and endorsement from the NRA Political Victory Fund during the 2014 and 2018 elections.
Betsy Johnson is in favor of lifting the state moratorium on the death penalty.
Betsy Johnson opposes a housing first approach to homelessness, and would enforce laws against illegal camping in Oregon.
Betsy Johnson blames recent drug legalization, such as through 2020 Oregon Ballot Measure 110, for driving the crisis and would attempt to repeal it, while focusing on deregulating housing development.
Betsy Johnson stated that "Planned Parenthood now is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democrat Party" after failing to gain its endorsement during the 2022 gubernatorial election.
Betsy Johnson opposes allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls' sporting events.
Betsy Johnson has not shown support for adopting political campaign contribution limits in Oregon, and said she would oppose limits she felt "result in an uneven playing field for anyone participating in elections".
Betsy Johnson voted against legislation to make voter registration automatic for people with driver's licenses.