Ellen Rosenblum was sworn in Friday as Oregon’s Attorney General, the first woman in state history to hold the job.
Rosenblum said protecting seniors and children will be her top priorities. Specifically, she intends to escalate the Department of Justice’s ongoing battle against elder financial abuse. She will also emphasize the many ways the department protects and supports the state’s kids and families.
Amongst Rosenblum’s top goals in the upcoming session of the Oregon Legislature is securing funding for a badly needed new computer system for the Department of Justice’s Child Support Division. The division handles more than $1 million a day in child-support payments.
“I’m honored and grateful for the support of Oregonians,” Rosenblum said. “On my watch, the Oregon Department of Justice will fight for consumers, for the elderly, for kids. I will fight to make the state a more just and safer place.”
Gov. John Kitzhaber led Friday’s ceremony at the state Capitol. Also sworn in were Treasurer Ted Wheeler, Secretary of State Kate Brown and Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian.
After a 37-year legal career, including more than three decades in public service, Rosenblum came out of retirement in 2012 to run for Attorney General. She won the Democratic primary last May and was appointed Attorney General on June 29, 2012 to fill the vacancy left by John Kroger’s resignation.
Rosenblum was elected to a full four-year term as Attorney General on Nov. 6, 2012.
Rosenblum arrived in Oregon with her family in 1968 when her father became president of Reed College. Born in Berkeley, Calif. in 1951 and raised in Evanston, Ill., she obtained both her undergraduate and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Oregon.
After law school, Rosenblum practiced as an associate and partner in a small Eugene law firm before serving as an assistant U.S. Attorney from 1980-88. She was then appointed to the bench, serving as both district and circuit court judge for Multnomah County from 1989 to 2005. That year, Gov. Ted Kulongoski named her to the Oregon Court of Appeals, where she served until 2011.
Rosenblum has received numerous professional honors and has led law-related initiatives related to ethics, diversity, access to justice and the rule of law. She was the first sitting judge to serve as an officer of the American Bar Association and served on the ABA’s board of governors for seven years. She currently co-chairs its State Attorney General Committee. She also serves on the board of directors of the American Bar Foundation. She has been active, as well, in the National Association of Women Judges. In 1988, she co-founded Oregon Women Lawyers.
Contact:
Jeff D. Manning, jeff.d.manning@doj.state.or.us, 503-378-6002