Rep. Darlene Hooley (D) Elected 1996, 5th term
Born:	Apr. 4, 1939, Williston, ND
Home:	West Linn
Education:	OR St. U., B.S. 1961
Religion:	Lutheran
Marital Status:	divorced
Elected  Office:	West Linn City Cncl., 1977-80; OR House of Reps., 1980-86; Clackamas Cnty. Comm., 1987-96.
Professional Career:	Teacher, 1961-75.
DC Office	2430 RHOB20515, 202-225-5711; Fax: 202-225-5699; Web site: www.house.gov/hooley
State Offices	Salem, 503-588-9100; West Linn, 503-557-1324.
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The Willamette Valley was the great Promised Land at the end of the Oregon Trail, shielded by the Coast Range from the cold storms of the Pacific but squeezing most of the moisture out of the clouds in the form of rain, fog and persistent mist. Here, New England Yankees planted small towns they called Salem and Oregon City, founded schools and colleges, built high-spired churches and eventually Salem's cylindrical-domed Art Deco state Capitol. This was one of the few valleys in the West that settlers found readily suitable for agriculture. The Willamette Valley's soil is fertile, the plain created by the waters of the Willamette sweeping down from the mountains is broad, and the rains everyone hears about in Oregon are dependable. Into this land metro Portland has spread, with young people leapfrogging over the lands protected from development and into Clackamas and Marion Counties to the south. In 2003, rapidly growing Salem passed Eugene as the second-largest city in Oregon.

The 5th Congressional District of Oregon includes much of the northern Willamette Valley. Near Portland it has the old pioneer town of Oregon City, and spreads south to the state capital of Salem (where the two bridges crossing the Willamette have become jammed at rush hour) and includes part of Corvallis (home of Oregon State University). Then the district hops over the Coast Range to take in Lincoln and Tillamook Counties, fishing and logging and cheese-making communities; it also includes all of rural Polk County. Although the area remains one of the nation's chief producers of processed vegetables, its longtime crops of beans and berries have dropped significantly; nurseries have become a new growth industry. Historically, the Willamette Valley was Republican, like New England whence most of its settlers came, but, also like New England, it has been trending Democratic, and now is prime marginal territory. The Corvallis area is heavily Democratic, the Salem area more likely to be Republican while Clackamas County is competitive territory, more Republican than the more affluent Washington County west of Portland. This is a district that was nearly evenly divided in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

The congresswoman from the 5th District is Darlene Hooley, a Democrat first elected in 1996. Born in North Dakota, Hooley moved with her family to Salem at age 8. She worked as a reading and physical education teacher in rural Woodburn Gervais and raised her family in West Linn, on the Willamette north of Oregon City. Angry when council members wouldn't replace the rugged asphalt after her son fell off a playground swing and cut his head, she served on the park district board and then was elected to the city council in 1976, at 37. In 1980 she was elected to the Oregon House; in 1987 she was appointed to the Clackamas County Board of Supervisors.

In 1996, Hooley decided to run for Congress. Republican Jim Bunn, elected 50%-47% in 1994, combined religious conservatism with a moderate record on issues and support of the Oregon Health Plan and Portland light rail. Hooley had two Democratic primary opponents, but with big fundraising help from EMILY's List, she won the primary with 51%. She attacked Bunn for supporting Newt Gingrich and Medicare "cuts." Ultimately, she spent $1.1 million, twice as much as the incumbent. Working most strongly against Bunn was his divorce and subsequent marriage to his 31-year-old chief of staff, whom he was paying $97,500--more than any other staffer in Oregon's House delegation. Hooley won 51%-46%.

In the House, Hooley has a mostly liberal record, though she has been somewhat centrist on economic issues. She failed repeatedly to get a seat on Appropriations and serves on the Financial Services Committee. On that panel, she led a bipartisan group that passed legislation designed to reduce identity theft by permitting consumers a free annual credit report and requiring banks and credit agencies to keep an eye on fraud. It became law in December 2003; Hooley called it the strongest consumer measure enacted in years, though some liberal activists disagreed. She led the fight to preserve Oregon's assisted suicide law and argued for it on states' rights grounds. She joined the moderate New Democrats, contending that she wanted to work with business in a district dependent on trade; in contrast to David Wu in the adjacent suburban district, she voted for normal trade relations with China. But Hooley joined the other House Democrats from Oregon in opposing trade promotion authority in 2002. She voted against the use of military force in Iraq, but later supported funds for the military and reconstruction.

In this marginal seat, which was represented by two Republicans and two Democrats during the 1990s, Hooley has had a series of competitive contests. In 2004, the election was hard-fought. Jim Zupancic, an entrepreneur in the voice-mail business and former school board chairman in Lake Oswego, won a spirited May primary, 56%-44%, against state Sen. Jackie Winters, who voted for an income tax increase rejected by voters in February 2004. In the general, both candidates were well-funded. Zupancic called for changes in medical malpractice, attacked Hooley's "extreme liberal" record and said she did not support job-creation. Hooley kept her distance from John Kerry and emphasized constituent services and her focus on consumer issues. Hooley won, 53%-44%. She carried all seven counties, though her home base of Clackamas, which cast one-third of the vote, was the closest: 51%-46%.

Committees

• Financial Services (9th of 32 D): Capital Markets, Insurance & Government Sponsored Enterprises; Financial Institutions & Consumer Credit.
• Science (5th of 20 D): Research (RMM).
• Veterans' Affairs (9th of 12 D): Economic Opportunity.

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	95	75	88	100	78	18	60	16	11	25	--
2003	95	--	100	90	--	28	38	21	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	64%	--	35%		61%	--	38%
Social	67%	--	31%		68%	--	31%
Foreign	70%	--	27%		57%	--	42%
For National Journal's complete 2004 Vote Ratings, as well as previous ratings dating back to 1995, please click here.

Key Votes Of The 108th Congress (More Info)
1. Drilling in ANWR N 2. Approve Bush Tax Cuts N 3. Medicare/Rx Bill N 4. Bar Overtime Pay Regs. Y 5. DC School Vouchers N 6. Ban Human Cloning N		7. Restrict Gun Liability N  8. Ban Partial-Birth Abortion N  9. Ban Same-Sex Marriage N 10. Fund Iraq War Y 11. Bar Cuba Embargo Funds Y 12. Intelligence Reorg. Y

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 general	Darlene Hooley (D)	184,833	53%	$2,054,417
	Jim Zupancic (R)	154,993	44%	$1,291,211
	Other	9,808	3%
2004 primary	Darlene Hooley (D)	59,407	86%
	Andrew Kaza (D)	10,027	14%
2002 general	Darlene Hooley (D)	137,713	55%	$622,126
	Brian Boquist (R)	113,441	45%	$158,065
Prior winning percentages: 2000 (57%); 1998 (55%); 1996 (51%)

2004 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 181,070 (50%) Kerry (D) 176,558 (49%)

2000 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 149,276 (48%) Gore (D) 144,657 (47%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Fifth District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: D + 1
• District Size: 5,829 square miles
• Population in 2000: 684,280; 80.4% urban; 19.6% rural
• Median Household Income: $44,409; 10.9% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 22.1% blue collar; 60.6% white collar; 17.4% gray collar; 14.8% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 83.6% White, 0.6% Black, 1.9% Asian, 1.1% Amer. Indian, 0.2% Hawaiian, 2.2% Two+ races, 0.1% Other, 10.3% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 16.0% German, 9.7% English, 8.1% Irish
• Click here for statewide demographic data.