page_title: Vera Katz
section_title: Political career
hierarchical_section_title: Vera Katz / Political career
caption_attribution_description: Mayor Vera Katz, of Portland, Oregon, in 1997. Katz was speaking at a ceremony celebrating the completion of the extension of the MAX light rail system westward to the Kings Hill neighborhood, on August 29, 1997 (service did not start until two days later). The ceremony was held at the Kings Hill/SW Salmon Street MAX station.
context_page_description: Vera Katz was an American Democratic politician in the state of Oregon. She was the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives and was the 49th mayor of Portland, Oregon's most populous city. She grew up in New York City, moving to Portland in 1962, and was elected to the Oregon House in 1972. She served as mayor from 1993 to 2005.
context_section_description: In 1972, Vera Katz was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives as a Democrat representing Portland and Multnomah County for the 1973 session. She won re-election to additional two-year terms through 1990.
  In 1985, she became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Oregon House, replacing Grattan Kerans.  While in the Oregon House, she sponsored the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century, a landmark school reform bill. She also helped pass measures on gun control as well as legislation prohibiting discrimination based on gender in places of public accommodation and credit. Katz was the first person in Oregon history to hold the position of Speaker for three straight sessions.
caption: Katz speaking in 1997
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