Chris Gorsek (b. January 28, 1958) is a Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 49. Gorsek was first elected to the chamber in 2012. Gorsek is running for re-election in the primary on May 15, 2018. The general election will take place on November 6, 2018.
Gorsek earned his B.S. from the University of Oregon in 1989, his M.A. from the University of Oregon in 1992 and his Ph.D. in Urban Studies from Portland State University. His professional experience includes being the Director of the Senior Adult Learning Center at Portland State University, serving as the Dean/Instructor at Mount Hood Community College from 1997 to 2000 and as a police officer for the Portland Police Bureau from 1980 to 1987.
Former Member, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, Oregon State House of Representatives
Former Member, Human Services and Housing Committee, Oregon State House of Representatives
Former Member, Public Safety Subcommittee, Oregon State House of Representatives
Former Vice Chair, Transportation Policy Committee, Oregon State House of Representatives
Vice Chair, Judiciary Committee
Vice Chair, Natural Resources Committee
1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer
2. Abortions should always be legally available.
- X
3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer
4. Abortions should be legal when pregnancy results from incest, rape or the life of the woman is endangered.
- X
5. Abortions should be limited by waiting periods and notification requirements as decided by each state government.
- No Answer
6. Support prohibition of the dilation and extraction procedure, also known as "partial-birth" abortion.
- No Answer
7. Support "buffer zones" at abortion clinics by requiring demonstrators to remain a certain distance from doorways and driveways.
- X
8. Prohibit Oregon Health Plan from funding abortions and organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
- No Answer
9. Other
- No Answer
1. Education (Higher)
- Slightly Increase Funding
2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase Funding
3. Environment
- Slightly Increase Funding
4. Health care
- Maintain Funding Status
5. Law enforcement
- Maintain Funding Status
6. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Maintain Funding Status
7. Welfare
- Maintain Funding Status
8. Other
- No Answer
1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status
2. Capital gains taxes
- Greatly Decrease
3. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status
4. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Increase
5. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status
6. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease
7. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Slightly Increase
8. Inheritance taxes
- Greatly Decrease
9. Property taxes
- Maintain Status
10. Vehicle taxes
- Maintain Status
11. Other
- No Answer
12. Should Internet sales be taxed?
- No
13. Do you support a flat tax structure for state income taxes?
- No
14. Would you support returning any operating surplus to Oregon taxpayers?
- No
15. Would you support placing any operating surplus into a "rainy day" fund?
- Yes
16. Do you support using the entire tobacco settlement to create a health care trust fund?
- No
17. Do you support using a portion of the tobacco settlement to fund public schools?
- Yes
18. Do you support increasing the gas tax to pay for road repairs?
- No
19. Do you support allowing federal income taxes over $3,000 per-couple to be deducted from state taxes?
- No
20. Do you support replacing the weight-mile truck tax with a diesel gas tax?
- No
1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and for hiring of additional prison staff.
- No Answer
2. Support contracting with private sector firms to build and/or manage state prisons.
- No Answer
3. End parole for repeat violent offenders.
- X
4. Support the use of the death penalty in Oregon.
- No Answer
5. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X
6. Inform communities when a convicted sex offender moves into the community.
- X
7. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X
8. Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
- X
9. Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
- No Answer
10. Support .08 blood-alcohol-content limit defining drunk driving.
- X
11. Prosecute as adults, youths accused of a felony.
- No Answer
12. Increase penalties for crimes committed on school grounds.
- X
13. Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, or disability be prosecuted as hate crimes.
- X
14. Support programs that provide job training and placement services for at-risk youth.
- X
15. Ban the use of racial profiling by law enforcement officers.
- X
16. Other
- No Answer
1. Increase state funds for professional development of public school teachers and administrators.
- X
2. Encourage private or corporate investment in public school programs.
- X
3. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any participating school (public, private, religious).
- No Answer
4. Support charter schools where teachers and professionals receive authorization and funding to establish new schools.
- No Answer
5. Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
- X
6. Increase state funds for hiring additional teachers.
- X
7. Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
- No Answer
8. Support posting the Ten Commandments in public schools.
- No Answer
9. Require public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- No Answer
10. Support national standards and testing of public school students.
- No Answer
11. Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
- No Answer
12. Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
- X
13. Provide funds to reduce K-12 public school class sizes.
- X
14. Other
- No Answer
15. Do you support increasing state funds for education?
- Yes
1. Increase personal income taxes.
- No Answer
2. Increase corporate taxes.
- X
3. Other
- No Answer
1. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- X
2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- No Answer
3. Support limits on cash damages in lawsuits against businesses and professionals for product liability or malpractice.
- No Answer
4. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X
5. Other
- No Answer
1. College and university admissions
- Yes
2. Public employment
- Yes
3. State contracting
- Yes
4. Other
- No Answer
1. Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels to reduce pollution.
- X
2. Support "self-audit" legislation which creates incentives for industries to audit themselves and clean up pollution.
- No Answer
3. Require a cost/benefit analysis to determine the economic impact of proposed environmental regulations before they are implemented.
- No Answer
4. Require states to fully compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses on privately owned land.
- No Answer
5. Support funding for recycling programs in Oregon.
- X
6. Request added flexibility from the federal government in enforcing and funding federal environmental regulations.
- No Answer
7. Suspend participation in un-funded, federally-mandated environmental protection legislation.
- No Answer
8. Restructure the electric utility industry to allow consumers to choose their power companies.
- X
9. Support removing dams along Oregon rivers to aid the salmon runs.
- No Answer
10. Create an interstate authority to manage the Columbia River.
- No Answer
11. Ease state land-use controls to allow more development in rural areas.
- No Answer
12. Other
- X
13. Should state environmental regulations be stricter than federal law?
- Yes
1. Do you support the current limit on terms for Oregon Governors?
- No
2. Do you support the current limit on terms for Oregon State Senators and Representatives?
- No
3. Individual
- No
4. PAC
- No
5. Corporate
- No
6. Political Parties
- No
7. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes
8. Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns?
- No
9. Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns?
- No
10. Do you support voting on-line?
- No
11. Do you support on-line voter registration?
- No
12. Do you support increasing the number of signatures required to place an initiative on the ballot?
- No
13. Other
- No Answer
1. Ban the sale or transfer of semi-automatic guns, except those used for hunting.
- X
2. Maintain and strengthen the enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- X
3. Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
4. Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
5. Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
- No Answer
6. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
- X
7. Require background checks of gun buyers at gun shows.
- X
8. Require a license for gun possession.
- X
9. Other
- No Answer
1. Provide tax incentives to small businesses that provide health care to their employees.
- X
2. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state funded care where necessary.
- X
3. Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
- No Answer
4. Use state funds to continue some Medicaid coverage for legal immigrants.
- X
5. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- No Answer
6. Support a patient's right to sue his or her HMO.
- X
7. Support a patient's right to appeal to an administrative board of specialists when services are denied.
- X
8. Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- No Answer
9. Increase the minimum poverty level required to be eligible for the Oregon Health Plan.
- No Answer
10. Other
- No Answer
1. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for their employees.
- X
2. Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- X
3. Deny or suspend state-issued permits and licenses to parents who are delinquent in paying court-ordered child support.
- X
4. Increase state funding for Head Start in order to serve additional children and/or increase services from a half to a full day.
- X
5. Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
- X
6. Support state funding of programs for at-risk youth such as guaranteed college loans, and job training and placement.
- X
7. Phase out state-run video poker machines.
- X
8. Other
- No Answer
9. Should physician assisted suicide be legally available in Oregon?
- Yes
10. Should Oregon include sexual orientation in its anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes
11. Should Oregon recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- Yes
12. Should Oregon restrict marriage to a relationship only between a man and a woman?
- No
1. Maintain current time limits on welfare benefits.
- No Answer
2. Maintain the requirement that able-bodied recipients work in order to receive benefits.
- X
3. Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X
4. Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients.
- X
5. Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
- X
6. Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- X
7. Allow welfare recipients to remain eligible for benefits while saving money for education, starting a business, or buying a home.
- No Answer
8. Limit benefits given to recipients if they have additional children while on welfare.
- X
9. Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
- No Answer
10. Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations.
- No Answer
11. Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to expand state services to include the working poor.
- X
12. Other
- No Answer
Please explain what your two main legislative priorities will be if elected. Please explain how you would obtain any additional government funding needed to implement these priorities.
- MY TWO MAIN LEGISLATIVE PRIORITES WILL BE CHILDREN AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
WE ALL NEED A CLEAN AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT TO LIVE IN. OUR CHILDREN DESERVE TO GROW UP IN A WORLD SIMILAR TO THE ONE WE ENJOYED AS CHILDREN.
OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE. FOR THEM TO SUCCEED IN AN INCREASINGLY COMPLEX WORLD THEY NEED THE BEST EDUCATION POSSIBLE. UNFORTUNATELY WE HAVE NOT DONE ENOUGH FOR EDUCATION YET. I WILL WORK TO CHANGE THAT.
Type: bill Chamber: lower
Type: bill Chamber: lower
Type: bill Chamber: lower