November 01, 2016

An interview with Governor, Candidate, and Alumna Kate Brown ’85

Read an excerpt from an interview with Oregon Governor Kate Brown, a 1985 graduate of the law school, published in the Lewis & Clark College newspaper, the Pioneer Log on October 28, 2016.

This is an excerpt from an interview with Oregon Governor Kate Brown, a 1985 graduate of the law school, published in the Lewis & Clark College newspaper, the Pioneer Log on October 28, 2016.

On November 8, Lewis & Clark students registered to vote in Oregon will be not only cast their vote for the next president of the United States, but also for the next governor of Oregon.

In a special election prompted by the resignation of Governor John Kitzhaber in 2015, the interim Democratic Governor Kate Brown will face off against Republican Bud Pierce, to determine who will serve the remaining two years of the term.

Brown graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School in 1985, after receiving a BA in Environmental Conservation with a certificate in Women’s Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder, in 1981.

“I grew up literally a Republican,” Brown said. “My parents were avid Republicans. My mom volunteered for a Republican legislature. And when I left home, it was like, what am I doing? I’m clearly a Democrat.”

So in 1982, Brown turned to law school.

“I went to law school because I wanted the tools to achieve justice and equality in this world,” Brown said. “I felt like going to Lewis & Clark gave me the tools… It definitely had a huge impact on my life, and it still does. My close network of friends are all Lewis & Clark Law grads.”

Read the full interview.


Update: Brown was elected in the Nov 2016 election and will continue to serve as Oregon’s governor.