Hooley, Darlene, 1939-

<p>Darlene Kay Olson Hooley (born April 4, 1939) is an American politician and former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon who represented the state's 5th congressional district.</p>

<p>A high school teacher by profession, she served as a city councilwoman, state legislator, and county commissioner in Oregon before being elected to the House in 1996. In her post-congressional career, she remains engaged in civic life in Oregon and works as a strategic planning consultant.</p>

<p>Darlene Kay Olson was born in Williston, North Dakota to Clarence Alvin and Alyce Rogers Olson, who were wheat farmers. She moved with her parents to Salem, Oregon at the age of 8. She attended Salem Academy, and then Pasadena Nazarene College (now Point Loma Nazarene University)*** in southern California, where she also worked as a lifeguard. She returned to Oregon and earned her degree in education from Oregon State University in 1961, where she was on the basketball, field hockey, and rowing teams. Following her graduation, she taught reading, music, and high school physical education for eight years at schools in Woodburn, Gervais, and Portland. She also did post-graduate work at Oregon State and Portland State University.</p>

<p>A former Oregon public schoolteacher, Darlene Hooley began a long climb in state politics in the 1970s, inspired initially by defective equipment at a local playground. Hooley served in city, county, and state government for 20 years before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996. During her tenure in Congress, Hooley focused on identity theft and data security, education funding, affordable health care and prescription drug coverage, the National Guard, and veterans’ health care.</p>

<p>Darlene Hooley was born Darlene Olson on April 4, 1939, on a homesteaded farm near Williston, North Dakota, to Clarence Alvin and Alyce Rogers Olson. The farm lacked running water and electricity, and when the local school closed, her parents sent Hooley to live with an aunt in order to receive an education. When Hooley was eight years old, her family moved to Salem, Oregon; her father, Clarence, divided his time between his family in Oregon and the family farm in North Dakota. She would later remark on her father’s perseverance and her mother’s optimism. From an early age, Hooley was determined to go to college, and she followed an older sister to California’s Pasadena Nazarene College in 1957. Two years later, Hooley transferred to Oregon State University in Corvallis where she graduated in 1961. She began teaching high-school reading, music, and physical education in Oregon. Later she pursued postgraduate work at Oregon State University and Portland State University. In June 1965, she married John Hooley, a fellow teacher, and they raised two children: Chad and Erin. The marriage ended in divorce in 1997.</p>

<p>Hooley became involved in politics when her son fell off a swing in a public park and landed on hard asphalt. The lack of a response by city authorities to her concerns over the playground equipment inspired Hooley to manage a friend’s successful mayoral campaign. The new mayor, in turn, appointed Hooley to the city board that controlled parks and recreation. In 1976 Hooley was the first woman elected to the West Linn city council. “Things don’t happen easily,” she said about the process of affecting change. “It is your willingness to just keep pushing, and working on it, and working on it.” Hooley won a seat in the state house of representatives in 1980, where she served until 1987. In the legislature, she chaired the energy and environment committee where she helped pass energy conservation measures, recycling legislation, and a rewrite of land-use laws. She focused on establishing public kindergarten, passing pay equity laws, and reforming the state’s welfare system. By the late 1980s, Hooley was ready to retire from public service when she was presented with the opportunity to become a Clackamas County commissioner. She accepted an appointment in 1987, becoming the first woman member of the Clackamas County commission—which, unlike her spot in the state legislature, was a paid full-time position.</p>