Legality of Cannabis by U.S. Jurisdiction

Val Hoyle
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oregon's 4th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byPeter DeFazio
Labor Commissioner of Oregon
In office
January 7, 2019 – January 2, 2023
GovernorKate Brown
Preceded byBrad Avakian
Succeeded byChristina Stephenson
Majority Leader of the Oregon House of Representatives
In office
January 14, 2013 – July 10, 2015
Preceded byTina Kotek (Democratic Leader)
Succeeded byJennifer Williamson
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 14th district
In office
January 12, 2009 – January 9, 2017
Preceded byChris Edwards
Succeeded byJulie Fahey
Personal details
Born
Valerie Anne Toomey

(1964-02-14) February 14, 1964 (age 60)
Fairfield, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseStephen Hoyle
EducationBunker Hill Community College
Emmanuel College (BA)
WebsiteHouse website

Valerie Anne Hoyle (née Toomey; born February 14, 1964)[1] is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 4th congressional district since 2023. Until 2023, she served as the commissioner of Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI)[2] (commonly called the "Labor Commissioner").

A Democrat, Hoyle formerly served in the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 14, which includes West Eugene, Junction City, and Cheshire. She was appointed to the House in August 2009 and reelected to full terms in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

In December 2021, Hoyle announced her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022. The seat was open after incumbent Peter DeFazio decided not to run for reelection.[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Hoyle was born on Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, in 1964. She grew up in Nashua, New Hampshire, where her father Dan Toomey was a firefighter, union official, and later a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives.[4] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Emmanuel College in Boston.[5]

Early political career[edit]

In 1999, Hoyle and her family moved to Lane County, Oregon, where she joined the education advocacy group Stand for Children. Before serving in the Oregon legislature, she worked in sales and marketing for bicycle manufacturers Burley Design and Cane Creek, and served as legislative aide and policy analyst for State Senator Floyd Prozanski. She was also a director of the United Way of Lane County.[6]

Oregon House of Representatives[edit]

Hoyle was appointed to the Oregon House of Representatives in August 2009 to replace Chris Edwards, who was appointed to the Oregon State Senate.[7] In 2010, she was reelected to a full term, defeating Republican Dwight Coon and Independent Kevin Prociw.[8] On November 6, 2012, Hoyle again defeated Coon to win a second full term.[9]

Before the 2011 legislative session, Hoyle was elected assistant caucus leader of the Oregon House Democrats. During the 2011 legislative session, she was co-vice chair of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, and served on the House Committees on Health Care and Business & Labor.[10] She also served on the Governor's Health Care Transformation Team.

On November 15, 2012, after House Democrats selected Tina Kotek as speaker of the Oregon House, Hoyle was elected to lead the Oregon House Democrats as House majority leader for the 2013 Legislative Session.[11] During the 2013 legislative session, she co-chaired the House Task Force on O&C Counties and was vice chair of the House Committee on Rules.

Shortly before the 2014 legislative session, former State Representative Chris Garrett received an executive appointment to the Oregon Court of Appeals[12] and Hoyle was named chair of the House Committee on Rules. Hoyle also served as a legislative co-chair of the Oregon Elder Abuse Prevention Workgroup.

After Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber resigned in February 2015, elevating Kate Brown to the governorship, The Oregonian named Hoyle as a possible successor to Brown as Oregon Secretary of State.[13] Hoyle stepped down as majority leader in 2015 to run for Oregon secretary of state. In the 2016 Democratic primary, she came in second place, receiving 33.81% of the vote to Democratic nominee Brad Avakian's 39.06%.[14]

Labor commissioner[edit]

In 2018, Hoyle ran to become Oregon's 10th labor commissioner, a nonpartisan elected position.[15] She won the race outright in May, receiving 52% of the vote and winning 17 of 36 counties.[15][16] Former Tualatin Mayor Lou Ogden received 36% and Jack Howard, a La Grande attorney and former Union County Commissioner, received 12%.[16] The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries serves a four-year term, has offices in Portland, Eugene, and Salem, oversees enforcement of wage and hour laws, including prevailing wage and civil rights enforcement, certifies apprenticeship programs, and provides employment law technical assistance for employers.[17]

U.S. House of Representatives[edit]

Elections[edit]

2022[edit]

See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon § District 4

On December 1, 2021, Hoyle announced her candidacy for Oregon's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives in 2022. The seat was held by fellow Democrat Peter DeFazio, who announced that he was not running for reelection after 18 terms.[3] Polling conducted by Public Policy Polling in March 2022 found Hoyle to be favored in the Democratic primary.[18] She benefited from more than $500,000 in spending by super PACs during the primary.[19] In November 2022 Hoyle was elected to the House.

Tenure[edit]

On January 31, 2023, Hoyle was among seven Democrats to vote for H.R.497:Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, a bill which would lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers.[20][21]

In 2023, Hoyle was among 56 Democrats to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21 which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[22][23]

Hoyle was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[24]

Caucus memberships[edit]

Committee assignments[edit]

Personal life[edit]

Hoyle lives outside Springfield, Oregon, and is married with two adult children.[27]

Hoyle is Roman Catholic.[28]

Electoral history[edit]

2010 Oregon State Representative, 14th district [29]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Val Hoyle 11,336 50.4
Republican Dwight Coon 10,041 44.6
Independent Kevin Prociw 1,078 4.8
Write-in 51 0.2
Total votes 22,506 100%
2012 Oregon State Representative, 14th district [30]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Val Hoyle 14,413 54.3
Republican Dwight Coon 11,309 42.6
Libertarian Sharon A Mahler 790 3.0
Write-in 38 0.1
Total votes 26,550 100%
2014 Oregon State Representative, 14th district [31]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Val Hoyle 12,370 55.6
Republican Kathy Lamberg 9,769 43.9
Write-in 94 0.4
Total votes 22,233 100%
2018 Oregon Commissioner of Labor election [16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Val Hoyle 375,762 52.3
Nonpartisan Lou Ogden 253,977 35.3
Nonpartisan Jack Howard 86,477 12.0
Write-in 2,520 0.4
Total votes 718,736 100%
2022 US House of Representatives, Oregon's 4th congressional district [32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Val Hoyle 171,372 50.5
Republican Alek Skarlatos 146,055 43.1
Independent Levi Leatherberry 9,052 2.7
Constitution Jim Howard 6,075 1.8
Pacific Green Mike Beilstein 6,033 1.8
Write-in 490 0.1
Total votes 339,077 100%

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Val Hoyle". Oregon Labor Law Conference. October 18, 2019. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  2. ^ "Oregon reaches milestone as new labor commissioner, Val Hoyle, sworn in". January 7, 2019. Archived from the original on August 6, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Val Hoyle to run for Congress as DeFazio opts not to seek re-election in 2022". KATU. Portland, OR. December 1, 2021. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  4. ^ Dean Shalhoup (January 21, 2023). "Nashua native Val Hoyle looks back on nearly 50 years in politics". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  5. ^ "Representative Val Hoyle". VoteSmart.org. Archived from the original on October 31, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  6. ^ Galbreath, David (April 8, 2022). "Who Will Replace DeFazio?". The Torch. Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  7. ^ "Commissioners appoint education advocate to House seat". The Register Guard. September 24, 2009. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
  8. ^ "Lane County Elections". Lane County. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  9. ^ "Eugene Register-Guard".
  10. ^ "Oregon State Legislature Committee Assignments". Oregon State Legislature. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  11. ^ "The Oregonian". November 16, 2012. Archived from the original on November 20, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  12. ^ Gaston, Christian (December 24, 2013). "Oregon Rep. Chris Garrett gets judicial nod, triggering another appointment for the Oregon House". OregonLive.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  13. ^ "Who will take Kate Brown's place as Oregon secretary of state?". The Oregonian. February 14, 2015. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  14. ^ "Val Hoyle - Ballotpedia". Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  15. ^ a b VanderHart, Dirk; Wilson, Conrad (May 14, 2018). "Oregon Voters Select Val Hoyle As New Labor Commissioner". OPB. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  16. ^ a b c "May 15, 2018, Primary Election Abstract of Votes". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  17. ^ "Commissioner of Labor and Industries Val Hoyle". Oregon Bluebook. Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  18. ^ Lehman, Chris (March 31, 2022). "Val Hoyle holds big lead among 4th District Democratic candidates for Congress, poll shows". Oregon Live. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  19. ^ Lehman, Chris (May 18, 2022). "Hoyle wins Democratic nomination in Oregon's 4th Congressional District". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  20. ^ "Seven Democrats join Republicans in vote to lift vaccine mandate for healthcare workers". January 31, 2023. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  21. ^ "On Passage - H.R.497: To eliminate the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on". August 12, 2015. Archived from the original on February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  22. ^ "H.Con.Res. 21: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of … -- House Vote #136 -- Mar 8, 2023". Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  23. ^ "House Votes Down Bill Directing Removal of Troops From Syria". Associated Press. March 8, 2023. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  24. ^ Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  25. ^ "Endorsed Candidates". NewDem Action Fund. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  26. ^ "Progressive Caucus". Progressive Caucus. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  27. ^ "BOLI: Meet the Commissioner : About : State of Oregon". www.oregon.gov. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  28. ^ "Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress" (PDF). Pew Research Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2023.
  29. ^ "Official Results November 2, 2010". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  30. ^ "Official Results | November 6, 2012". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  31. ^ "November 4, 2014, General Election, Official Abstract of Votes". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  32. ^ "November 8, 2022, General Election Abstract of Votes" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.

External links[edit]

Oregon House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 14th district
2009–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Majority Leader of the Oregon House of Representatives
2013–2015 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Labor Commissioner of Oregon
2019–2023 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oregon's 4th congressional district
2023–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
383rd 		Succeeded by
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val_Hoyle