Representative Chris Gorsek lives in Troutdale with his wife Jackie in the home where they raised their children, Annie and Christopher. They are long time East County residents who are proud to have called Troutdale their home for over 15 years.

Chris was first elected to represent House District 49, which includes Fairview, Troutdale, Wood Village, North Gresham, Rockwood and some of East Portland, in 2012. As a first-term legislator, Chris established himself as a champion of education and increased accountability and transparency. He passed an unprecedented audit of TriMet’s operations and finances, which The Oregonian called “… a mighty public service.”  Chris has also been a leading voice for tenants rights issues, championing legislation that eliminated no-cause evictions. Gorsek also updated the Oregon Strategic Investment Program which precipitated one of the larger expansions of jobs and industrial capacity in East County.  He has worked extensively on justice reform, passing legislation requiring police in-custody interviews with young people to be recorded, which has been shown to reduce, if not eliminate, the rate of false confessions, and made the system more equitable and fair.

In addition to his job as a state representative, Chris continues to teach geography and criminal justice full time at Mt. Hood Community College. Prior to teaching at MHCC, Chris was a police officer with the Portland Police Bureau for seven years, patrolling neighborhoods on the eastside of Portland. Chris received his B.S. and M.A. from the University of Oregon and his Ph. D. in Urban Studies from Portland State University while working full-time to support his family.