Mary Alice Ford

Mary Alice Ford (April 23, 1935 – November 27, 2008) was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. A native of California, the moderate and pro-choice Republican served in the Oregon House of Representatives for 15 consecutive years representing Washington County.

Early life Ford was born Mary Alice Hood in Los Angeles, California, on April 23, 1935. Graduating from high school at South Pasadena High School in 1952, she enrolled at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in education in 1956 from the Stanford Graduate School of Education. In 1979, she was appointed to the Oregon House of Representatives representing Garden Home in the eastern part of Washington County. Ford was appointed to the office after House member Mike Ragsdale resigned in order to be appointed to the Oregon State Senate. As a legislator, she worked to promote social services and health care and was appointed to the Architectural and Transportation Barrier Compliance Board in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. The strength of her opponent, Sandra Nelson, reflected a changing Washington County Republican electorate that would sweep Ford out of office in the 1994 primary. Nelson stated that if elected, she would roll back laws requiring helmets for motorcycle riders and also author legislation to allow parents the right to determine if their children need to wear seat belts in cars, stating "government decisions can cause children to suffer". She said of her opponents on the religious right after her defeat: "Quite frankly, I don't consider them Republicans, I consider them religious opportunists." In 1996, she ran to reclaim her House District 8 seat. The Oregonian endorsed her in the Republican primary saying, "she was respected by lawmakers from both parties and thus was able to deliver quality service to her constituents even when a member of the minority party. That, in essence, defines the role of a good legislator." She would go on to lose to conservative Bill Moshofsky.

In 1998 Ford led a group of other moderate Republicans including Audrey McCall (wife of former Governor Tom McCall), Washington County Commission Chairman Tom Brian, Sen. Jeannette Hamby, former Secretary of State Clay Myers and Rep. Chuck Carpenter, and endorsed Democrat Ryan Deckert in his race against Republican Henri Schauffler. The support from Mary Alice Ford and other republicans was highly valuable as the GOP held a slim voter registration edge in house district 8 at the time. During the 2006 election she was critical of the same negative campaign tactics by "right-wing Republicans" that had defeated her in 1994. She believed that Republican congressional candidate Mike Erickson's attacks against Congresswomen Darlene Hooley were "vicious and too egregious to let pass".

Electoral history 1996 Republican Primary Candidate name Votes Bill Moshofsky 3,314 Mary Alice Ford1,911 1992 General Election Candidate name Votes Mary Alice Ford (R)10,407 Dennis Doyle (D)8,553 1992 Republican Primary Candidate name Votes Mary Alice Ford (R)11,451 Jim Gennette (D)5,127