Mitch Greenlick

Merwyn Ronald "Mitch" Greenlick (March 12, 1935 – May 15, 2020) was a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He represented District 33 of the Oregon House of Representatives.

Early life and career

Greenlick was born in 1935 in Detroit, Michigan, into a Jewish family. He attended McCarroll Elementary School and graduated from Central High School in 1952.

Greenlick was a 1957 graduate of Wayne State University, receiving his bachelor's degree in pharmacy. He received his Master's degree in pharmacy administration from Wayne State in 1961 and received a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in health system organization in 1967. He moved with his family to Portland, Oregon, in 1964 to start and later direct the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research. He also was named Vice President of Kaiser Foundation Hospital in 1981. Starting in 1990, Greenlick served as Professor and Chair of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University.

Greenlick had been active in his community as a board member of the Community Action Organization in Washington County and as a member of the Northwest Health Foundation Board.

Political career Greenlick first got involved in politics at the age of nine by volunteering for Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1944 presidential campaign. After moving to Oregon, he worked for Neil Goldschmidt's 1970 campaign for city council. Greenlick also worked on the campaigns of Senator Ron Wyden and Governor John Kitzhaber.

Electoral history Year Candidate Party Percent Opponent Party Percent Opponent Party Percent Opponent Party Percent 2000 Bill Witt Republican 50.80% Mitch Greenlick Democratic 49.20% 2002 Mitch Greenlick Democratic 58.22% Erik Hartung Republican 37.32% Anthony Ambrose Libertarian 4.28% Write-ins 0.18% 2004 Mitch Greenlick Democratic 81.73% David Long Libertarian 12.07% Thomas Humphrey, Jr. Constitution 6.20% 2006 Mitch Greenlick Democratic 69.59% Mark Eggleston Republican 26.33% David Long Libertarian 3.86% Write-ins 0.22% 2008 Mitch Greenlick Democratic 69.59% Jim Ellison Republican 27.39% Write-ins 0.34% 2010 Mitch Greenlick Democratic 64.82% Michael Bieker Republican 35.05% Write-ins 0.14% 2012 Mitch Greenlick Democratic 69.03% Stevan Kirkpatrick Republican 30.72% Write-ins 0.25% 2014 Mitch Greenlick Democratic 81.68% Mark Vetanen Libertarian 17.63% Write-ins 0.69% 2016 Mitch Greenlick Democratic 69.45% John Verbeek Republican 30.33% Write-ins 0.22% 2018 Mitch Greenlick Democratic 75.86% Elizabeth Reye Republican 23.97% Write-ins 0.17%

Personal life Greenlick was married to Harriet Greenlick from 1956 until his death, and together they had three children, including state judge Michael.

Greenlick was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2005 and recovered.