Sara Gelser

Sara Gelser Blouin (born December 20, 1973) is an American politician from Oregon. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Since 2015, she has been a member of the Oregon State Senate from District 8. From 2005 to 2015, she served in the Oregon House of Representatives for District 16, representing Corvallis and Philomath. Prior to her service in the Legislature, Gelser Blouin served on the Corvallis School Board and worked for the Oregon Department of Human Services. In 2010, she was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the National Council on Disability and was confirmed to the position by the US Senate. In 2011, she was named a German Marshall Memorial Fellow. In November 2014, she was elected to the Senate, taking office in January 2015. after Gelser Blouin indicated that fellow Senator Jeff Kruse had inappropriately touched her. Senator Ginny Burdick supported her allegations, calling Kruse's behavior a "chronic problem", recalling an incident where she had to tell Kruse to get his hands off of Gelser and another incident where Kruse had inappropriately touched a female staffer on the Senate floor. This would result in Kruse being removed from all of his Senate committee assignments by Senate President Peter Courtney and his eventual resignation from the chamber.

Early life and education Sara Anne Acres was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is the oldest of four children born to John and Jo Acres. Although her childhood homes included New Jersey, Ohio and Indiana, she lived in Las Vegas for ten years before going to college in Indiana at age 16. There, she earned a BA in history from Earlham College in 1994. She moved to Corvallis, Oregon in 1994. In 1999, she earned a master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Oregon State University.

In September 2013, Gelser Blouin announced her candidacy for the Oregon State Senate. Senate District 8 encompasses Corvallis, Philomath, Albany, Millersburg, Tangent and the surrounding areas. She won the race with nearly three fifths of the vote and has served as the senator from District 8 starting in 2015.

Personal Gelser Blouin, lives in Corvallis with her husband, Dr. Michael Blouin, her adult son and her stepson. They also enjoy the frequent presence of Gelser Blouin's three adult daughters.