Thomas B. Kay

Thomas Benjamin Kay (February 28, 1864 – April 29, 1931) was an American politician and businessman in the state of Oregon. A native of New Jersey, he moved to Oregon with his family at the age of one where he later took over the family's mill business, the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill. A Republican, he served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly and four terms as the Oregon State Treasurer, the longest of anyone in that office's history.

Early years Thomas Kay was born on February 28, 1864, in Trenton, New Jersey, to Thomas Lister Kay and Ann ( Slingsbey) Kay. His father had already moved to Oregon before the younger Thomas was born. After the younger Thomas was born, his mother and the rest of the family immigrated to Oregon via the Isthmus of Panama route, arriving in 1864. The whole family settled in Brownsville where the elder Thomas was a partner in a woolen mill. In 1895, he started working for his father's new woolen mill in Salem as a salesperson.

In 1897, Kay traveled to New York City for the mill, and returned the next year. He represented district 1 that included Marion County, and was the chairman of the ways and means committee. During the 1905 session he lost out on being Speaker of the House by a single vote to A. L. Mills. He again represented district 1 as a Republican, and served through the 1909 special session of the Oregon Legislative Assembly.

Kay did not run for re-election to the Senate in 1910, and instead was the Republican nominee for Oregon State Treasurer. After re-election in 1914, he served a second full-term, leaving office on January 6, 1919. Kay served his full two-year term, won re-election in 1922, and served through the 1923 legislative session. In 1924, he was again elected as state treasurer and took office on January 4, 1925. Kay won re-election to a fourth term in the office in 1928 and served until his death in office in 1931. His 14 years in the office are the longest of any treasurer in Oregon history.

Later years Kay was a member of several fraternal societies including the Masons as a member of the Knights Templar, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Salem Commercial Club, and the Woodmen of the World. Additionally, he was on the board of directors of the YMCA, the Illihee Club, the Portland Manufacturers' Association, and at Willamette University in Salem. He also served as director of Oregon's chamber of commerce and president of the state's board of trade. Thomas Benjamin Kay died on April 29, 1931, at the age of 67.