Vera Katz

Vera Katz (née Pistrak; August 3, 1933 – December 11, 2017) was an American Democratic politician in the state of Oregon. She was the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives and was the 49th mayor of Portland, Oregon's most populous city. She grew up in New York City, moving to Portland in 1962, and was elected to the Oregon House in 1972. She served as mayor from 1993 to 2005.

Early life Vera Katz was born on August 3, 1933, as Vera Pistrak in Düsseldorf, Germany. Her parents, Elizar ("Lazar Michael Pistrak"; 1896–1985) and Raissa (1896–1986), fled Moscow, Russia, after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, settling in Germany. They settled in Brooklyn.

After they moved, she gave birth to a son, Jesse.

Early political activities Katz became involved in politics in the late 1960s while working on the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy. She won re-election to additional two-year terms through 1990.

In 1985, she became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Oregon House, replacing Grattan Kerans. While in the Oregon House, she sponsored the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century, a landmark school reform bill. She won the election and served three terms, from January 1993 until January 2005, winning re-election in 1996 and 2000.

During her first term, Mayor Katz endorsed the Yellow Bike Project, which drew national attention to Portland's artistic and bike-friendly civic engagement culture. While her cancer was beaten, treatment of her uterine cancer damaged Katz's kidneys and she subsequently was forced to undergo kidney dialysis three times a week for the rest of her life.

Later years Vera and Mel Katz divorced in 1985; their son, Jesse, went on to a career in journalism.

In her final job, which she began in 2008, Katz worked as a lobbyist for the public relations firm Gallatin Public Affairs. Despite limited mobility in her declining years, Katz would remain with the firm until her retirement in 2012.

Katz was remembered as a detail-oriented and energetic public servant. She was instrumental in the development of a multi-use pathway, now known as the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade, a river walk 30 feet above the Willamette River which runs from the Hawthorne Bridge to the Steel Bridge and is part of the Portland Parks system. The Esplanade, construction of which was completed in May 2001, was named for Katz in November 2004 in honor of her civic achievement. A bronze statue of Katz by sculptor Bill Bane was added to the project in 2006.