Vicki Berger

Vicki Berger (born 1949) is an American businessperson and politician in the state of Oregon. A native Oregonian, she is a Salem civic leader and a former Republican member of the Oregon House of Representatives. Her father, Richard Chambers, came up with the idea for the Oregon Bottle Bill.

Early life Born Vicki Chambers in 1949, she was the youngest of three children of Richard Chambers. In 1967, she graduated from South Salem High School in the state's capital city before she married Jerry Berger in 1969. The couple had three children, and she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology in 1974 from the University of Wyoming. From 1995 to 1998 she served as that organization's first female president. Berger defeated Democrat Lloyd Kumley in the November general election with 13,408 votes to 7,884. She joined the House beginning with the 2003 session representing District 20, which spans parts of Polk and Marion counties.

After running unopposed in the May 2004 primary, she beat Democrat Jeanne E. Deane 17,595 votes to 11,400 votes in general election. Berger again ran without competition in the Republican primary in 2006, and then beat her Democratic Party opponent Connie Garcia, collecting 13,382 votes to Garcia's 9,040. During the 2007 to 2008 legislature she served on the Revenue Committee. In 2007, she worked to pass legislation to amend the Oregon Bottle Bill to require deposits on water bottles. Her father, Richard Chambers, was the person responsible for proposing the original bill that passed the Oregon Legislature in 1971. and then defeated Richard Riggs in the November election to win another term. Her district covers parts of Salem, Independence, and Monmouth, and switched from a primarily Republican district to a primarily Democratic district in 2008. Berger is considered a moderate Republican whose votes are occasionally inline with the Democrats. In 2008, she became the first person in the Oregon House to be cross-nominated by the Independent Party of Oregon.

Berger did not run for reelection in 2014. Her seat was the only one to change party control in the Oregon House of Representatives that year, with Democrat Paul Evans, a former mayor of Monmouth, defeating Republican candidate Kathy Goss. In 2017, following her departure from the Oregon House of Representatives, Berger was appointed to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Commission. She served two terms on this Commission, representing Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District. Berger later served as the Chair of the Oregon State Fair Council. While she continues to serve as a council member, she was succeeded by a new chair in January 2024.

Electoral history