About Richard
As a volunteer, community leader and elected official, Richard Devlin has dedicated his life to serving his fellow Oregonians. A lifelong Oregonian, Richard was born in Eugene, the second youngest of nine children; Richard worked his way through college, earning his Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice from Portland State University. In his senior year he enlisted in the Marines. After serving his country, he went on to earn a Master of Arts in Management from Pepperdine University.
Richard and his wife moved to Tualatin in 1980. Instilled with a strong sense of service to community—first by his mother and then from his service in the Marines—Richard ran for the local City Council. As a Council member, he helped establish Tualatin’s first police department and advocated for infrastructure projects to attract small businesses to Tualatin and an expanded Park System to make the city a more livable community. As a member of the Metro Council, the regional government of the Portland Metropolitan area, he focused on building strong communities by meeting the transportation needs of businesses and individuals and protecting open spaces throughout the region.
Richard knows what it means to struggle in difficult times, and he has been the leading voice in the Oregon Legislature on protecting funding for the public schools, community colleges, and universities that Oregon families depend on and are the vital foundation of a strong economy. He’s fought to make sure children and seniors have access to the health care they need and that middle class families are protected in tough times. Devlin, who was selected Senate Majority Leader by his peers in 2007, understands the value of hard work. He began his legislative service in 1996 after being elected to the Oregon House, served three terms, and then became an Oregon Senator in 2002 and was reelected in 2006.
In his professional career, Richard has spent much of his time dedicated to community safety, working in both adult and juvenile corrections and civil and criminal investigations. Richard resides in Tualatin with his wife Eliza. They have two adult children and four grandchildren.
