Michael Joseph "Mike" Kopetski (born October 27, 1949, in Pendleton, Oregon

Pendleton, Oregon

Pendleton is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Pendleton was named in 1868 by the county commissioners for George H. Pendleton, Democratic candidate for Vice-President in the 1864 presidential campaign. The population was 16,612 at the 2010 census...

) is an American businessman and former politician.

Kopetski, a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives

Oregon House of Representatives

The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....

 from 1985 to 1989. He ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 in 1982

United States House elections, 1982

The U.S. House election, 1982 was an election for the United States House of Representatives held on November 2, 1982, in the middle of President Ronald Reagan's first term, whose popularity was sinking due to economic conditions under the 1982 recession. Therefore, the President's Republican...

 and again in 1988

United States House elections, 1988

The U.S. House election, 1988 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1988 which coincided with the election of George H. W. Bush as President...

, where he lost by a mere 707 votes to incumbent Denny Smith

Denny Smith

Dennis Alan "Denny" Smith is a businessman and former United States congressman from the state of Oregon. A native of the state, he served in the Air Force before working in the airline industry and taking over the family's newspaper business. A Republican, he served ten years in Congress from...

. In 1990

United States House elections, 1990

The U.S. House election, 1990 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1990 which occurred in the middle of President George H. W. Bush's term...

, Kopetski ran against Smith again and defeated him, in part by tying Smith to the savings and loan crisis

Savings and Loan crisis

The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...

.

Kopetski served as Representative from Oregon's 5th congressional district

Oregon's 5th congressional district

Oregon's 5th congressional district represents Oregon's central coast through Salem, north to the southern Portland suburbs, and east to the summit of Mount Hood. It includes Lincoln, Marion, Polk, and Tillamook counties, most of Clackamas County, and part of Benton and Multnomah counties...

 from 1991 to 1995 and sat on the Ways and Means Committee

United States House Committee on Ways and Means

The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party's congressional leadership...

. He did not seek reelection in 1994

United States House elections, 1994

The 1994 U.S. House of Representatives election was held on November 8, 1994, in the middle of President Bill Clinton's first term. As a result of a 54-seat swing in membership from Democrats to Republicans, the Republican Party gained a majority of seats in the United States House of...

. After leaving Congress, Kopetski became an international trade consultant and currently serves on the board of On2 Technologies

On2 Technologies

On2 Technologies , formerly known as The Duck Corporation, was a small publicly-traded company , headquartered in Clifton Park, New York, that designs video codec technology. They created a series of video codecs called TrueMotion...

, in which he held a ten percent ownership interest until disposing of 50,000 of his 69,200 shares in September 2006.

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