About Vicki

Vicki Berger is a life-long resident of Oregon’s House District 20. She has worked, owned and operated a business, and raised a family in Salem. Vicki attended Salem public schools as did her three grown children.  A large portion of Vicki’s community service has revolved around supporting public education.

Community Service  

Vicki’s first role as an elected official followed her election to the Salem-Keizer school board in 1988, serving for four years. In 1998, as a volunteer she co-chaired the “Classrooms for Kids” committee that successfully campaigned for passage of the school bonds to build West Salem High School and other new school in the district. She has also served on the board of directors for the Salem Schools Foundation.

Vicki’s community service has branched out to other capacities within the Salem, Monmouth and Independence area.  She recently served on Salem’s Downtown Development Board, and she has also been a member of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, West Salem Rotary and West Salem Business Association.  As a long time supporter and member of the YMCA, Vicki was the first woman to be named president of the board of directors of the Salem Family YMCA.  In 2001 Vicki and her husband Jerry were honored as Salem's First Citizens by the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce.

Currently, Vicki serves on the Salem Hospital Foundation which supports Salem’s premier healthcare facility through charitable giving.  She also serves on the Board of the YMCA Youth and Government Program and the Oregon Capitol Foundation.

Service in the Oregon Legislature

In November 2002 Vicki was elected to represent District 20 in Oregon’s House of Representatives.  As a freshman legislator, Vicki was elevated to a leadership role as vice chair of the Trade and Economic Development Committee.  She was also a member of the House Revenue Committee.  

During her second term, Vicki was chair of the General Government Committee and vice chair of the Revenue Committee, two key legislative committees in the House of Representatives.

Elected for a third term in 2006, Vicki served in the 2007 legislative session on the Business and Labor and Revenue committees, and she was vice chair of the Elections, Ethics and Rules Committee.

Vicki believes in working with members of both parties to achieve legislative gains that benefited all Oregonians.  She:

• Led the way in passing the extension of the famous Oregon Bottle Bill to include a deposit on bottled water;
• Worked hard to help create Oregon’s first Rainy Day Fund which gives us financial stability and protects Oregonians from having to make devastating cuts during economic downturns;
• Helped expand access to the Oregon Prescription Drug Program to make prescriptions more affordable for seniors;
• Sponsored legislation that eventually added 100 state troopers to keep our highways safer every day and every night;
• Worked to add 18 percent to the budgets of local school districts, allowing them to reduce class sizes and restore programs that had been cut; and
• Helped increase financial aid for college and university students while reinvesting in Oregon’s universities and community colleges.

Vicki continues to be an outspoken advocate for common sense solutions to the challenges facing Oregon.  Her legislative service is dedicated to:

• Creating quality jobs that support families and improve Oregon’s economic
  outlook;
• Reducing wasteful governmental spending while providing essential government
  services to our citizens; and
• Improving public education by stabilizing funding and expanding opportunities for community college and university students.