New Jersey Senator Cory Booker isn’t the only “live action hero” holding office in the Democratic Party. As Newark, New Jersey Mayor, Booker made headlines several times with daring acts of heroism. His most notable rescue was in April 2012, when he suffered second-degree burns and smoke inhalation after rescuing a neighbor from a burning building.
Oregon’s low key Governor, John Kitzhaber (D) may not be as well known as Cory Booker, but he has amassed his own super hero worthy resume of rescues during his tenure as the state’s chief executive. On his way to dinner Monday night, Kitzhaber witnessed a person trying to resuscitate an unconscious woman on the side of a Portland street. The Governor, who is a former emergency room physician, asked his driver to stop. He then proceeded to take over administering CPR to the unconscious woman and had a member of his security detail call paramedics to the scene.
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Firefighters and paramedics arrived in under three minutes and were able to revive the woman with the aid of a defibrillator. Prior to this incident, the Governor has performed CPR a few times in the state capitol as well. Kitzhaber also answered the call of duty in the midst of a debate sponsored by the University of Oregon College Democrats, when he jumped off the stage to assist a man suffering from a seizure. In 2005, Kitzhaber even apprehended a suspected criminal by chasing him down and trapping him inside a bank’s revolving door.
When he is not performing as the state’s roving super hero, Kitzhaber is quietly marshaling bi-partisan support for an ambitiously progressive agenda that involves major reforms to health care and education. The Governor has shown his concern for the residents of his state in both his public policy choices and in his private actions. In a nation where modern politicians are maligned, and in many cases rightly so, the Governor is a unique breath of fresh air for the residents of Oregon, both figuratively and in some cases quite literally.
Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick’s successful re-election bid in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.
