Loren Ernest Parks (July 27, 1926 – October 13, 2023) was an American businessman from the state of Nevada. He previously lived in Oregon, from 1957 to 2002,[1] and was the biggest political contributor in the history of that state.[2] He financed numerous ballot measure initiative petitions and campaigns from the mid-1990s. He also contributed heavily to races for prominent offices by his attorney, Kevin Mannix, a frequent chief petitioner of ballot campaigns.
Loren Parks | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 27, 1926 Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | October 13, 2023 (aged 97) Hillsboro, Oregon, U.S. |
| Education | B.A. Psychology |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Early life
Loren Ernest Parks was born in Wichita, Kansas, on July 27, 1926.[2] He served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946.[2] He had a bacehlor of arts in psychology,[3] having studied at five different universities. He spoke several languages.[2] Parks married Auramae in 1951 while living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[2] The marriage produced three children, Gary, Raymond and Nancy (Sopp) before a divorce in 1972.[2][4]
Parks started a business while living in Aloha, Oregon, in the Portland area. He founded Parks Medical Electronics in 1961. The business sold a number of instruments, including a plethysmograph, which measures the blood flow to sexual organs and is used in treating sexual dysfunction and assessing the arousal of sex offenders.[2]
Oregon politics
From 1996 to 2006, Parks contributed over $6 million to various political campaigns – far more than any other individual, and more than most organized lobbies.[2] His entry into backing political concerns followed the passage of Ballot Measure 5 in 1990.[2] His support was instrumental in launching Oregon Taxpayers United, according to executive director Bill Sizemore.[2] Parks' dominance of the ballot measure system was said to undermine the grassroots intent of the system.[5] Parks made contributions to uphold the Oregon Death with Dignity Act in 1997.[2]
Parks was also a strong supporter of former state legislator and gubernatorial candidate Kevin Mannix. Mannix served as Parks' attorney.[6] Parks' staff once said: "Mr. Parks thinks Kevin is one of the few leaders who keeps his word and gets things done."[2] Parks did not indiscriminately back Mannix's proposed measures. In 2008, for instance, he declined to fund a proposed initiative that would have allowed for expanded local regulation of strip clubs. As a result, Mannix stopped pursuing ballot qualification.[7] In 2008, Parks was the source of over half the money used to qualify ballot measures for the statewide ballot.[8] None of the measures he supported in that year was successful.[9] In March 2014, Parks gave a $30,000 donation to Greg Barreto (R) of Cove, Oregon towards his campaign for Oregon state legislature.[10] That donation was returned in April.[11]
Later life and death
In 2001, a former employee filed a sexual harassment complaint and lawsuit against Parks.[6] Parks moved from Oregon to Henderson, Nevada, in 2002.[2] Parks was also a major contributor to charitable organizations, including health care and environmental concerns.[2] Parks was not religious, but was a believer in faith healing.[2] Parks died in Hillsboro, Oregon, on October 13, 2023, at the age of 97.[12]