by Government Relations Staff

Psychologists will be among those serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and in statehouses around the country during legislative sessions in 2007. All psychologists seeking reelection at both the federal and state levels won on November 7.

Reps. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) and Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) were reelected to Congress. In addition, Dr. Ted Strickland, who has served a total of 12 years in the House of Representatives, was just elected as governor of Ohio. This victory makes him the first psychologist ever elected to statewide office.

The following psychologist-incumbents were reelected to serve in their respective state legislatures:

California Sen. Gloria Romero
Connecticut Rep. Walter Pawelkiewicz
Maine Rep. Elaine Makas
Massachusetts Rep. Ruth Balser
Massachusetts Rep. John Scibak
New Hampshire Rep. William Butynski
New Hampshire Rep. James Powers
Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty
Ohio Sen. Dale Miller
Oregon Rep. Phil Barnhart

In another exciting development for psychology, President Bush is nominating psychologist Terry Cline, PhD, of Oklahoma, to be the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Cline currently serves as the Oklahoma Secretary of Health and Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Before that, he served as an APA Practice Directorate Health Care Policy Fellow at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.