Portland Public Schools In 1997, Saxton was elected to the
Portland Public Schools Board serving through 2001, and served as its chair from 1998 to 2000. He has also chaired the Strategic Planning committee of the Cascade Pacific Council of the Boy Scouts, co-chaired the Oregon Higher Education Roundtable, and served on the board of the Saturday Academy, a science and math mentoring program for Oregon's youth.
2006 Gubernatorial nomination On March 23, 2005, Saxton announced that he would again seek the Republican nomination for governor in 2006. Kevin Mannix also ran again, and State Senator
Jason Atkinson ran a strong campaign as well. Saxton won the Republican primary for Governor of Oregon on May 16, 2006 with 43% of the vote, versus Mannix's 30% and Atkinson's 22%. On November 7, 2006, Saxton was defeated by Democratic
incumbent Ted Kulongoski.
Governor's transition team In 2010, Saxton was appointed to
Democratic governor
John Kitzhaber's transition team, focusing on educational issues. His wife was selected as well to focus on early childhood issues. == Later life ==