Background
Kerans was born in 1941 in Washington, District of Columbia
Kerans was born in 1941 in Washington, District of Columbia
He attended the University of Oregon.
He held the position of Speaker of the House during the 1983 legislative session. There he was editor of the Oregon Daily Emerald, the school"s student newspaper from 1970 to 1971. During that session he was elected by the House as Speaker.
Kerans gave up the seat in the House in 1984 to run for Oregon State Treasurer.
He was the Democratic nominee, but lost to Republican Bill Rutherford. He then worked one year as a lobbyist for the City of Eugene.
At the Oregon Democratic State Convention in 1988 Kerans was one of ten Oregon Democrats elected as Dukakis delegates to the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Other prominent Oregon Democrats that were elected with Kerans were Secretary of State Barbara Roberts, State Representative Tom Mason, and State Representative David Dix.
Kerans returned to the Oregon Legislative Assembly after election to the Oregon State Senate from Lane County in 1986.
In 1987, he was the lone dissenter in a 24–1 vote appointing Richard G. Reiten as the new director of the state Economic Development Department. Kerans was concerned about Reiten"s membership in the all-male all-men"s Arlington Club, even though Reiten himself was open to the club allowing women to join. Kerans doubted the Arlington Club would change its policies stating, "This is, after all, a 124-year-old club and they haven"t changed their minds yet." In 1990, Arlington Club opened its doors to women.
Following his years in the legislature, Kerans worked as a lobbyist for the Oregon University System beginning in 1993 until 2004.
He was a member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly in the House of Representatives from 1974 through 1984, and in the Oregon State Senate from 1986 to 1993. During the fall of 1987 he joined the Oregon for Dukakis State Steering Committee and was one of 25 members of the steering committee introduced by Kitty Dukakis at an airport press conference.