Portland observer., July 24, 2024, Page 4, Image 4

Page 4
July 24, 2024
Oregon’s Longest-Serving State Lawmaker, Dies at 81
Courtney
Died of
Complications
from Cancer in
His Home
By Beverly Corbell
Long-time state Sen. Peter
Courtney, the longest-serving
Senate president, received vol-
umes of praise after his passing
on July 16.
Gov. Tina Kotek said in a
statement that Courtney leaves
a strong legacy.
“President Courtney was a
friend and ally in supporting
an Oregon where everyone can
find success and community.
His life story, the way he em-
braced Oregon and public ser-
vice, and his love for the insti-
tution of the Oregon Legislature
leaves a legacy that will live on
for decades,” Kotek said.
“He led through times of
prosperity and times of strug-
gle – including the great re-
cession and the COVID-19
pandemic – with a steadfast
commitment to protecting
people and making their lives
better,” she said. “His tenure
in the legislature is marked by
incredible triumphs, earned
through his genuine states-
manship and enormous heart.”
According to Oregon Public
Broadcasting, Courtney served
in the state Legislature for 38
years, between stints in the
House and Senate. He spent
20 years in the powerful role
of Senate President. Both are
records, and Courtney attained
a legendary status among old
friends and foes.
“Peter was old school,” said
former state Sen. Ginny Bur-
Late State Senate President Peter Courtney, who died July 16.
Photo courtesy of AP
dick, D-Portland, who served
with Courtney for more than
two decades, according to
OPB. “He was truly a brilliant
leader,” Burdick said. “I’ve
never really experienced any-
thing else like that.”
Courtney, a Democrat,
was a leader in his party
but also worked seamlessly
with Republicans.
Sen. Tim Knopp, a Bend
Republican who often squared
off with Courtney, according to
OPB, called Courtney a mentor
and “one of the most important
elected officials and political
figures in Oregon history.”
Courtney was very close
with another Republican, the
late Sen. Jackie Winters, who
he eulogized in an article for
OBP after her death at 82 in
May 29, 2019.
“I’ve lost my partner in pub-
lic service,” wrote Courtney.
“The Legislature and Oregon
have lost a dedicated servant.
We lost the best of the best.”
Courtney wrote that he
would be grieving that he
would not see Winters on the
Senate floor again. “It hurts
more than I want to admit,”
he wrote. “I’ve lost a partner,
but more importantly, I’ve
lost a friend.”
Winters
believed
that
“young people who strayed
deserved a second chance, and
she believed hungry children
couldn’t concentrate on learn-
ing. And she looked out for
small businesses, principles
that guided her throughout her
life in public service,” Court-
ney wrote.
“We were a tag team,” wrote
Courtney. “We didn’t think
of ourselves as Democrats or
Republicans. We functioned
more like brother and sister.
I never had any sisters, but I
think that’s what brothers and
sisters do. We always looked
out for each other.”
The Associated Press wrote
that Courtney was “long one of
the more captivating, animated
and mercurial figures in Or-
egon politics. He was known
for his skill as a speaker, deal-
maker and his insistence on
bipartisan support for legisla-
tion. Courtney helped move
the Legislature to annual ses-
sions, boosted K-12 funding,
replaced Oregon’s defunct and
crumbling state hospital and
fought for animal welfare.”
Courtney, who retired from
the Senate in 2022, “empha-
sized bipartisanship and com-
promise during this tenure
running the upper chamber,
befriending Republicans and
making a point to learn the
names of colleague’s spouses
and children,” according to the
Salem Reporter.
Courtney represented Sen-
ate District 11, which includ-
ed north and east Salem, from
1998 until his retirement, stat-
ed the Reporter, and became
Senate president in 2003.
“He knew politics inside
and out. He knew how to man-
age people, coalitions and
caucuses,” Salem political
strategist Chuck Adams told
the Reporter.
Raised in New England,
Courtney moved to Salem on
a Greyhound bus in 1969 to
take a job as a law clerk, ac-
cording to the Reporter. “He
took a room at the downtown
YMCA and lived there for
two years. He remained an
advocate for the YMCA for
the rest of his life.”
He proved that in 2017 when
he approached Adams, then
president of the Y’s board, to
help him “go to war with him”
to replace the Y’s aging gym
with state lottery funding.
“Courtney ultimately se-
cured $16 million in state
money to make the project
happen, and another $9 mil-
lion for the YMCA’s afford-
able veteran housing proj-
ect next door,” according to
the Reporter. “The building,
which opened earlier this year,
was christened Courtney Place
in his honor.”
“Betsy Imholt, who served
as Courtney’s chief of staff and
now runs the Oregon Depart-
ment of Revenue, said some-
one once remarked that most
people seemed monochrome
compared to the rainbow of
Courtney’s personality,” the
Oregonian stated.
“That’s the best way I could
describe how he is: so charis-
matic, big personality, bit emo-
tions, big thoughts and ideas,”
Imholt said. “Everyone re-
members when they meet him
because there’s just nobody
like him.”
Courtney died at 81 from
complications related to cancer,
according to the Oregonian.
The Washington Post
remarked on Courtney’s
beginnings.
“Courtney was born in Phil-
adelphia. He said he spent his
youth helping to care for his
mother, who had Parkinson’s
disease. He grew up in Rhode
Island and West Virginia,
where his grandmother helped
raise him.
“Courtney received a bach-
elor’s degree in political sci-
ence and a master’s degree in
public administration from the
University of Rhode Island.
He completed law school at
Boston University, and moved
to Salem in 1969 after learn-
ing about an open judicial
clerkship in the Oregon Court
of Appeals.”
Courtney is survived by his
wife, Margie, three sons and
seven grandchildren.
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