Peter Courtney, Oregon’s longest-serving state legislator, dies at 81

SALEM, Oregon. Peter Courtney, Oregon’s longest-serving lawmaker and a politician known for his bipartisanship and negotiating skills, died Tuesday, officials said. He was 81 years old.

Courtney died of complications from cancer at her home in Salem, Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement.

Courtney served 38 years in the Legislature, including stints in the House and Senate. He spent 20 years in the powerful role of president of the Senate, starting in 2003, and maintained control until retiring in January 2023.

Courtney was long one of the most captivating, lively and mercurial figures in Oregon politics. He was known for his skills as a speaker, negotiator, and for his insistence on bipartisan support for legislation.

“President Courtney was a friend and ally in supporting an Oregon where everyone can find success and community,” Kotek said in his statement. “His life story, the way he embraced Oregon and public service, and his love for the institution of the Oregon Legislature leave a legacy that will live on for decades.”

Courtney helped move the Legislature into annual sessions, increased K-12 school funding, replaced Oregon’s defunct and decaying state hospital, and fought for animal welfare.

Salem has a bridge, a housing complex, and a state hospital campus, all named in his honor, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

The lawmaker had mixed feelings about such praise, said Oregon Department of Revenue Director Betsy Imholt, who previously served as Courtney’s chief of staff. The Oregonian/OregonLive. He used to say he was a plow horse, not a show horse.

“He didn’t believe in solidifying his legacy,” she said. “He really believed in…showing up. Doing your best.”

Sen. Tim Knopp, a Bend Republican who often disagreed with Courtney, called him a friend and “one of the most important elected officials and political figures in Oregon history.”

Courtney was born in Philadelphia. He said he spent his youth helping 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 bachelor’s degree in political science 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 learning about an open judicial internship at the Oregon Court of Appeals.

Courtney is survived by his wife Margie, three children and seven grandchildren The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

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This story has been edited to clarify that Courtney will retire in January 2023.