Oregon State Senate

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The Oregon State Senate chamber in the State Capitol.
The Oregon State Senate chamber in the State Capitol.

The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the state-wide legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the State Senate, representing 30 districts across the state, each with a population of 114,000. The State Senate meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.

Oregon State Senators serve four year terms without term limits. In 2002, the Oregon Supreme Court struck down the decade-old law, Oregon Ballot Measure 3 (1992), that had restricted State Senators to two terms (eight years) on procedural grounds.[1]

Like certain other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the State Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to state departments, commissions, boards, and other state governmental agencies.

The current Senate President is Peter Courtney of Salem.[2]

Oregon, along with Arizona, Maine, and Wyoming, is one of the four U.S. states to have abolished the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, a position which for most upper houses of state legislatures and indeed for the U.S. Congress (with the Vice President) is the head of the legislative body. Instead, a separate position of Senate President is in place, removed from the Oregonian executive branch.

Contents

[edit] Make-up of the State Senate

Party affiliation Members
  Democratic Party of Oregon 19
  Oregon Republican Party 11
  non-affiliated 0
Total 30
Majority 8

[edit] Latest elections

Main article: Oregon statewide elections, 2006#State Legislature

The latest elections for the Oregon State Senate occurred on November 7, 2006. 15 of the Senate's 30 seats were open for election. The Democratic Party retained their majority, with no loss or gain of seats for any party.

Senator Ben Westlund, whose seat was not up for election in 2006, announced his party change from non-affiliated to the Democratic Party shortly after the election. His switch resulted in an 19-11 majority for the Democrats in the 2007 legislative session. Senator Avel Gordly, who left the Democratic Party to become non-affiliated in 2006, rejoined the party in April 2008 in support of Barack Obama's presidential campaign.[3] Gordly is not seeking reelection in 2008.

Party Votes Seats Loss/gain Share of vote (%)
  Democratic 370,977 11 0 57.4
  Republican 264,564 4 0 40.9
  Libertarian Party of Oregon 2,663 0 0 .41
  non-affiliated 2,653 0 0 .41
  Constitution Party of Oregon 2,562 0 0 .39
Write In/Others 2,153 0 0 .33
Total 645,572 15 0 100.0%

[edit] Senators of the 2007 Legislative Session

Senate President: Peter Courtney (D-11 Salem)
President Pro Tem: Margaret Carter (D-22 Portland)
Majority Leader: Kate Brown (D-21 Portland)
Minority Leader: Ted Ferrioli (R-30 John Day)

Oregon Senate districts outside the Willamette Valley.
Oregon Senate districts outside the Willamette Valley.
Portland area Senate districts.
Portland area Senate districts.
Willamette Valley Senate districts south of Portland area.
Willamette Valley Senate districts south of Portland area.
District Name Party
1-Roseburg Jeff Kruse Republican
2-Central Point Jason Atkinson Republican
3-Ashland Alan C. Bates Democrat
4-S. Lane/N. Douglas Floyd Prozanski Democrat
5-Coos Bay Joanne Verger Democrat
6-Springfield Bill Morrisette Democrat
7-Eugene Vicki Walker Democrat
8-Albany Frank Morse Republican
9-Molalla Roger Beyer Republican
10-Salem Jackie Winters Republican
11-Salem Peter Courtney Democrat
12-McMinnville Gary George Republican
13-Hillsboro Larry George Republican
14-Beaverton Ryan Deckert Democrat
15-Hillsboro Bruce Starr Republican
16-Scappoose Betsy Johnson Democrat
17-Beaverton Brad Avakian Democrat
18-Portland Ginny Burdick Democrat
19-Tualatin Richard Devlin Democrat
20-Canby Kurt Schrader Democrat
21-Portland Kate Brown Democrat
22-Portland Margaret Carter Democrat
23-Portland Avel Gordly Democrat
24-Portland Rod Monroe Democrat
25-Gresham Laurie Monnes Anderson Democrat
26-Mt. Hood Rick Metsger Democrat
27-Tumalo Ben Westlund Democrat
28-Klamath Falls Doug Whitsett Republican
29-Pendleton David Nelson Republican
30-John Day Ted Ferrioli Republican

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Green, Ashbel S.; Lisa Grace Lednicer. "State high court strikes term limits", Oregonian, Portland, Oregon: Oregonian Publishing, 2006-01-17, pp. A1. 
  2. ^ Oregon Blue Book: Senate Presidents of Oregon
  3. ^ The Associated Press. "To back Obama, Oregon lawmaker is back as Democrat". OregonLive.com.
 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)

[edit] External links

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