Summary
The Oregon House of Representatives consists of 60 elected members. Representatives serve two-year terms and represent districts each containing about 63,850 citizens.
Oregon’s House Chamber is fashioned entirely of golden oak. Symbolic of Oregon’s important wood products industry is the specially designed carpet featuring the Douglas Fir, Oregon’s state tree. Behind the desk of the Speaker of the House, is a Barry Faulkner mural showing the historic meeting of Oregon pioneers at Champoeg in 1843, when the provisional government was established.
OnAir Post: Oregon State House
Wikipedia
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of approximately 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.
Members of the House serve two-year terms without term limits. In 2002, the Oregon Supreme Court struck down Oregon Ballot Measure 3 (1992), that had restricted State Representatives to three terms (six years) on procedural grounds.[1]
In the current legislative session, Democrats have 36 seats, a slim supermajority by one seat, while the Republicans have a minority of 24 seats.
Current session
| Position | Representative | District | Party | Residence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speaker of the House | Julie Fahey | 14 | Democratic | Eugene |
| Speaker pro Tempore | David Gomberg[4] | 10 | Democratic | Otis |
| Majority Leader | Ben Bowman | 25 | Democratic | Tigard |
| Majority Whip | Andrea Valderrama | 47 | Democratic | Portland |
| Assistant Majority Leaders | Pam Marsh | 5 | Democratic | Ashland |
| Hai Pham | 36 | Democratic | Hillsboro | |
| Annessa Hartman | 40 | Democratic | Gladstone | |
| Minority Leader | Christine Drazan | 51 | Republican | Canby |
| Deputy Minority Leader | Lucetta Elmer | 24 | Republican | McMinnville |
| Minority Whip | Virgle Osborne | 2 | Republican | Roseburg |
| Assistant Minority Leaders | Shelly Boshart Davis | 15 | Republican | Albany |
| Mark Owens | 60 | Republican | Crane | |
| Emily McIntire | 56 | Republican | Eagle Point |
Composition
The Republican Party held the majority in the House for many years until the Democratic Party gained a majority following the 2006 elections. After losing several seats in the 2010 elections, resulting in a split control between both parties for one legislative term, Democrats regained their majority in the 2012 elections. The Oregon State Senate has been under continuous Democratic control since 2005. On June 10, 2021, Republican Mike Nearman was expelled from the house by a 59–1 vote for intentionally letting armed protesters into the Oregon State Capitol to protest against health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon.[5][6] This was the first time a member of the legislature has been expelled in the state's history.[7] The lone no vote was by Nearman himself.
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Vacant | ||
| 73rd (2005–2006) | 27 | 33 | 60 | 0 |
| 74th (2007–2008) | 31 | 29 | 60 | 0 |
| 75th (2009–2010) | 36 | 24 | 60 | 0 |
| 76th (2011–2012) | 30 | 30 | 60 | 0 |
| 77th (2013–2014) | 34 | 26 | 60 | 0 |
| 78th (2015–2016) | 35 | 25 | 60 | 0 |
| 79th (2017–2018) | 35 | 25 | 60 | 0 |
| 80th (2019–2020) | 38 | 22 | 60 | 0 |
| 81st (2021–2022) | 37 | 23 | 60 | 0 |
| 82nd (2023–2024) | 35 | 25 | 60 | 0 |
| 83rd (2025–2026) | 35 | 24 | 59 | 1 |
| Latest voting share | 58% | 40% | ||
Milestones
- 1914: Marian B. Towne became the first woman elected to the Oregon House
- 1972: Bill McCoy became the first Black person to serve in the House
- 1985: Margaret Carter became the first Black woman elected to the House
- 1986: Rocky Barilla became the first Latino elected to the House
- 1991: Gail Shibley became the first openly gay person to serve in the House
- 2013: Jessica Vega Pederson became the first Latina woman to serve in the House
- 2013: Tina Kotek became the first openly gay person to serve as Speaker of the House (both in Oregon as well as in the United States)
- 2021: Mike Nearman became the first person to be expelled from the Legislature
- 2022: Janelle Bynum became the first Black person to receive votes for Speaker of the House[8]
- 2022: Travis Nelson became the first openly gay person of color to serve in the House
Officers
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Speaker
Chief Clerk
"The Chief Clerk of the House is the administrative officer elected for a two-year term by the membership of the House of Representatives to be responsible for ensuring that the chamber's business and proceedings run smoothly. The Chief Clerk's Office is therefore responsible for a multiplicity of duties including the processing of the official business of the House, providing the proper setting for consideration and enactment of Oregon laws, maintaining the Rules of the House of Representatives, and advising presiding officers and other members on the proper interpretation of chamber rules and protocols.""Chief Clerk". OregonLegislature.gov.
The Office of the Chief Clerk also comprises a Deputy Chief Clerk, Journal Clerk, Measure History Clerk, Reading Clerk, and a Sergeant-at-Arms.
Party leaders
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Ben Bowman (D-Tigard)
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Christine Drazan (R-Canby)
| Session | Democratic leader | Majority party Speaker | Republican leader | Governor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Kitty Piercy | Republican majority | Steve Harper | John Kitzhaber | |
| 1999 Sp. | |||||
| 2001 | Dan Gardner | Republican majority | Karen Minnis | ||
| 2001 Sp. | |||||
| 2003 | Deborah Kafoury | Republican majority | Tim Knopp | Ted Kulongoski | |
| 2005 | Jeff Merkley | Wayne Scott | |||
| 2007 | Dave Hunt | Democratic majority | |||
| Bruce Hanna | |||||
| 2009 | Mary Nolan | Democratic majority | |||
| 2011 | Dave Hunt | Split house | Kevin Cameron | John Kitzhaber | |
| Tina Kotek | Split house | ||||
| 2013 | Val Hoyle | Democratic majority | Mike McLane | ||
| 2015 | Jennifer Williamson | Kate Brown | |||
| 2017 | |||||
| 2019 | Barbara Smith Warner | Carl Wilson | |||
| Christine Drazan | |||||
| 2021 | Vikki Breese-Iverson | ||||
| 2022 Sp. | Julie Fahey | Democratic majority | Jeff Helfrich | Tina Kotek | |
| 2023 | |||||
| 2025 | Ben Bowman | Democratic majority | Christine Drazan |
See also
- List of speakers of the Oregon House of Representatives
- Oregon State Capitol
- Oregon Legislative Assembly
- Oregon State Senate
- List of Oregon Legislative Assemblies
Notes
References
- ^ Green, Ashbel S.; Lisa Grace Lednicer (January 17, 2006). "State high court strikes term limits". Oregonian. Portland, Oregon: Oregonian Publishing. pp. A1.
- ^ "House Democratic Caucus members". www.oregonlegislature.gov. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
- ^ "House Republican Caucus leaders". www.oregonlegislature.gov. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
- ^ Botkin, Ben; Shumway, Julia (January 13, 2025). "Oregon lawmakers sworn into office on Monday". Oregon Capital Chronicle. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
- ^ Peterson, Danny; Balick, Lisa (January 7, 2021). "Kotek: GOP's Nearman let right-wing protesters into Capitol". KOIN. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- ^ Borrud, Hillary (January 7, 2021). "Oregon Rep. Mike Nearman let right-wing protesters into the Oregon Capitol last month". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- ^ VanderHart, Dirk (June 10, 2021). "Oregon House expels state Rep. Mike Nearman, plotter of Capitol incursion". www.opb.org. Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ^ Radnovich, Connor (February 2, 2022). "First day of session: Call for empathy, then a public protest". Register-Guard.
External links
- Oregon House of Representatives
- Map of House Districts
- Lists of legislators and legislative staff going back to pre-statehood Oregon
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