Peter Michael Coleman Courtney (born June 18, 1943) is an American politician, lawyer, and professor who is currently a Democratic member of the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US 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 Sena ...

, representing the 11th District (in Marion County and including parts of Salem, Woodburn, and Gervais) since 1999. He is currently President of the Senate, serving since 2003. He was a member of the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of th ...

in 1981, 1983, and from 1989 through 1998. Courtney previously taught at

Western Oregon University Western Oregon University (WOU) is a public university in Monmouth, Oregon. It was originally established in 1856 by Disciples of Christ pioneers as Monmouth University. Subsequent names included Oregon State Normal School, Oregon College of ...

Early life

Courtney was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, on June 18, 1943.Senate President Peter Courtney.
Oregon State Legislature. Retrieved October 10, 2007. He grew up in

Moorestown, New Jersey Moorestown is a township in Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia and geographically part of the South Jersey region of the state. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, the son of a life insurance agent. Both his parents earned college degrees, with his mother’s degree in Latin. In high school, he played on the school’s football team. Courtney attended college at the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...

where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1965 and a master’s in public administration the following year.Senator Peter C. Courtney (OR)

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

. Retrieved on April 17, 2008. He graduated from Boston University’s law school, and then moved to Oregon in 1969 to become the law clerk of William S. Fort of the

Oregon Court of Appeals The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the US state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has thirteen judges and is located in Salem. Except for death penalty cases, which are reserved to the O ...

. Courtney arrived in Salem and stayed at the YMCA for two years.

Political career

Courtney's first political office was as a member of the Salem City Council where he served from 1974 until 1980. He was first elected to the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

in 1980 as a Democrat representing

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

and

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

counties in the

. Courtney gave up his House seat to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, 5th district, in the 1984 primary. Courtney narrowly lost to state senator Ruth McFarland, who had been the 1982 nominee. McFarland again lost to Congressman Denny Smith. Courtney ran for and narrowly lost a state Senate seat in 1986, before taking back his old state House seat in 1988. In the House he served as Democratic leader for eight years, longer than anyone else had before him. After repairs to the Oregon State Capitol were finished in 1995 after damage from the 1993 Scotts Mills earthquake, he gave a small piece of marble with an engraved image of the building to each Democrat in the House. He served as minority leader during the 1997 session. He avoided term limits by moving from the House to the Senate in 1999, representing only Marion County. In 2002, he had surgery to remove a burst appendix and even received last rites prior to the surgery when survival was unknown. After 13 days at the hospital he recovered and returned to the legislature. Peter Courtney

In 2003, Courtney was selected as the President of the

. The Senate was evenly divided between the state's major parties at the time, with 15 Democrats and 15 Republicans. Republican Lenn Hannon was chosen as President Pro-tem; the two were recognized as having forged a strong bipartisan working relationship during the previous legislature's five emergency sessions. Courtney is the longest-serving legislator and Senate President in Oregon's history. His support and advocacy in animal-related measures saw him labeled as a 2011 "Top Dog" by the Oregon Humane Society. In January 2022, Courtney announced he would not seek reelection to the Oregon Senate. Courtney serves as co-chair of the Legislative Counsel Committee, the Legislative Policy and Research Committee, and the Legislative Administrative Committee.

Career and family

Courtney taught speech at

, and served as an administrator at the

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

school. He married Margie (née Brenden) Courtney in 1976; they have three sons. He has worked as a political commentator for

KPTV KPTV (channel 12) is a television station in Portland, Oregon, United States. affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Vancouver, Washington–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX (channel 49). Both stations s ...

television and KSLM (now KZGD, as of 2020) radio. Courtney appeared in the documentary film ''Running Forward: Conquering Oregon's Hood to Coast Relay'', that was released in 2011. He has served on several boards of directors, and is a member of the

Oregon State Bar The Oregon State Bar Association (OSBA) is a public corporation and instrumentality of the Oregon Judicial Department in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulat ...

References

External links

Oregon State Senate - Senate President Peter CourtneyProject Vote Smart - Senator Peter C. Courtney (OR)
profile
Follow the Money 2008Nov. 7, 2006 Voters' Pamphlet General Election
from the Oregon Secretary of State
Peter Courtney and the No-Bid Capitol Makeover
''Willamette Week'', July 11, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, Peter 1943 births 21st-century American politicians Boston University School of Law alumni Lawyers from Salem, Oregon Living people Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Oregon city council members Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey Politicians from Salem, Oregon Presidents of the Oregon State Senate Democratic Party Oregon state senators University of Rhode Island alumni Western Oregon University faculty