Oregon Governor
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The governor of Oregon is the
head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...
of
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's
military forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments. The current governor of Oregon is
Tina Kotek Christine Kotek ( ; born September 30, 1966) is an American politician serving as the 39th governor of Oregon since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Kotek served eight terms as the state representative from the 44th district in the Ore ...
, who took office on January 9, 2023. The governor's salary as of 2018 is $98,600.


Constitutional descriptions

Article V of the Oregon State Constitution sets up the legal framework of the Oregon Executive Branch.


Eligibility

Article V, Section 1 states that the governor must be a U.S. citizen, at least 30 years of age, and a resident of Oregon for at least three years before the candidate's election. Section 2 extends ineligibility as follows: Section 1 further sets the maximum number of consecutive years a governor may serve, specifying that There is no specified limit on the number of total terms. John Kitzhaber is the only governor to have served non-consecutive terms.
Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 38th governor of Oregon from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th distr ...
, who completed Kitzhaber's final term after his resignation, was elected to an additional four-year term but was ineligible to run for a second term due to the restriction on serving more than eight years in a twelve-year span.


Elections and terms of office

Sections 4-7 of Article V outline the formal gubernatorial election procedures such as publishing the winner, ties, disputed elections, and terms of office. The formal process of certification of results of a gubernatorial election ends when the Secretary of State delivers the results to the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives. The Speaker then will publish the results to a joint session of the
Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper house, upper and lower chamber: the Oregon State Senate, Sena ...
. Where an election results in a tie, a joint session of the next legislative session will vote on the two candidates, and declare the winner governor. Legally contested elections are also decided by the full legislature in whichever manner other laws may prescribe.


Line of succession

The gubernatorial line of succession was modified in 1920, 1946, and 1972. The current list is designated as Article V, Section 8a. It defines who may become or act as the governor of Oregon upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office of a sitting governor. The new governor (or acting governor) will serve out the remainder of the previous governor's or incapacitated governor's term. A special gubernatorial election is required, if there's more than two years remaining in the previous governor's or incapacitated governor's term. Unlike many states, Oregon does not have a
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
(though in 2007, legislation was proposed to establish such an office.) The current order is:


Transition events

Four governors have died in office, and five governors have resigned. *After La Fayette Grover resigned in 1877 to become a
United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
, Secretary of State Stephen F. Chadwick took office; he completed Grover's term and did not seek re-election. *After George Chamberlain resigned in 1909 to become a
United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
, Secretary of State Frank W. Benson took office. *After Benson fell ill in 1910, he transferred his powers to President of the Senate Jay Bowerman, who was sworn in as Acting Governor. Bowerman then became governor upon Benson's resignation, and was defeated in the 1910 gubernatorial election. *After the death of
James Withycombe James Withycombe (March 21, 1854 – March 3, 1919) was an English-born American Republican politician who served as the 15th Governor of Oregon. Biography Withycombe was born to tenant farmers Thomas and Mary Ann Withycombe in Tavistock, E ...
in 1919, Secretary of State Ben W. Olcott took office; he completed Withycombe's term and was defeated in the 1922 general election. *After the death of Isaac L. Patterson in 1929, President of the Senate A. W. Norblad took office; he completed Patterson's term and was defeated in the 1930 Republican primary. *After the death of
Earl Snell Earl Wilcox Snell (July 11, 1895 – October 28, 1947) was an American politician, businessman, and member of the Republican Party, serving in the Oregon House of Representatives, as the Oregon Secretary of State, and as the 23rd Governor of O ...
in 1947, Speaker of the House John H. Hall took office; he lost a special election in 1948 and did not complete the term. *After
Douglas McKay James Douglas McKay (June 24, 1893 – July 22, 1959) was an American businessman and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He served in World War I before going into business, where he was most successful as a car dealership owner in Salem ...
resigned in 1952 to become
United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natura ...
, President of the Senate Paul L. Patterson took office; he completed McKay's term and was elected in his own right in 1954. *After Patterson's death in 1956, President of the Senate Elmo Smith took office; he lost a special election later that year and did not complete the term. *After John Kitzhaber resigned in 2015 amid a growing ethics scandal, Secretary of State
Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 38th governor of Oregon from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th distr ...
took office; she won a special election in 2016 and was re-elected in 2018.


State military forces

The governor is the commander-in-chief of the
Oregon Military Department The Oregon Military Department is an agency of the Government of Oregon, government of the U.S. state of Oregon, which oversees the armed forces of the state of Oregon. Under the authority and direction of the Governor of Oregon, governor as ...
. Power is granted to the governor to mobilize and deploy state military forces.


Pardons

The power to grant pardons and reprieves and to commute sentences is granted to the governor, with limitations placed upon cases of treason. Additionally, the governor can remit fines and forfeitures. Any use of these powers, however, must be reported to the legislature. In treason cases, the governor may only grant reprieves. The final matter of pardons, commuting of sentencing, or further reprieves is referred to the legislature in these cases.


Legislative

The governor has the power to veto legislation, which can be overridden by a two-thirds majority in both houses of the legislature, and can veto particular items from an appropriations or emergency bill while leaving others intact (see
line item veto The line-item veto, also called the partial veto, is a special form of veto power that authorizes a chief executive to reject particular provisions of a bill enacted by a legislature without vetoing the entire bill. Many countries have different ...
). If needed, the governor may convene a special session of the legislature by proclamation and is empowered to call for special elections to fill vacant seats. Between the vacancy and special election, the governor is able to appoint a replacement if the appropriate county boards are unable to do so within the designated time period. Annually, the governor addresses the legislature in their
State of the State address State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
. In this speech the governor outlines the current conditions of the state, and makes recommendations to the assembly as to what the government's priorities ought to be.


Appointments

If the legislature is out of session, the governor may appoint replacements to fill state offices until elections are held or the legislature reconvenes (see
recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...
).


Official residence

Mahonia Hall in Salem is the official governor's mansion. The house was built in 1924 for hops grower Thomas A. Livesley. It was named Mahonia Hall after citizens raised funds in 1988 to purchase it as Oregon's first official governors' mansion. Before the purchase of Mahonia Hall, whatever house the governor rented became the "Governor's mansion". Governors Atiyeh and McCall lived in the 1929 Stiff-Jarman House, an English cottage-style (also characterized as
Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...
style) residence in the North Capitol Mall Historic Redevelopment area. After the end of Atiyeh's term, the Stiff-Jarman House became the headquarters of the
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is the chief regulatory agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for protecting and enhancing the state's natural resources and managing sanitary and toxic waste disposa ...
. Today the building houses rented offices.


Provisional government (1843–1849)

Meetings at Champoeg led up to the first constitution of the
Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...
, and a petition for U.S. territorial status. The resulting acts also created this body as a
provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
for the region. The first executives of this government were a three-person, elected committee known as the
Executive Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...
. In 1845, elections for a chief executive were held. The first person in Oregon to hold the title of governor was
George Abernethy George Abernethy (October 7, 1807 – March 2, 1877) was an American politician, pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first governor of Oregon under the provisional government based in the Willamette Valley, an area later a part of the American sta ...
, a prominent businessman.


See also

* List of governors of Oregon


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Governor Of Oregon * 1859 establishments in Oregon de:Liste der Gouverneure von Oregon sl:Seznam guvernerjev Oregona