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

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

member of the Oregon State Senate, representing the 11th District (in Marion County and including parts of

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

, Woodburn, and

Gervais Gervais may refer to: People * Gervais (name), list of people with the given name or surname Places * Gervais, Oregon * Gervais Lake, a lake in Minnesota * Gervais Township, Minnesota * Gervais Road, part of 170 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada ...

) 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 t ...

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 List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

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

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 ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

, and

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

, 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 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. 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 William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conqu ...

of the Oregon Court of Appeals. Courtney arrived in

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 in 1980 as a Democrat representing Marion 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 The 1993 Scotts Mills earthquake, also known as the "Spring break quake", occurred in the U.S. state of Oregon on March 25 at 5:34 AM Pacific Standard Time. With a moment magnitude of 5.6 and a maximum perceived intensity of VII (''Very strong' ...

, 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 Oregon State Senate. The Senate was evenly divided between the state's major parties at the time, with 15 Democrats and 15 Republicans. Republican

Lenn Hannon Lenn Hannon (July 4, 1943 – April 1, 2010) was the second-longest-serving state senator in the history of the U.S. state of Oregon. He held office from 1974 to 2003, switching from the Democratic to the Republican party in 1980. He represented O ...

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 school. He married Margie (née Brenden) Courtney in 1976; they have three sons. He has worked as a political commentator for KPTV television and KSLM (now KZGD, as of 2020) radio. Courtney appeared in the documentary film ''Running Forward: Conquering Oregon's

Hood to Coast Hood To Coast is a long distance relay race that starts at Mount Hood and continues nearly 200 miles to the Oregon Coast. Known as "the mother of all relays", it is the largest running and walking relay in the world, with 12,600 runners in the Hoo ...

Relay'', that was released in 2011. He has served on several boards of directors, and is a member of the Oregon State Bar.

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