Former Senate President Peter Courtney, Oregon’s longest-serving lawmaker, dies at 81

Senate President Peter Courtney speaks during a legislative special session on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Peter Courtney, the longest serving lawmaker in Oregon history and former president of the Senate, died Tuesday morning in his home in Salem at the age of 81.

Gov. Tina Kotek announced his death in a statement, saying he died from complications related to cancer and was surrounded by family.

“It is with incredible sadness that I share the news today of the passing of Peter Michael Coleman Courtney, the former president of the Oregon State Senate and longest-serving state legislator in Oregon history,” Kotek said. “The First Lady and I ask that Oregonians hold Peter’s family – his wife Margie, their children and grandchildren – in their hearts and prayers.”

His death came hours before a ceremony Tuesday afternoon to rename the Oregon State Hospital’s Salem campus, the Peter Courtney Salem Campus of the Oregon State Hospital, in tribute for his work as a legislator and champion of mental health.

Courtney spent nearly four decades in the Legislature. A Democrat, he served 14 years in the House and 24 years in the Senate, where he spent a record 20 years as president before retiring in January 2023 at the end of the pandemic.

He was known for his folksy turn of phrase, known around the Capitol as Courtneyisms. He wasn’t afraid to remark about another senator’s casual attire, when he found it inappropriate, and he offered blunt assessments in tough political climates, like when Republican-led walkouts frustrated efforts to pass legislation.

“This is a failed short session,” Courtney said as the 2020 short session concluded amid a GOP walkout to stop a cap-and-trade bill from advancing, telling reporters: “Right now, Oregon’s Legislature doesn’t exist.”

Lawmakers paid attention when he spoke.

Sen. Rob Wagner, a Lake Oswego Democrat who succeeded Courtney, remembered when Courtney stepped down how the phrase “Peter is going to speak” would bring staffers running to hear him take the floor.

“People would be stacked three-deep in the gallery just to hear the argument he was advancing and the way he approached his craft,” Wagner said. “All of us are better legislators, we are better human beings and the state of Oregon is stronger due to (his) leadership and service.”

On Tuesday, Wagner called Courtney, “a legend – larger than life.”

In his farewell to the Senate in December 2022, he acknowledged difficulties of being the chamber’s chief wrangler: “I’ve been hurt. I’ve been angry. I’ve had nasty things done to me, and I’ve seen a lot. But I must say along the way somewhere I got blessed.”

Courtney’s funeral

A funeral mass will be held at St. Mary Catholic Church in Mount Angel. Donations in remembrance can be made to the Salem Withnell Family YMCA or Family Building Blocks .

East Coast beginnings

He was born in Philadelphia and grew up largely on the East Coast, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s in public administration from the University of Rhode Island. He earned a law degree from Boston University, and in 1969, took a Greyhound bus to Salem to clerk for Oregon Appeals Court Judge William Fort.

He stayed in a room for two years at the local YMCA, and in 1974, launched his political career by getting elected to Salem City Council. Along the way, he served on the board of Salem Area Mass Transit and coached basketball for the Salem Boys & Girls Club.

He served in the Oregon House from 1981 to 1999, taking a break in the 1980s to make a failed runs for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

He was elected to the Oregon Senate in 1998 and became Senate president in 2003 at a time when the chamber was divided between Democrats and Republicans. Courtney emphasized bipartisanship as Senate president, and when he stepped down, Republican Sen. Tim Knopp of Bend, who was Senate minority leader, said Republicans appreciated him for protecting the minority and ensuring their voices were heard.

On Tuesday, Knopp said: “He was the most formidable leader I have had the privilege to work with. He was fair, kind and brought people together. He tried to make sure all Oregonians’ voices were heard.”

Courtney championed many issues, including making emergency buildings safe to withstand earthquakes. He pushed for the current retrofitting of the Capitol building, where construction noises clanged in the background as he bid his colleagues farewell.

He worked on legislation to establish the state’s first rainy-day fund for public schools and on bills on LGBTQ+ rights. He also focused on mental health and the state hospital, located in Salem. In 2004, Courtney was among a group that discovered unclaimed cremains of nearly 3,500 patients at Oregon State Hospital and other state institutions. In 2022, then-Gov. Kate Brown issued an executive order to rename the Salem campus of Oregon’s mental health hospital.

In 2013, he successfully pushed an increase in the cigarette tax so mental health would have a dedicated funding stream. At the time, he lamented the role of prisons as warehousing people with mental health needs.

He was often focused on the most vulnerable, Wagner said.

“His legacy is typified by his dedication to the humane care of animals and for the well-being of children and those who struggle with mental health,” Wagner said. “But his legacy is more than policy – it is a spirit of governing that he brought to Oregon.”

Courtney also took tough stances when he believed it was necessary. In four sessions, Courtney blocked legislation in the Senate after it passed the House that showed support for electing the president through the popular vote rather than the electoral college. Courtney believed the question should go to voters instead.

Rankled by those moves, a national nonprofit that backed the legislation launched online ads in 2017 to remind Oregonians about Courtney’s role, the Statesman Journal reported .

‘Enormous heart’

Kotek also remembered Courtney’s focus on humanity.

“He led through times of prosperity and times of struggle – including the great recession and the COVID-19 pandemic – with a steadfast commitment to protecting people and making their lives better,” Kotek said in a statement. “His tenure in the Legislature is marked by incredible triumphs, earned through his genuine statesmanship and enormous heart.”

In the span of his legislative career, Oregon grew and changed. When Courtney’s legislative career started in 1981, Oregon’s population was just 2.6 million. By the time he retired four decades later, Oregon’s population had grown to 4.2 million people.

By then, the next generation of legislative leaders in the growing state had an example.

“Peter Courtney set the standard for what it means to be a true champion for the state of Oregon and its people,” House Speaker Julie Fahey of Eugene said. “His passion for our state was clear no matter where he was or what office he served in – as a Salem City councilor, as a member of the Oregon House or as Senate president.”

The Republican leader of the Senate, Sen. Daniel Bonham of The Dalles, remembered Courtney not only for his legislative prowess but also for his humanity: “Peter was a mentor, a friend and a true statesman. His wisdom, compassion and sense of humor were cherished by those who had the privilege to work with him.”

Bonham said lawmakers will “honor his legacy and will strive to continue his work with the same spirit of civility he exemplified throughout his career.”

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