Peter Courtney, legendary and longtime leader of Oregon’s state Senate, has died

Peter Courtney, the longest-serving state lawmaker in Oregon history whose booming oratories and one-of-a-kind style made him a Salem legend, died Tuesday, July 16. He was 81.

Gov. Tina Kotek’s office announced in a release that Courtney died of complications from cancer in his home, surrounded by family.

Courtney’s death marks the passing of an Oregon political original. He was a wily and sometimes dour Democrat who rose to the peak of legislative power and became so enmeshed with the city he represented for nearly five decades that Salem has a bridge, housing complex and state hospital campus all bearing his name.

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