OREGON CAPITAL INSIDER - Carpet in the Oregon governor's ceremonial office in the state Capitol in Salem

Lori Brocker, secretary of the Oregon Senate since 2014, is resigning as of Nov. 1. The secretary is the parliamentarian and chief administrative officer of the Senate. Well-liked by senators and legislative staff, she brought a diverse background to the nonpartisan role: Senate committee administrator, director of governmental affairs and legal counsel for the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, lawyer in private practice and associate pastor of a church in Brooklyn, New York. Brocker had planned to leave when Peter Courtney finished his record tenure as Senate president in January but was asked to stay on.

Gov. Tina Kotek’s former education policy adviser, Melissa Goff, began work Thursday as the interim executive director of the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. She replaces executive director Anthony Rosilez, who in August said he would be resigning. He is leaving Nov. 3. The commission voted unanimously this week to hire Goff, whom Kotek had recommended to the TSPC executive committee.

Goff was the liaison between the governor and the Educator Advancement Council, Higher Education Coordinating Commission, Oregon Department of Education, TSPC and Youth Development Division. She coordinated the recruitment and hiring of the new ODE director, Charlene Williams. A former superintendent of the Albany and Philomath school districts, she also was an assistant superintendent in Portland and, before going to work for Kotek, deputy executive director of the Oregon School Boards Association.

Laura Kerns from the Oregon Audits Division will serve as interim communications director through the rest of Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade’s term. Kerns was a reporter for the Salem Statesman Journal before joining the Audits Division, which is part of the Secretary of State’s Office, in 2015 as a performance auditor and later serving as communications specialist. Ben Morris, who was communications director, is now chief of staff. 

Matt Davis was appointed as the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s policy and external affairs manager after having filled that role in an interim capacity since January. He oversees the agency’s government relations team, communications staff, budget planning and engagement with the Environmental Quality Commission.

Oregon House Republicans expanded their new leadership team to include Reps. Rick Lewis, Silverton; Ed Diehl, Stayton; Lucetta Elmer, McMinnville; Cyrus Javadi, Tillamook; and Greg Smith, Heppner. They join recently elected House Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich, Hood River; Deputy Leader Mark Owens, Crane; and whip Kim Wallan, Medford.

The Oregon Senate approved more than 100 appointments by Gov. Kotek to state boards, commissions and agency leadership last week. They included:

• Joy Dougherty, chair of the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board. She has been the agency’s presiding administrative law judge since 2013 and replaces Constance Wold, whom Gov. Kate Brown appointed in 2017.

• Channa Newell, Oregon Government Ethics Commission. For 10 years, she worked as a lawyer and committee administrator for the Legislature, departing in 2021 for the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.

• Lianne Thompson, Land Conservation and Development Commission. She is a Clatsop County commissioner.

• Mark Webb, Environmental Quality Commission. He is executive director of Blue Mountains Forest Partners, a private nonprofit.

• Kristy Rodriguez, Oregon Housing Stability Council. She is executive director of the Housing Authority of Malheur & Harney County.

Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, appointed three senators to the new Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response: Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, D-Portland, co-chair; Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp, Bend; and Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene. House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, appointed Reps. Jason Kropf, D-Bend, co-chair; Christine Goodwin, R-Canyon City; Kevin Mannix, R-Salem; and Rob Nosse, D-Portland; and Andrea Valderrama, D-Portland. 

Kali Sullivan, who previously worked for U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and state Sen. Kathleen Taylor, D-Portland, was hired by the Oregon Department of Transportation as legislative coordinator.