Oregon insiders: Who’s who in and around state government

Published 2:00 pm Thursday, November 21, 2024

Oregon Senate Democrats and House Republicans elected new leaders. Senate Republicans stuck with the same ones, and House Democrats mostly did the same.

Here are the new lineups for your political scorecards.

• Senate Democrats: Majority Leader Kayse Jama, Portland, replaced Kathleen Taylor, Portland. Wlsnvey Campos, Aloha, moved up to deputy majority leader from assistant leader. Now an assistant majority leader, Janeen Sollman, Hillsboro, was deputy leader. The other assistant majority leader, Khanh Pham, Portland, is a new senator, moving over from the House. Retaining their current positions are Senate President-designate Rob Wagner, Lake Oswego; Senate President Pro Tempore-designate James Manning Jr., Eugene; and whips Sara Gelser Blouin, Corvallis, and Lew Frederick, Portland.

• Senate Republicans: Republican Leader Daniel Bonham, The Dalles; deputy leaders David Brock Smith, Port Orford, Cedric Hayden, Fall Creek, and Dick Anderson, Lincoln City; and whip Suzanne Weber, Tillamook.

• House Democrats: House Speaker-nominee Julie Fahey, Eugene; Majority Leader Ben Bowman, Tigard; Speaker Pro Tempore-nominee David Gomberg, Otis, replacing retiring Rep. Paul Holvey, Eugene; Majority Whip Andrea Valderrama, Portland; Deputy Majority Whip Jason Kropf, Bend; and assistant majority leaders Pam Marsh (policy), Ashland, Annessa Hartman (political), Gladstone, and Hai Pham (professional development), Hillsboro.

• House Republicans: Republican Leader Christine Drazan, Canby, replaced Jeff Helfrich, Hood River. Deputy Leader Lucetta Elmer, McMinnville, replaced Mark Owens, Crane. Whip Virgle Osborn, Roseburg, replaced Kim Wallan, Medford.

The Multnomah and Washington county commissioners unanimously appointed Rep. Lisa Reynolds, D-Beaverton, to fill the Senate District 17 vacancy. Sen. Elizabeth Steiner, D-Portland, resigned that position on Nov. 6 after being elected state treasurer. Reynolds was endorsed by Steiner and by the other two candidates for appointment, Pradnya Patil and Joel Shapiro.

Senior policy adviser Katie Morrison and policy adviser Alex Blosser will exit the Senate Majority Office after brief tenures. Staying on are Stephen Watson, chief of staff; Tess Seger, communications director; and Hunter Gilbertson, operations manager. The SMO will hire an outreach coordinator and an administrative coordinator.

After a brief stint with the lobby, Justin Brecht returned to the Senate Republican Office as legislative director. Scott McLean, who ran Monique DeSpain’s congressional campaign, will start in January as a policy analyst for SRO.

Will Anderson is the new caucus strategist for the House Majority Office after recently working for Eames Consulting. A Milwaukie city councilor, he also worked for the Senate and House Democratic campaign committees, was chief of staff for Rep. Bowman, and was a legislative aide for Rep. Teresa Alonso León, Woodburn, and communications director for Rep. Karin Power, Milwaukie.

Lucas Bezerra, communications director for then-House majority leader and now-House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, will join Gov. Tina Kotek’s staff on Dec. 16 as deputy communications director. Anca Matica, a press secretary for Kotek, will become communications and policy adviser for the governor’s Natural Resources and Climate team as of Dec. 9.

Dawson Quinton, who since 2021 worked for Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, started at the Bank of Eastern Oregon last week doing Community Reinvestment Act compliance and special projects.

Wednesday was the final day for Ben Morris as chief of staff in the Secretary of State’s Office. The position will remain vacant until filled by Tobias Read, incoming secretary of state. Morris took a job with Portland General Electric. Jessica Ventura, who manages the secretary of state’s legislative team, will depart in January.

Brendan Finn will leave the Oregon Department of Transportation, where he runs the Urban Mobility Office and is a key player in the Interstate 5 Rose Quarter project. As first reported by Willamette Week, Finn in January will become chief of staff for incoming Multnomah County Commissioner Vince Jones-Dixon. Before joining ODOT, Finn was Gov. Kate Brown’s transportation adviser after 19 years with the city of Portland.

After 34 years at KGW-TV, Pat Dooris will leave broadcast news to become communications director for incoming Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez. Since August, Brianna Brown has been interim communications director for the DA’s office. Dooris anchors KGW’s “The Story.” His last day with the station is Dec. 17.