List of Governors of Oregon
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The current Governor of Oregon is Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat.
- 1 Constitutional Descriptions
- 2 Official Residence
- 3 List of Governors of Oregon
- 3.1 Provisional Territorial Government (1843-1848)
- 3.2 U.S. Territorial Governors (1848-1859)
- 3.3 State Governors (1859-Present)
- 4 Gubernatorial facts
Constitutional Descriptions
Article V of the Oregon State Constitution ([link]) sets up the legal framework of the Oregon Executive Branch.
Eligibility
Article V, Section 1 states that a Governor must be a U.S. citizen, at least 30 years old, and a resident of Oregon for at least 3 years before the candidate's election. Section 2 extends ineligibility to the following:"No member of Congress, or person holding any office under the United States, or under this State, or under any other power, shall fill the Office of Governor, except as may be otherwise provided in this Constitution."
Elections and Terms of Office
Article V, sections 4-7, outline the formal gubernatorial election procedures such as publishing the winner, ties, disputed elections, and terms of office.Governors are elected by popular ballot and serve terms of four years, limited to two terms in office.
The formal process of certification of gubernatorial election results ends when the Secretary of State delivers the results to the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives. The Speaker then will publish the results to a joint session of the Oregon Legislative Assembly.
Where an election results in a tie, a joint session of the next legislative session will vote on the two candidates, and declare the winner governor. Legally contested elections are also decided by the full Legislature in whichever manner other laws may prescribe.
Line of Succession
A Gubernatorial Line of Succession has been modified in 1920 and 1946, only to be repealed and replaced by a new section in 1972. The current list is designated as Artivle V, Section 8a. It defines who may become or act as the Governor of Oregon upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office (by impeachment and subsequent removal or recall) of a sitting Governor. The acting governor will serve out the remainder of the outgoing governor's term until the next election. The current chain is:
| # | Position | Current office holder | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Secretary of State | Bill Bradbury | Democratic |
| 2 | State Treasurer | Randall Edwards | Democratic |
| 3 | President of the Senate | Peter Courtney | Democratic |
| 4 | Speaker of the House | Karen Minnis | Republican |
Powers
An Oregon Governor's powers are enumerated in Article V, sections 9-18:State Military Forces
The Governor of Oregon is the Commander in Chief of military forces under control of the state, in particular, the Oregon National Guard. Powers are granted to the governor to mobilize and deploy state military forces.Pardons
Powers to grant pardons, reprieves, and commute sentences are granted to the governor, with limitations placed upon cases of treason. Additionally, the governor can remit fines and forfietures. Any use of these powers, however, must be reported to the Legislative Assembly.In treason cases, the governor may ony grant reprieves. The final matter of pardons, commuting of sentencing, or further reprieves is referred to the Legislative Assembly in these cases.
Legislative
The governor has the power to veto legislation, overrideable by a two-thirds majority in both houses of the legislature, and can veto particular items from an appropriations or emergency bill while leaving others intact(see Line item veto).If needed, the governor may convine a special session of the State Legislature by proclaimation and is empowered to call for special elections to fill vacant seats. Between the vancancy and special election, the governor is able appoint a replacement.
Annually, the Governor addresses the Legislature in his "State of the State" address. In this speech, the Governor outlines the current conditions of the State of Oregon, and makes recommendations to the assembly as to what the government's priorities ought to be.
Appointments
If the Legislative Assembly is out of session, the governor may appoint replacements to fill state offices until elections are held or the legislature reconvenes. (see Recess appointment)Official Residence
Mahonia Hall in Salem is the official Oregon State Governor's Mansion. The half-timber Tudor-style mansion was acquired by the state government in 1988 with private donations. It is also known as Livesly House, after its original owners. [link]List of Governors of Oregon
Provisional Territorial Government (1843-1848)
Meetings at Champoeg led up to the first constitution of the Oregon Territory, and a petition for U.S. territorial status. The resulting acts also created this body as a provisional government for the territory. The first executives of this government were a three-person, elected committee known as the Executive Committee. In 1845, elections for a chief executive were held. The first person in Oregon to hold the title of governor was George Abernethy, a prominent businessman.
| # | Name | Term |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Executive Committee | 1843–1844 |
| 2 | Second Executive Committee | 1844–1845 |
| 3 | George Abernethy | 1845–1848 |
U.S. Territorial Governors (1848-1859)
Oregon became a U.S. Territory in 1848. Like most other U.S. territorial governments, Oregon's territorial governor was appointed by the President of the United States. As transportation and communications were not as reliable and fast as today's methods, there were times when a departing governor left office, but a new governor could not yet take over. This resulted in several local individuals acting as territorial governor until the new executive was appointed and arrived to take office.
| # | Name | Party | Term | Appointed By |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph Lane | Democratic | 1848–1850 | James Polk |
| 2 | Kintzing Prichette | Democratic | 1850 | Acting Governor |
| 3 | John P. Gaines | Whig | 1850–1853 | Zachary Taylor |
| 4 | Joseph Lane | Democratic | 1853 | Acting Governor |
| 5 | George Law Curry | Democratic | 1853 | Acting Governor |
| 6 | John W. Davis | Democratic | 1853–1854 | Franklin Pierce |
| 7 | George Law Curry | Democratic | 1854–1859 | Franklin Pierce |
State Governors (1859-Present)
- Left office early:
- [U] Transferred powers to Acting Governor.
- [D] Died in office of natural causes.
- [R] Resigned.
- Special circumstances:
Gubernatorial facts
Note: These facts apply only to persons who have held the Governorship under Oregon Statehood.Age and longevity
- Excluding Governors who died in office, Julius L. Meier had the shortest post-governorship. He died 8 years after the expiration of his term.
- Including situations where an acting governor took over, Frank W. Benson, had the shortest post-governorsip, living only 9 months after transferring his office in 1910 due to illness.
- Sworn in at the age of 33, Jay Bowerman was the youngest person to act as Governor.
- Sworn in at the age of 34, George L. Woods was the youngest person elected Governor.
- Sworn in at the age of 71, General Charles H. Martin was the oldest Governor.
- Three Governors were born in foreign countries:
- *Oswald West in Canada
- *James Withycombe in the United Kingdom
- *Albin Norblad in Sweden
- Three Governors have died in office:
- *James Withycombe in 1919
- *Isaac L. Patterson in 1929
- *Paul L. Patterson in 1956
- Walter M. Pierce had the longest life-span of any governor, 92 years.
- Earl Snell had the shortest life-span of any governor, 52 years.
Transition events
- Three Governors have resigned:
- *La Fayette Grover in 1877 to become an United States Senator
- *George Chamberlain in 1909 to become an United States Senator
- *Douglas McKay in 1952 to become United States Secretary of the Interior
- Eight Governors took office without being elected to the Governor's seat, having assumed the office by means of the Gubernatorial Line of Sucession:
- *One of them did not run to succeed themselves, and were never elected Governor:
- **Secretary of State Stephen F. Chadwick in 1877
- *One transferred powers to an Acting Governor:
- **Secretary of State Frank W. Benson in 1909
- *One Acting Governor, who unsuccessfully attempted a second term:
- **President of the Senate Jay Bowerman in 1910
- *Three of them attempted to seek a second term, but did not prevail:
- **Secretary of State Ben W. Olcott in 1919
- **President of the Senate A. W. Norblad in 1929
- **President of the Senate Elmo Smith in 1956
- *The other two later ran for Governor, and were elected to succeed themselves as Governor:
- **Speaker of the House John H. Hall in 1947
- **President of the Senate Paul L. Patterson in 1952
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