Peter Courtney | |
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Courtney in November 2011
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55th President of the Oregon Senate | |
Assumed office January 3, 2003 |
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Preceded by | Gene Derfler |
Member of the Oregon Senate from the 11th district |
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Assumed office January 3, 1999 |
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Preceded by | Gene Derfler |
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives | |
In office 1981-1985 1989-1998 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
June 18, 1943
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Margie Courtney |
Alma mater |
University of Rhode Island Boston University |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Peter C. Courtney (born June 18, 1943) is an American politician, lawyer, and professor who is currently a Democratic member of the Oregon Senate, representing the 11th District (in Marion County and including parts of Salem, Keizer, and Gervais) since 1999. He is currently President of the Senate, serving since 2003. He was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives in 1981, 1983, and from 1989 through 1998. Courtney teaches at Western Oregon University.
Peter C. Courtney was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 18, 1943. He grew up in Trenton, New Jersey, West Virginia, Rhode Island, and Virginia, the son of a life insurance agent. Both his parents earned college degrees, with his mother’s degree in Latin. In high school, he played on the school’s football team. Courtney attended college at the University of Rhode Island where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1965 followed by a master’s in public administration the following year. He graduated from Boston University’s law school, and then moved to Oregon in 1969 to become the law clerk of William S. Fort of the Oregon Court of Appeals. Courtney arrived in Salem and stayed at the YMCA for two years.
Courtney's first political office was as a member of the Salem City Council where he served from 1974 until 1980. He was first elected to the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1980 as a Democrat representing Marion and Polk counties in the Oregon House of Representatives.