Oregon State Legislature Opens Session, Elects New Speaker

PORTLAND, OR — Rep. Dan Rayfield, a Democrat from Corvallis, was elected Tuesday to succeed Tina Kotek as speaker of the state House of Representatives. Kotek resigned last month to pursue her run for governor.

Rayfield's elevation was not unexpected; he was already partially moved in to his new office before the vote took place. What was not expected was that Rayfield would only get one vote above the threshold needed.

Another twist came when Rayfield, after being sworn in, took to the dais to deliver an unusually personal speech.

"There are so many Oregonians that find themselves where I was 20 years ago," he said. "I stand before you as someone who has been in that dark place," adding that he is "living proof that the worst moment in our lives doesn’t have to be our destiny."

He talked about how his mother struggled with addiction, how he was abused by a stepparent, how "the chaos of my childhood followed me.

"I drank, I experimented with drugs when I should have been focused on school."

Rayfield talked about how he has four arrests on his record, acknowledged that his experience with the criminal justice system would have been different had he not been white, discussed his struggles with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and told he had to graduate from high school late because "I failed an entire term for not showing up."

He also dropped out of college and lost a job as a captain on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disney World, a period he described as his "rock bottom."

The 35-day session is expected to be filled with items such as workplace safety and pay, recovering from the chaos wrought by the pandemic, and more.

It won't be easy, as Rayfield will deal with what Democrats see as an increasingly intransigent Republican caucus that uses every technique it can to stop Democrats from advancing their agenda.

Despite that, Rayfield urges everyone to work together.

"We are all here because we want to do good for Oregon," Rayfield said. "It is important to me that we give the measure of grace that comes from recognizing that in all of us."