Tina Kotek is a Democrat serving as the 39th Governor of Oregon, elected on November 8, 2022, and sworn in on January 9, 2023. Her term expires in January 2027. Previously, she represented North Portland in the Oregon House of Representatives, starting with District 44 in 2006, and served as the longest-serving Speaker of the House in Oregon history from 2013 to 2022, becoming the first openly lesbian speaker of any state house in the U.S. Notable achievements include pioneering rent stabilization laws, pandemic relief efforts, wildfire recovery funding, affordable housing investments, and declaring a homelessness state of emergency on her first full day as governor. She made history alongside Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey as one of the first openly lesbian governors elected in American history.

Education and Political Experience

• Education: Born September 30, 1966, in York, Pennsylvania; graduated from Dallastown Area High School; earned a Bachelor of Science in religious studies from the University of Oregon; obtained a master's degree in international studies and comparative religion from the University of Washington.
• Early Career: Began as a policy advocate for Oregon Food Bank to combat hunger; served as policy director for Children First for Oregon; co-chaired the Human Services Coalition of Oregon during the 2002 budget crisis and the Governor's Medicaid Advisory Committee.
• Political Experience: Elected to Oregon House in 2006 ; rewrote state poverty programs and advanced LGBTQ+ protections in her first term; Speaker of the House ; focused on economic security, climate action, minimum wage increases, paid family leave, and clean energy goals; as governor, prioritized mental health, addiction services, housing, infrastructure, and early childhood education.