State Rep. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, speaks during a legislative special session on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
State House Republicans are bringing back former House GOP leader Christine Drazan to lead their caucus next year.
Drazan represented Canby in the House from 2019 to 2022, including a two-year stint as House minority leader marked by walkouts and frequent clashes with then-Speaker Tina Kotek. Drazan stepped down to make an unsuccessful bid for governor against Kotek and stayed out of office for two years. She sailed to victory in her district by beating incumbent James Hieb in the primary.
Drazan didn’t respond to a request for comment from the Capital Chronicle on Tuesday. She said in a statement that she was “deeply honored” to be picked again.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Drazan said in a statement. “The status quo simply isn’t working for Oregon families. Our caucus is united in our resolve to push for policies that put people ahead of politics, to hold those in power accountable for their failures, and to get Oregon back on the right track.”
House Democrats will elect their caucus leaders and decide whether to renominate Rep. Julie Fahey of Eugene as speaker on Wednesday.
Senate Democrats held their elections during a weekend retreat and chose to stick with Lake Oswego Sen. Rob Wagner as president and Eugene Sen. James Manning as president pro tempore. But they replaced Majority Leader Kathleen Taylor — a Portland Democrat nominated to the post just five months ago — with Kayse Jama, a fellow Portland Democrat who heads the Senate Housing Committee.
“I’m honored to have the trust of my colleagues and I’m grateful for the incredible leadership team at my side,” Jama said in a statement. “During the 2025 legislative session, Senate Democrats will work together to create opportunity and promote affordability, safety and freedom across the state. I know there’s a lot of work ahead, but Senate Democrats are up to the challenge.”
Senate Republicans opted late last week to keep their leadership team of leader Daniel Bonham of The Dalles, deputy leaders David Brock Smith of Port Orford, Cedric Hayden of Fall Creek and Dick Anderson of Lincoln City and whip Suzanne Weber of Tillamook.
“Keeping the same leadership team shows how united we are as a caucus,” Brock Smith said in a statement. “This stability reflects our shared commitment to addressing the issues that Oregonians care about most — like safety, affordability and accountability. It’s clear that voters are with us on these priorities, and we’re ready to keep fighting for them.”
It’s not yet clear whether Democrats will have a supermajority in the House. Democrats expanded their majority in the Senate to the necessary 18 of 30 seats, but in the House, a Woodburn race still remains too close to call. Democrat Lesly Muñoz is leading and would give Democrats 36 of 60 House seats should she prevail. A three-fifths majority would give Democrats the power to enact tax laws without Republican support.
Drazan will replace the current minority leader, Rep. Jeff Helfrich of Hood River, who announced last week he was stepping down for personal reasons. Several news reports cited a letter he wrote to caucus members, saying he was fed up with the combative dynamics among various personalities. In a statement Tuesday, he said Drazan was a good choice.
“It’s no secret that 2025 is going to be a challenging session, but I am confident that Representative-Elect Drazan will be a formidable leader to push back against the Democrats’ attempts to raise taxes and pass radically progressive policies,” Helfrich said.
She was picked in a closed door session Monday along with Republican Rep. Lucetta Elmer of McMinnville as deputy leader and Rep. Virgle Osborne of Roseburg as whip.
Drazan said she was “thrilled” that she’ll be working with Elmer and Osborne.
“Our leadership team will do everything in our power to support them in their efforts to represent their districts and serve our state,” Drazan said. “House Republicans are ready to get to work.”
During her first stint as House minority leader, Drazan had a distinctly combative relationship with Kotek. Subsequent speakers Dan Rayfield and Fahey and GOP leaders Vikki Breese-Iverson and Helfrich built stronger working relationships, and the House passed bipartisan measures to recriminalize drugs, enact campaign finance limits and address Oregon’s housing shortage during the past two years.
In an April interview, Drazan told the Capital Chronicle that she believed Kotek was “oppressive and really, really dishonest.”
“I have to hope and believe that that was unique to her time in that office, and that it’s not an indictment of all of the folks who might follow after her,” Drazan said.
She said in April that she was encouraged by the final drug recriminalization law, and that she judges whether a bill is bipartisan not by whether Republicans have a chance to comment but by whether bills are amended to reflect their concerns.
Transportation is expected to be a big priority in the next session, with Democrats aiming to approve a multi-billion dollar funding bill to repair the state’s roads and build new ones.
In a statement, Fahey congratulated Drazan, who she served with on the House Rules and Economic Development committees.
“I look forward to working with her again, and with all of her Republican colleagues, during the upcoming legislative session,” she said. “I also want to thank Rep. Jeff Helfrich for his service as Republican Leader. Rep. Helfrich and I had a chance to work together collaboratively as Leaders of our respective caucuses and on policy issues like campaign finance reform. I appreciate his service to his caucus and to the legislature as a whole.”
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