State Sen. Ginny Burdick, a fixture in the state Legislature for 25 years and one of the strongest champions of tightening Oregon’s gun laws, will step down after this legislative session to accept a political appointment from Gov. Kate Brown.
State Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, in the Oregon Senate on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, in Salem, Ore.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
The governor appointed Burdick to the Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation and Planning Council, as first reported by Willamette Week. In order to accept the position, Burdick must step aside before her term ends in 2025. Her vacancy will likely open up a highly competitive seat for Portland Democrats.
Starting in 2015, Burdick served as majority leader. She stepped down after the 2020 legislative session — and after being in charge of Senate Democrats during three Republican walkouts — to focus, she said, on making changes to the state’s property tax structure.
Burdick also served as Senate president pro tempore and has been chair of the Judiciary Committee, the Finance and Revenue Committee and co-chair of the Marijuana Legalization Committee.
The state senator was crucial in passing what’s known as the Extreme Risk Protection Order (or ERPO) law, which aims to ensure people who are suicidal or in a mental health crisis can have their firearms removed. She also supported a bill to close what was dubbed the “boyfriend loophole” to make it harder for convicted domestic abusers to buy guns.
Burdick is a former journalist and public relations consultant. She was first elected to the state Senate in 1996. She grew up in Portland.