FILE - Oregon Sens. Kathleen Taylor, left, and Kate Lieber at the Capitol in Salem, Ore., Feb. 5, 2024. Taylor, D-Portland, will take over for Lieber, D-Portland, as Senate majority leader on July 15.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Oregon Senate Democrats have chosen their next caucus leader, capping off a leadership shuffle in the chamber.
In a closed-door meeting on Monday evening, the Senate’s 17 Democrats tapped state Sen. Kathleen Taylor, D-Portland, to serve as Senate Majority Leader beginning July 15. She beat out state Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, in a vote that lawmakers and political observers expected to be tight.
Taylor will replace Sen. Kate Lieber, D-Portland, the current majority leader, who is departing the majority office next month in order to become one of the Legislature’s top budget writers.
“In this new role, I am committed to listening to Oregonians and delivering the results they want to see on the issues that matter most,” Taylor said in a statement. “I look forward to supporting our caucus and collaborating with my fellow legislative leaders to make Oregon the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”
The role of majority leader is seen by some as less of a promotion than its impressive title suggests. The top Democrat in the chamber is Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, who can dictate what bills get a vote and is paid double what other lawmakers earn.
In contrast, the majority leader title comes with no extra pay and a lot of extra work — along with a larger office. It will be Taylor’s job to help steer Senate Democrats’ political races this fall, and to push forward the party’s agenda in next year’s legislative session. Democrats hold a 17-13 majority in the Senate.
Sollman and Taylor — both known for pushing their bills hard behind closed doors — lobbied their fellow Democrats with the same zeal in recent weeks.
Taylor, a lawmaker since 2015, emphasized her deep relationships in the Capitol, according to people who heard the spiel. That included recounting her work last year in negotiating an end to a six-week walkout by Senate Republicans, and also the leading role she played in redrawing legislative and congressional districts in 2021.
Sollman was elected to the House in 2016, then appointed to a vacant Senate seat in 2022. She chairs the Senate Energy and Environment Committee and scored a win earlier this year by muscling through a contentious bill that will break a stranglehold some tech manufacturers have on offering repair services for their devices. Sollman also helped lead the charge last year for a major budget package aimed at seeding a resurgence in Oregon’s semiconductor industry.
Beyond those individual achievements, the leadership vote represented a choice between different factions of the Democratic party. Taylor was viewed by some Democrats as the more progressive candidate, a politician who is abidingly sympathetic to environmental causes. Sollman was seen as the more moderate, business-friendly option.
Taylor has signaled for years she wanted a larger role in steering the Senate. In 2022, she was one of several Democrats vying for their party’s nomination to succeed retiring Senate President Peter Courtney for the chamber’s most-powerful job. The nomination instead went to Wagner. That outcome created a chilly relationship between the two lawmakers who now lead their party in the Senate, according to colleagues.
Wagner congratulated Taylor in a statement on Monday evening, saying he is “looking forward to working with her and her team as we tackle the biggest challenges facing Oregonians.”
Sollman will retain her current role of deputy majority leader.
The timing of the July 15 leadership change — less than four months before an election — is atypical. It was set into motion when Sen. Elizabeth Steiner, D-Portland, announced earlier this month she’d be stepping away from her role as co-chair of the Legislature’s budget committee in order to focus on her campaign for state treasurer.
When Wagner offered the vacant seat to Lieber, she accepted, announcing she’d resign as majority leader to focus on budget writing.
“Leader-elect Taylor brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to this office, and I am confident that she will be the strong, capable leader Oregonians need in the Senate,” Lieber said in a statement.