For the First Time in Oregon's History, the House Is Led by Co-Speakers

Two for One For the first time in Oregon’s history, the House is led by co-speakers. BY PETER WONG the legislative budget committee, he became the Republican caucus leader. ruce Hanna and Arnie Roblan are a Roblan taught high school math and science, Republican businessman and Democratic became a vice principal and then was a principal educator whose views on the role of gov- for 15 years. He received the Milken Education ernment differ sharply. But it’s what they Award in 1997, the nation’s preeminent teacher Bhave in common that really counts. recognition program, hailed as the “Oscars of Despite poles-apart backgrounds and philoso- Teaching” by Teacher Magazine. phies, they are making history. Hanna and Rob- When he retired at age 56, Roblan, too, was lan are taking turns on the rostrum as the first co- first elected to a seat in the Oregon House in OWLETT speakers to lead the House since Oregon became 2005. He became speaker pro tem and chairman H YNN a state 152 years ago. And they’re also presiding of the rules committee four years later, and was L over the chamber in the first session since voters part of the leadership team of former Speaker in 2010 approved a measure to move the legisla- Dave Hunt. PHOTO BY ture from biennial sessions to yearly ones. Both represent adjoining districts in the Representatives Bruce Hanna, left, and Arnie southern part of Oregon, which has been losing Roblan have taken on the unique roles of co- THE ODD COUPLE timber jobs for decades, even before it was hit speakers in the Oregon House this session. Hanna, the classic pro-business Republican, hard by the national recession. ran small restaurants and developed his own will communicate about those differences.” ventures—selling 7-Up, RC Cola and other STRIPES AND SPOTS Democrat John Kitzhaber, who returned for brands—and then took over his family’s Coca- When the 2010 election tied the Oregon an unprecedented third term as Oregon governor Cola bottling company before running for the House, their respective caucuses turned to them this year, says Hanna and Roblan are the best legislature. to take on the difficult role of shared leader- equipped to lead the House, where he began his “When you are part of a third-tier distribu- ship, made even more challenging by a severe own political career 32 years ago. tor network, you take hard knocks,” Hanna economic downturn in the “I think Arnie Roblan and Bruce Hanna are says. “But you learn to sell and you learn cus- state. The unlikely duo, both doing an amazing job holding their caucuses tomer service.” in their fourth terms in office, together amid the tensions going on,” Kitzhaber At age 44, after stints as president of the acknowledge their differ- says. “I think we have the right team in the leg- Chamber of Commerce and the state soft drink ences, recognize them as islature at the right time to deal with this budget association, Hanna won a seat in the Oregon strengths, but admit that talk- crisis and bring this state together, instead of House in 2005. His rise into the leadership ranks ing them through is critical. tearing us apart.” was swift. By fall 2007, after two sessions on “We continue to be who The budget shortfall—estimated at $3.5 bil- REPRESENTATIVE we are,” Roblan says. “If I lion for the two-year cycle—has cut deeply into DAVE HUNT Peter Wong is a Capitol Bureau reporter for the Statesman have stripes and he has spots, the income tax collections Oregon relies on for Journal newspaper in Salem, Ore. and dean of the Capitol OREGON press corps. that’s not changing. But we state services, including aid to public schools. 38 state legislatures JULY/August 2011 “We have a historic opportunity to watch a unique event work well.” —REPRESENTATIVE BRUCE HANNA, OREGON HOUSE CO-SPEAKER “If I have stripes and he has spots, that’s not changing. But we will communicate about those differences.” —REPRESENTATIVE ARNIE ROBLAN, OREGON HOUSE CO-SPEAKER Oregon has no sales tax. and people suffered. What we need to do five from the Republicans, resulting in the tie. Hanna and Roblan don’t see eye to eye on now is get back private-sector jobs—and then Legislative party parity is not that uncom- the solution, but they faced a common problem: some.” mon. At least one legislative chamber has been How to close a budget gap estimated to be as As presiding officers, they decided to orga- tied after each election since 1984, according large as 20 percent for the next two years. They nize the House on a power-sharing arrangement. to the National Conference of State Legisla- successfully created a budget approach to attack They appointed co-chairmen and equal numbers tures, for a total of 29. It happened in Oregon the problem and their caucuses agreed. from each party to the 13 House committees, in 2002—in the Senate. But the upper chamber “Oregon does not have a revenue problem, and assigned them nearly 1,900 measures. took a different approach to shared leadership. we have a jobs problem,” Hanna says. “When Balancing committee appointments was key Democrat Peter Courtney became Senate we have people employed, we have plenty of to a successful session, particularly since the president in 2003 in a power-sharing arrange- money.” Oregon Legislative Assembly does not amend ment that put a Republican as But when people are unemployed, Roblan measures on the floor. second in command. In 2004, says, they need government to help. Democrats won outright con- “The federal government sent us money so HOW IT HAPPENED trol, and today Courtney is we could respond [to the unemployment prob- Two years ago, Democrats in the Oregon serving a record fifth term as lem],” Roblan says, comparing it to the New House under Speaker Dave Hunt had their president. Deal and the Great Depression in the 1930s. greatest majority in 25 years—enough to pass Even though Oregon Sen- “This was a global recession that we needed to revenue-raising measures with the 60 percent ate Democrats now have a SENATE PRESIDENT respond to. We got upset with what happened required under the constitution. 16-14 majority, Courtney PETER COURTNEY after Hurricane Katrina because the govern- But the 2010 election changed that. Democrats opted to split four of 10 com- OREGON ment didn’t step in after a major catastrophe, lost six seats just two years after they had won mittees evenly between par- JULY/August 2011 state legislatures 39 ties and put Republicans in charge of some sub- vice principal, and in Clem’s senior year, princi- Except for a single communications director, committees. pal. Clem concedes he was not a model student, they have their own staffs and their offices are on “When these things happen, all the emphasis but says Roblan was a mentor to him when he the same floor. is on the chamber that is tied,” Courtney says. entered the House two years after Roblan. “There is a little bit of natural tension,” “One of the lessons we learned [from 2003] is When negotiations between Democrats and Hanna says in assessing the situation. Indeed, that the chamber that is not tied has to spend as Republicans stalled over the rules to govern that tension broke out in April with a disagree- much time thinking about the chamber that is the evenly split chamber and how bills would ment between the co-leaders of the education tied as it does itself.” advance through divided committees, Hanna committee—a Democrat who had been on her Courtney said he wanted members to be and Roblan worked together to iron out a com- school board in a university community and a aware that bills passed on party-line votes in his promise. Republican who was a school-choice advocate chamber might have a tough time in the evenly Lawmakers “saw two people who made a for a free-market think tank. split chamber—something he said the Republi- commitment to work together, with their cau- In the health care committee Republicans can-led Oregon House failed to take into account cuses, to move forward,” Roblan says. “They shelved seven bills backed by Democrats— in 2003. He also said that on some issues such as did not hear that message until they saw the two and then Democrats tabled two bills sought by redistricting, which Oregon legislators eventu- of us there talking about doing it.” Republicans in the agriculture committee. ally accomplished themselves for the first time “The reality is that not everybody is happy in a century, evenly split committees prompted with this,” Roblan says. “There have been a num- compromise legislation in his chamber and “One of the lessons we ber of times when some of the co-chairs have not facilitated its approval in the House. learned [from 2003] is that seen eye to eye. We’ve told them that before it the chamber that is not tied becomes a real problem, they should talk to either WINGING IT one of us, and we’ll have a meeting.” In the House this year, however, “there was has got to spend as much time Jim Moore, who teaches politics at Pacific no script for this situation,” Hanna says. “We thinking about the chamber University, said the co-speakership is an uneasy talked with people at NCSL, with those in coexistence for the parties. Washington state who had experienced it [in the that is tied as it does itself.” “The leaders forge ways of working together, House] after the 1998 and 2000 elections, and as they have here, but members don’t necessar- with our own senators.” —SENATOR PETER COURTNEY, ily go along with them,” Moore says.

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