Oregon State Senator Lee Beyer Joins Oregon Transportation Commission
 September 23, 2022
For more information, contact Kevin Glenn 503-910-5965
SALEM-- The Oregon Senate today confirmed state Sen. Lee Beyer to the Oregon Transportation Commission by a vote of 22 to 2, with six members excused.
“We’re honored to have someone with such a long record of public service join the Commission at this pivotal time,” said Commission Chair Bob Van Brocklin. “Beyer’s experience in the public sector and his familiarity with the transportation sector will help the commission and agency as we build a resilient, equitable, environmentally responsive, and modern transportation system that embraces new technologies, serves a wide range of users, and is positioned for the future.”
The Commission is the state’s transportation governing body, guiding statewide policy and strategic direction to improve and maintain Oregon’s comprehensive multimodal transportation network.
Beyer will succeed Alando Simpson, who stepped down earlier this month. Beyer’s term will begin in January 2023.
“Our transportation system touches the lives of every Oregonian, whether they’re biking to school, walking to work, or getting a package delivered to their home,” Beyer said. “Our decisions are felt far and wide and can have implications for generations to come.”
Beyer, who lives in Springfield with his wife Terry, served on the Oregon Public Utility Commission for nine years and has also served as a governor’s appointee on the Oregon Global Warming Commission, Oregon Energy Planning Commission and various other boards, task forces and subcommittees.
After military service, Lee attended Lane Community College and the University of Oregon. He later worked as a management analyst with the Oregon Executive Department.
In Lane County, he was on the Springfield City Planning Commission before serving as a Springfield City Councilor from 1986 until 1993. In 1991 he entered the Oregon Legislature as a state representative. In 1998, he was elected to the State Senate.
In 2001, Governor Kitzhaber asked Beyer to join the Oregon Public Utility Commission, a consumer protection regulatory agency that oversees all private electric, telecommunications, natural gas and water utilities.
Beyer returned to the legislature in 2011. Throughout that time he has chaired the Senate Business and Transportation committee. Beyer was a critical leader in passing HB 2017, a transformational investment in Oregon’s transportation system. That legislation, for the first time in Oregon’s history, provided funds for statewide transit investments. It also increased funding for bike paths, safe routes to school, freight investments and directed ODOT to pursue a series of major projects in the Portland metro area including the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program, auxiliary lanes along 217, and improvements to I-205, among others.
Beyer is not running for reelection in 2022.
The Oregon Transportation Commission is comprised of five commissioners from around the state who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Oregon State Senate.
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