Published: Nov. 9, 2016

Kate Brown

Kate Brown (EnvCon’81) was elected governor of Oregon Nov. 8, 2016. The Democrat, who won 51 percent of the vote, is the first openly LGBT person to win a U.S. gubernatorial race and the state’s second female governor.

Brown, 56, was the incumbent, having initially succeeded to the governorship in February 2015, after her predecessor resigned amid scandal. This was the first time she was elected to the office. Brown previously served as Oregon’s secretary of state for nearly seven years.

“Twenty-five years ago, I chose a life of public service because I wanted to be a voice for the voiceless,” Brown said in her victory speech Tuesday night. “I believe that if we work together we can shape both the place and the times in which we live.”

Read more about Kate Brown in the Coloradan feature article “The Governor.”

Photography by Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian