Home of Oregon State Senator Betsy Johnson

ABOUT SENATOR JOHNSON

Senator Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose) is serving her third term in the Oregon Senate. She joined the Senate after being appointed to fill the District 16 position formerly held by Senator Joan Dukes. The appointment came as Senator Johnson began her 3rd term in the Oregon House of Representatives. Her father, the late Sam Johnson, was a member of the House of Representatives from Redmond. Her mother, Becky Johnson, has served on numerous State Boards, including the State Board of Higher Education and the Teachers Standards and Practices Commission.

Senator Johnson received her undergraduate degree in History from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and her Law degree from the Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College.

A licensed commercial pilot of both fixed and rotor-wing aircraft, she founded Transwestern Helicopters, Inc. in 1978. The helicopter division of the firm was sold in 1993 and the company, now known as Transwestern Aviation, Inc., is managed by her husband, John Helm.

In September 1993, Senator Johnson was selected as Manager of the Aeronautics Division of the Oregon Department of Transportation, a position she held until September 1998. During the 1999 Legislative Session she was Vice President for Legislative Affairs for the Oregon Pilots Association, where she successfully championed legislation that created the Oregon Department of Aviation.

Senator Johnson has served on numerous local, regional and national boards and commissions, including the Oregon Health Sciences University Foundation, Doernbecher Children's Hospital, the Oregon Public Broadcasting Foundation and the High Desert Museum. Senator Johnson currently serves on a number of regional boards, including the Board of Visitors, Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College. She also serves as the President of the Samuel S. Johnson Foundation.

In 2018, Senator Johnson serves as Co-Vice Chair of Ways and Means, co-chair of the Joint Committee On Ways and Means Sub Committee On Transportation and Economic Development, co-chair of the Joint Committee On Legislative Audits, member of the Joint Committee On Ways and Means Sub Committee On General Government, the Legislature's Emergency Board, the Joint Committee On Transportation and the Joint Committee On Legislative Policy and Research.

Senator Johnson has served on Ways and Means since her first session.

1-29-19 Johnson: As lawmakers, we can't give what we don't have

11-19-18 Senator Johnson appointed Joint Senate Co-Chair of Ways and Means

11-15-18 Cornelius Pass update

10-26-18 Emergency regulation changes in NW Zone coastal rivers take effect Nov. 1 to protect low fall Chinook returns

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THIS WEEK

Senator Johnson's weekly radio show focuses on her work in Senate District 16 and in the Oregon Legislature, how changes to state statutes may affect constituents, Oregon's economy, activities of the Oregon legislature during and in-between legislative sessions, her work with State Senators and State Representatives of both parties, the progress and outcome of bills that impact residents of Senate District 16 and issues of concern to people who live on the Oregon North Coast, including the residents of Columbia, Clatsop, Tillamook, Multnomah and Washington counties.

This Week with State Senator Betsy Johnson, interviewed by Michael Desmond, is broadcast on Fridays at 4 pm and Sundays at noon on 1600 AM KOHI, St. Helens; Saturday mornings at 9 on Coast 105 FM, Tillamook ; Mondays at 9 am on 91.9 FM KMUN, Astoria; and Sundays at 7 am on Seaside's 94-point-9 The Bridge - Your North Coast Connection.