Dallastown native becomes one of the first openly gay women to serve as a U.S. governor

Tina Kotek’s path to the governor’s office in Oregon – a winding road that included stints as a commercial diver, a travel agent and an advocate for children – began in York County.

Kotek, 56, graduated from Dallastown Area High School in 1984, second in her class. She attended Georgetown University, but left, telling the Willamette, Ore., Week newspaper that she felt uncomfortable at the Catholic school.

She eventually moved to the Pacific Northwest, completed her bachelor’s and master's degrees and was elected to the state legislature, where she rose through the ranks to serve as House Speaker.

This year, she ran for governor and narrowly beat two opponents to become the state’s first openly gay chief executive. She joins Massachusetts governor-elect Maura Healey as the nation’s first openly lesbian governors.

Kotek, a Democrat, received 47.1 percent of the votes in Tuesday’s general election, beating Republican Christine Drazan by 3.6 percent. A third candidate, Democrat-turned-independent Betsy Johnson received 8.6 percent of the vote.

“It is an absolute honor,” Kotek told a crowd in Portland Thursday morning, after she was declared the winner in the three-way race. “I can tell you that being who I am is important to Oregonians across the state. Lots of young people have come up to me and said thank you for running and thank you for being who you are.”

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She is the third York County native to serve as a governor in the United States, all of them Democrats. The two others served in their home state, the late George Leader, who served as governor of Pennsylvania from 1955 to 1959, and current Gov. Tom Wolf, who will leave office at the end of this year after serving two terms.

Kotek was born in York, the daughter of Jerry and Florence Kotek. Her mother died in 2007 and her father, a Korean War veteran and industrial engineer, followed in 2011. Kotek’s father instilled in her a commitment to public service. He served on the York Township Zoning Hearing Board for a decade, and he and his wife were poll workers in the township, according to Jerry Kotek’s obituary.

Kotek has represented her roots while serving in the legislature, always keeping a supply of York Peppermint Patties on hand, according to news reports.

In high school, she was an accomplished student and athlete, playing three sports while also serving as editor of the high school yearbook and newspaper.

After leaving Georgetown, she moved to Oregon, working as a commercial diver. A damaged ear ended her diving career, and after a two-year stint as a travel agent, she enrolled at the University of Oregon, completing a degree in religious studies, according to a lengthy profile of her in Willamette Week. She later earned a master’s in international studies and comparative religion from the University of Washington.

She moved to Portland and worked as an advocate at the Oregon Food Bank and then for Children First for Oregon.

She ran for the state House in 2004, losing in the Democratic primary. She ran again in 2006, and this time, won. In 2013, she was elected Speaker of the House. Her nine-year term is the longest of any Oregon speaker, according to news reports.

She was lauded as one of the most effective speakers in state history, shepherding legislation through the legislative process to address everything from housing and transportation to abortion and workplace and environmental laws.

Willamette Week reported: “Tina Kotek steered legislation through the Oregon House with the same no-drama efficiency that she’s piloted a 2004 Honda Civic – methodically – to Salem since first winning election in 2006.

She was also described as being a tough negotiator, Willamette Week reported, said to be too pragmatic and too liberal at the same time. One Oregon lawmaker said, "If you are in her way, you're going to be roadkill."

Like Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, her vehicle is one of her trademarks. Wolf drives a Jeep and Kotek is known for her Civic, which has more than 250,000 miles on it. Her top deputy told Willamette Week that the car is in mint condition, saying, “You could eat off the floor of that car.” Her deputy also said, “Tina will not go a mile over the speed limit. She’s a very cautions driver.”

Kotek and her wife, Aimee Wilson, live in a modest 1,089-square-foot home, sharing it with their two dogs, Rudy and Teddy, Willamette reported. She loves Marvel comics movies and kept a Captain America shield in her office, its been reported.

Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a York Daily Record staffer since 1982. Reach him at mike@ydr.com.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Dallastown native Tina Kotek to become governor of Oregon