Courtney gave up his House seat to run for the U.S. House of Representatives , 5th district , in the 1984 primary . Courtney narrowly lost to state senator Ruth McFarland , who had been the 1982 nominee . McFarland again lost to Congressman Denny Smith . Courtney ran for and narrowly lost a state Senate seat in 1986 , before taking back his old state House seat in 1988 . In the House he served as Democratic leader for eight years , longer than anyone else had before him . After repairs to the Oregon State Capitol were finished in 1995 after damage from the 1993 Scotts Mills earthquake , he gave a small piece of marble with an engraved image of the building to each Democrat in the House . He served as minority leader during the 1997 session
1993 Scotts Mills earthquake
1993 Scotts Mills earthquake
Peter Courtney