By Ted Case
Representative John Lively represents Springfield in the Oregon Legislature, but his values were formed in a rural Oregon town far from the center of power.
A Willamette Valley legislator representing the state’s 9th biggest city may be an unlikely voice for rural Oregon, but to really understand Democratic Representative John Lively, one must know where he grew up.
While he has lived in Springfield most of his adult life, Lively spent his formative years in the small Northeastern Oregon town of Wallowa. The experience left an indelible impression on him.
“It was a bigger influence in character than any part of my life,” Lively said.
The influence went far beyond spending countless hours hiking the trails of what has been dubbed Oregon’s “Swiss Alps.”
It was in Wallowa where Lively witnessed the other side of life in rural Oregon—an often-meager existence where hard work is mandatory but no guarantee of success. Lively learned to work hard, too, baling hay and setting sprinkler pipes, among other jobs.
He also watched mills close and saw how a fiercely proud community came together “to figure out how to make things work,” he said.
Lively saw his father put those words into action as town mayor, fire chief, and school board chair. When the town needed an ambulance but had no budget for it, he acquired an old funeral home hearse as the best possible alternative.
A sagging economy forced Lively’s family to move to Springfield, where he attended Thurston High School. He eventually received a degree from the University of Oregon, though his college education was interrupted by the Vietnam War and 4 years in the Army Security Agency.
The values Lively learned in Wallowa carried over into a successful career in the private sector, local elected office, and as a member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly since 2013.
Lively chairs the state House Climate, Energy, and Environment Committee — a natural fit for someone passionate about protecting Oregon’s environment. While the committee has produced its fair share of partisan battles over the years, Lively is far better known as a consensus builder.
“Since my first term in the Legislature, I’ve relied on Rep. Lively’s experience and level-headed approach to getting things done,” Speaker of the House Julie Fahey said. “John is the sort of pragmatic, commonsense leader who knows how to make government work for everyday people.”
Lively, who relies heavily on his cochairs to set a bipartisan agenda, faces an ambitious slate of energy bills, including several aimed at capping the increasing cost of utility bills on consumers.
In advance of the session, Lively toured Umatilla Electric Cooperative in Hermiston.
“A great portion of the meeting focused on the region’s power supply and transmission efforts,” UEC CEO Robert Echenrode said. He said Lively showed interest in the co-op’s success in building transmission and other utility infrastructure to meet the needs of consumers.
No matter the issue, protecting consumers has always been a priority for Lively. His working-class constituents in Springfield share the same characteristics as the independent, hardworking, and resilient Oregonians of his youth.
But Lively also understands a solution for the Willamette Valley may not work in other parts of the state. His support for local control rather than a 1-size-fits-all approach has given him credibility with rural legislators on a range of issues.
“I can tell my colleagues, ‘That doesn’t work in Wallowa,’” he said.
Figuring out how to make things work will be a key challenge for Lively during a daunting 2025 session. The only guarantee is an open, transparent process honed by a lifetime of service, along with a humility ingrained at an early age in a place far from the state Capitol.
“With John, there are no frills and no drama, just a commitment to improving the lives of the people he’s elected to serve,” Fahey said.
