Representative Rayfield Chosen for Western Legislative Academy
September 9, 2015
Salem -- The Council of State Governments West (CSG West), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization serving Western state legislators of both parties in 13 Western states, has selected Representative Dan Rayfield as a participant in its prestigious training institute for lawmakers in their first four years of service. The purpose of the Western Legislative Academy is to build excellence and effectiveness in state legislators in the Western region.
Admission to the Western Legislative Academy is very competitive and is based on commitment to public service, desire to improve personal legislative effectiveness and interest in improving the legislative process. Out of 105 applicants from throughout the West, 44 state legislators were selected as members of the Western Legislative Academy Class of 2015.
The Western Legislative Academy will convene November 30 – December 3, 2015 in Colorado Springs, Colorado for three and a half days of intensive training in subjects such as legislative institutions, ethics, communications, negotiations, time management, and leadership. Faculty is drawn from academia, former military and the private sector. A highlight of the training is an afternoon at the US Air Force Academy working on personal assessments and team building.
“This is a great opportunity and I feel very fortunate to have be selected from such a great group of legislators,” said Rayfield.
Rayfield is currently serving his first term as State Representative, representing House District 16 – Corvallis and Philomath. Rayfield is the Co-Chair the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Public Safety, Vice-Chair of the Consumer Protection and Government Effectiveness Committee, a member of the House Rules Committee, and a member of the full Ways and Means Committee. He also serves as House Majority Whip – a key position on the House Democratic leadership team that he was elected by his peers to fill.
The Council of State Governments West is the Western Region of the national Council of State Governments, which is based in Lexington, Kentucky. Regional offices of CSG are located in Sacramento, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York.
Funding for the Academy comes from the Colorado Springs-based El Pomar Foundation, which is dedicated to excellence in nonprofit organizations, and from Western state legislatures and corporate sponsors. The El Pomar Foundation also donated the campus for the Western Legislative Academy.