Kotek Names Betsy Imholt State’s Top Bureaucrat

Imholt will shift from directing the Department of Revenue to heading the Department of Administrative Services, triggering two other moves.

Betsy Imholt (Haley Mae Photography)
By Nigel Jaquiss

Gov. Tina Kotek has appointed Betsy Imholt, currently director of the Oregon Department of Revenue, to lead the Oregon Department of Administrative Services.

That appointment touches off a game of musical chairs: Oregon Employment Department director David Gerstenfeld will replace Imholt atop the Department of Revenue, and Andrew Stolfi, director of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, will step in to Gerstenfeld’s former position.

“The leaders I have asked to serve in new roles are exemplary public service professionals, best positioned to succeed at the helm of three critical state agencies,” Kotek said. “The changes I am announcing today will help the state tap into existing leadership and bring fresh perspectives to getting things done. Departing DAS director Berri Leslie’s resignation prompted me to take an enterprisewide approach to making sure we can continue to deliver for Oregonians.”

Imholt moves from being in charge of collecting taxes to taking charge of the agency that manages human resources, budgeting, real estate, contracting, technology and other critical functions for the state.

Kotek and Imholt go back a long way. After a decade at the Oregon Department of Transportation, Imholt worked as chief of staff to Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) from 2014 to 2019. During those years, Kotek served as speaker of the Oregon House. She and Courtney, who held their respective positions longer than any presiding officers in Oregon history, worked closely together and provided continuity during the upheaval after Gov. John Kitzhaber’s 2015 resignation after an influence-peddling scandal.

Imholt left Courtney’s office in 2019 for a job in the Department of Early Learning, then took over the Department of Revenue, a frequent target of criticism by lawmakers, in August 2020. Gerstenfeld and Stolfi got their current jobs that same year.

All three appointments are subject to confirmation by the Senate Rules Committee. If that occurs, the state will conduct a search to fill the Department of Consumer and Business Services position.

This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering rural Oregon.

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