In early 2009, Lininger was appointed to fill
Martha Schrader's seat on the
Clackamas County Board of Commissioners when Schrader was appointed to the
Oregon Senate. Lininger won a contested election in 2010 to hold the seat, and she did not seek re-election in 2012. Lininger subsequently worked as general counsel and vice president at
Oregon Iron Works. In December 2013,
Chris Garrett resigned from his seat in the
Oregon House of Representatives to take a seat on the
Oregon Court of Appeals. In January 2014, county commissioners of
Multnomah County and
Clackamas County (both of which are represented by the House seat) unanimously voted to appoint Lininger to fill Garrett's seat. Lininger won re-election to her legislative seat in 2014 without opposition. She was named a co-chair of a joint legislative committee to oversee the implementation of
Ballot Measure 91, which
legalized marijuana and she served on the House Judiciary and House Revenue committees. Lininger won a contested election in 2016 to retain her legislative seat, and she thereafter served as Chair of the House Economic Development and Trade Committee, Co-chair of the Joint Committee on Marijuana Regulation, and as a member of the House Judiciary Committee. From 2014-2016, Lininger served as an assistant majority leader in the House Democrats' leadership team.
Circuit Court In July 2017, Oregon Governor
Kate Brown appointed Lininger to the circuit court in Clackamas County. She resigned from the House effective August 15 and was sworn in on August 28. ==Personal==