As governor Pennoyer quickly made a name for himself as a quirky and cantankerous leader. In 1891 he pointedly snubbed President Benjamin Harrison when Harrison visited Oregon on a campaign tour. He refused to leave his office to meet Harrison at the state border. When Harrison came to Salem, Pennoyer kept him waiting in the train station (in the rain) and arrived 10 minutes late. That year the Oregon Legislative Assembly created the Oregon Attorney General office, and Pennoyer appointed George Earle Chamberlain to that post. While in office Pennoyer declared without authority that the Oregon Supreme Court lacked the power to invalidate legislative acts on constitutional grounds.