Gene Whisnant reflects on 15 years as lawmaker

After 15 years and four months in office, Gene Whisnant has retired as state representative for Oregon House District 53.

Earlier, Whisnant spent 27 years in the military that included stints in Vietnam, Yugoslavia and Germany. After that, he was involved in community service in Central Oregon for 10 years. He then decided to run for office.

“I wasn’t able to make peace in the world, and wasn’t able to save a lot of Oregon issues but I am am proud of the things I did do. Made small steps toward making Oregon better and the quality of life for Oregonians better. And I’m proud of that,” Whisnant said Wednesday.

Whisnant is passing the torch to newly sworn-in Rep. Jack Zika.

“I will miss it, but it’s time to give the train over to someone else,” Whisnant said.

But in his time in office, the Republican lawmaker garnered a respectable reputation, including with Democratic House Speaker Tina Kotek, who gave Whisnant a poignant farewell.

“She talked about my ability, my professionalism and preparation for meetings, and being a gentleman, and we’ve been able to work across the aisle,” Whisnant said.

The bipartisan communication is a skill Whisnant said he’s proud to have, even when it’s challenging.

“It’s more fun and easier (when your party is) in the majority,” he said.

Whisnant’s achievements include passing the Oregon Transparency Website bill. This created a website with information about state agency revenues, spending and contracting and more.

“We did that in 2009, passed both chambers unanimously,” Whisnant said.

Last year, he co-sponsored a bill with Rep. Mike McLane to give tuition assistance to National Guard members.

“We were the only state in the union that didn’t do that, and it really affects your recruitment,” he said.

But a special part of his job was turning constituents’ ideas into law.

“I got bills from citizens. They’d call me up and say, ‘Gene, I got a problem. Let’s solve this one,'” he said.

“One was a simple bill. A citizen brought it to me. It said we need to require people building new housing to make cluster mailboxes ADA-accessible. Who’s against that? So we passed that bill,” Whisnant said.

The piece of advice Whisnant had for everyone looking to make a change is to get involved and speak with your representative face to face.

In his retirement, Whisnant said he’ll stay involved in his community, as well as take some time with wife Josie to visit his grandson on the East Coast and travel to Europe.