Westlund dies of lung cancer

Last updated Mar 09, 2010 12:0pm0

Gary Miller count

Down the trail.

Ben Westlund, local rancher, dynamic legislative representative of Central Oregon and Oregon Treasurer, died Sunday night after battling recurrent lung cancer. He was 60.

Westlund, who lived in Tumalo with his wife Libby, son BJ and daughter Taylor, had many friends in the Sisters Country. He was known here not only as a legislator, but also as an advocate for families and as a patron of the arts. (See "Remembering Ben Westlund," page 2).

A friend convinced him to run for the legislature in 1996, and Westlund was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives. In 2003, he was appointed to the Senate and successfully won the seat in 2004. He quickly earned a reputation as a problem solver and as an advocate for Oregon families.

In 12 years in the state legislature, he was a co-chairman of the budget-drafting Joint Ways and Means Committee and championed legislation that created the State's Rainy Day Fund, Public Safety Memorial Fund and the Oregon Cultural Trust. He was the chief legislative advocate for creating the Cascades Campus of Oregon State University in Central Oregon.

"He was a tremendous ally for the cities of Central Oregon, introducing bills, speaking on our behalf, organizing meetings and hosting events where we could present our issues to legislators from around the state," said Sisters City Manager Eileen Stein.

He survived an initial bout with lung cancer in 2003. A political moderate who started his career as a Republican, Westlund bucked his party and was the co-sponsor of legislation to give marriage-like rights to same-sex couples. He staged a brief campaign for governor as an independent in 2006. He fought for consumer protection and was the co-author of Oregon's health system reforms in 2007, and was elected as Oregon's 27th state treasurer in 2008. He is the only state treasurer in recent memory to be elected from east of the Cascades.

As treasurer, he gained national attention for his initiative to expand investment transparency and led a series of reforms to increase accountability and options in the Oregon 529 College Savings Plan. He was instrumental in securing a $20 million settlement in 2009 for families who are saving for their children's futures.

He worked to the end and was a hands-on, creative and collaborative leader who sought to bring out the best in his staff. In the final quarter of 2009, the returns earned by the state treasury investment division were in the top one percent of large public pension funds.

A memorial service is set for 2 p.m. Friday, March 12, at The Riverhouse in Bend.

Remembering Ben Westlund

by Eric Dolson

Ben Westlund was a man underestimated so often, it could actually get embarrassing.

Every time someone thought they could bludgeon him with a better argument, a more moral stand, occasionally a descent into self-righteous indignation, Ben could lay them low with facts and nuanced reasoning and a better command of the issues. Almost always with a certain bit of gentleness, as well.

Ben wasn't exactly tame when I first met him in 1966 or so, when he arrived in Oregon at age 16 with his family. He grew up with privilege. They were something in that era, the Westlunds. I still remember his yellow-and-black Chevelle SS 396. Ben loved cars.

He could have turned out badly, and then he turned out so good. He did not have to work at all, and he worked so hard. He could have taken it easy. Instead, he made things easy that other people found too hard.

That included his final faceoff against the cancer that killed him early on Sunday morning, March 7. He could have had many of us feeling sorry for him, there at the end. He did not. Even those closest probably did not know, as Ben must have, that the end was drawing so near.

Just another example of this man's uncommon courage. I hope he got all the messages how dearly we regarded him. Does anyone know how many rodeo parades he drove in through Sisters?

I think Ben would have been our next governor, if the cancer had let him live. He had good ideas, and a deep love for Oregon, what Oregon means, what Oregon could be. And he was able to express that love in simple, effective ways, and implement what he felt was best.

If what Ben said sometimes came off like a 30-second sound bite, Ben was willing to let that ride. But anyone lulled into believing Ben thought in cliches;s was in for a rude surprise when it came to the facts. He had the numbers in his head, and Ben Westlund was often the most knowledgeable person in the room when it came to how Oregon pays its bills, what was possible and what was not.

Even when that room was the Oregon Legislature.

The role of humble rancher that he assumed, perhaps at first as a deflection, became in so many ways so very real. It may have not reflected his roots, but it suited him, it reflected so well his patience, his strong ties to family, his morality, his strength. Ben was a very good man. Knowing him was an honor. Down the trail, Ben.

Others offered remembrances:

"Ben was an energetic and creative legislator. He was a tremendous ally for the cities of Central Oregon, introducing bills, speaking on our behalf, organizing meetings and hosting events where we could present our issues to legislators from around the state. Sisters being the smallest city in Deschutes County, Ben was always accessible for me, quickly grasped the issue, knew immediately what the problem was, and how to fix it. Losing his knowledge of the state's finances and how the state budget works at such a difficult time is a terrible loss. He was a tremendous asset and will be dearly missed." - Sisters City Manager Eileen Stein

"He was a real champion for the Sisters community. He was always available to anybody and he remembered everybody. He always attended My Own Two Hands, and he was a fixture in the Rodeo parade. He was a public person, but he was not afraid to look like a regular person. His efforts to protect the Metolius were brave of him as a politician. He had a real place in his heart for people who were not necessarily voters, but citizens. It's a great legacy he's left. He was a force to be reckoned with." - Kathy Deggendorfer, longtime family friend