SALEM — Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, announced Thursday, March 2, that he would not seek reelection in 2024, ending more than four decades in politics.

“I did not realize it at the time, but in the fall of 1981, Margaret and I made a decision that would set the course of my life for the next 42 years,” he said. “Now we are making another decision that will set another course for us.”

But he said he and his wife, Margaret, haven’t thought about retirement activities yet.

“We have almost two full years left on my term,” he said. “I’ll do my responsibility to District 29 and the state until December 2024. I’m focused on that.”

In the Senate, Hansell represented the community where he was born. He left Athena to earn a degree from the University of Oregon, a certificate from Harvard University and work as a Christian evangelist overseas, but came home to the farm that had been in his family for four generations. He and Margaret have been married 54 years, raised six grown children and have 11 grandchildren.

Hansell won election to the Umatilla County Commission eight times before moving to the Oregon Senate in 2013. He was last reelected in 2020 and his term runs through January 2025. His Senate District 29 sprawls across much of Eastern Oregon, including Wallowa, Union, Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam, Sherman and parts of Wasco counties. It covers an area greater than the state of Maryland.

Though 13 months remain until the May 2024 primary that will include the 29th District seat, Hansell said he wanted to make the decision early enough that anyone who would want to seek the office would have plenty of time to prepare.

“It is the second largest district in Oregon, and I am confident there may be a number of individuals interested in running,” he said.

Hansell, 78, said he would not endorse a candidate in the primary and he wanted to leave while still fully able to contribute.

“I’ve seen individuals who’ve stayed too long,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed the challenges and being able to help people, but I don’t think the public is well served when legislators lack the needed drive, work ethic and vision. I don’t want inadvertently to be in that position. I want to be an example for someone else to improve upon to a higher standard, rather than come in to pick up the pieces.”

‘Exemplary service’

Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, the dean of the Oregon House, praised Hansell’s tenure.

“I would like to acknowledge Sen. Bill Hansell’s exemplary service to the state of Oregon,” he said.

Hansell’s district includes all of Smith’s district, but the House veteran said he wasn’t interested in moving to the Senate. The eastern portion of Hansell’s district is represented by Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo. Local political and civic leaders could also run — just as Hansell moved from the Umatilla County commissioners to a seat in Salem.

A strongly conservative vote in the Senate, Hansell eventually drew a line on attempts by Republicans to halt legislation through walkouts. Hansell took part in the work stoppages in 2019 and 2020 that led to denying Democrats a quorum to conduct business.

But Hansell joined with then-Senate Minority Leader Fred Girod, R-Stayton, and a group of Republicans who refused to walk out in 2021 over demands by gun rights advocates that they leave the Capitol to block a gun control initiative.

The Girod-led group opted to stay in the capital and vote against the gun control bill, but not halt the session, which included the need to pass the state budget amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Hansell and other lawmakers received anonymous death threats over the issue. Recall efforts against the Republicans who wouldn’t walk out fizzled early.

In a rare legislative move to block an internal political problem, Hansell and Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, authored legislation making it against senate rules for senators to also hold state political party offices.

Sen. Dallas Heard, R-Roseburg, a leader of the senators who wanted to walk out over the gun bill, had become chair of the Oregon Republican Party and was advocating a preemptive endorsement of his candidacy for governor in 2022. Heard dropped his bid for governor, stepped down from the state party presidency and resigned from the senate prior to the 2023 session.

Work left to do

Unless he can convince his colleagues during his remaining time in office, Hansell will leave without accomplishing one of his most consistent goals — enshrining the potato as the official vegetable of Oregon.

Hansell rose during courtesies to praise Oregon potatoes, reminding his colleagues that “much of the state’s crop is grown in my very own district.”

Hansell in June 2021 extolled the spud, noting that $200 million worth of potatoes, accounting for 25% of all french fries exported overseas, came from Oregon.

To lobby his cause, he gave each senator a canvas bag that included a potato and spud-inspired recipes.

Hansell’s good-natured nemesis has been Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, who has championed the onion for the official vegetable designation from the state.

The latest potato legislation, Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 has languished in the Senate Rules Committee without additional action since it was introduced in January.

Hansell’s legislative priorities emphasize issues important to rural Oregon. He mentioned ensuring compensation for wolf depredation and funding Oregon State University “statewides.”

“The statewides are the extension service, forestry research and the experiment stations,” he said. “Forestry research is mainly a Westside function, although of course we have forests, too.

The extension service works with 4-H, and Umatilla County has two experiment stations. The statewides have been underfunded. I’m working to get additional resources.”

Hansell is one of two Republicans on a five-senator special committee set up to help Oregon get its share of federal funding to promote the nation’s semiconductor industry.

”Over reliance on off-shore sources for the chips in every computer, phone and car is a threat to national security and our supply chains,” he said. “Oregon is in a unique position, with Intel one of the largest chip companies in America. But we still have to do a lot of things, like finding land and passing incentives to compete with the big players, California, Texas and New York, and 12 to 15 other states.”

A semiconductor fabrication plant can cover 500 acres, he said, and none of the parcels in any urban growth boundary meets the specifications.

In his statement, Hansell thanked his constituents for supporting his elections.

”It has been an absolute privilege and honor to serve as an elected official, first as an Umatilla County commissioner for 30 years, and two-and-half terms thus far as a state senator, which will be 12 years when I retire,” he said. “I am very grateful for my wife, Margaret, my family, my friends, and the Good Lord for the opportunity to serve for over four decades.

When Hansell arrived at the Senate and opened a drawer in his new desk, he found — as is often Senate custom — a note from the previous tenant.

“’Be a Statesman, not a Politician, it’s all about service,’” Hansell recalled the note saying. “I agree, and this I have tried to do.”