 Newsmakers:
Husband and wife team could bridge chambers gap
by
Devan Schwartz, Herald and News 12/14/12
Rep.-elect Gail Whitsett, R-Dist.
56, is no stranger to Salem, having served as
chief of staff for her husband, State Sen. Doug
Whitsett, R-Dist. 28. But becoming a state
representative will be a big change.
“I’ll have staff now instead of
being staff,” Whitsett said this week. She won a
two-year term to replace retiring Republican
State Rep. Bill Garrard in District 56.
Her priorities are private
sector job growth, ensuring reliable
delivery of water and properly connecting
her constituents to available resources to
improve their quality of life.
Whitsett said it’s
interesting learning different protocols for
legislators and staff. For example, staffers
have a delineated path they must walk to get
to their desks, whereas representatives and
senators can cross the aisle and enter more
freely.
With eight years experience
as her husband’s chief of staff, Whitsett
also notes differences in the two chambers.
In the Senate, she said, there is a roll
call by name for voting. But in the House, a
general announcement is made and
representatives must vote by pressing a
buzzer, with only a 30-second window.
Called to Salem this week for
a special session that convenes today,
Whitsett has used her time to prepare for
her new job while having one last hurrah as
chief of staff.
“It’s been very good,
enlightening,” Whitsett said, adding that
it’s also been quite tiring. “I didn’t think
there was that much I didn’t know — but I’m
learning it now.”
Side Bars
Grounded and well-rounded
It may be an unlikely path to
politics, but representative-elect Gail Whitsett draws
on years of experience in geology and horse-breeding.
Bachelor's and master’s degrees from
Oregon State University led to her being recruited as a
petroleum exploration geologist in a Rocky Mountain
region called the Overthrust Belt.
Later, Whitsett became a petroleum
consultant in North Dakota. This is the location of the
Bakken Formation, an oil boom area through which the
Keystone XL Pipeline is slated to run.
Also knowledgeable about
horse-breeding and still the proud owner of five active
mares, Whitsett’s life experiences have attuned her
political expertise.
When committee assignments are given
out for the upcoming session, Whitsett hopes for three
committee assignments reflective of her expertise:
Agriculture and Natural Resources, Transportation and
Economic Development, and Energy, Environment and Water.
Government in her blood
When she was a student at Henley High
School, young Gail Whitsett worked as a page for State
Rep. Gary Wilhelms. She also took part in the YMCA Youth
and Government Program, in which students run model
governments. A prominent co-participant in the YMCA
program was current Klamath County Circuit Court Judge
Cameron Wogan.
And when Whitsett won a statewide
Elks competition to visit our nation’s capitol, she ran
into another future politician: Rep. Greg Walden
(R-Dist. 2). She said they now joke about the
photographs showing the congressman back when he had
hair.
“I always had a real interest in
government,” said Whitsett, who will be sworn in for her
two-year term on Jan. 14. The session begins in February
and will last about six months.
Husband and wife team
“You’re up here and you realize there
haven’t been good relationships between the Senate and the
House,” said Gail Whitsett, who will transition from chief
of staff for her husband, State Sen. Doug Whitsett (R-Dist.
28), to a state representative of District 56.
Longtime legislators have told Whitsett
they’re excited for her new position, and think she and her
husband can build a bridge between the two chambers, which
have been largely uncommunicative.
Whitsett has spent the last few days
getting to know the “freshmen class” of incoming
legislators, as well as existing colleagues from both the
Republican and Democratic parties.
Legislative
priorities
Though she won’t be sworn in until Jan. 14
and the next session doesn’t begin until February,
Representative-elect Gail Whitsett is clear about her
priorities.
Whitsett plans to first and foremost assist
the private sector in job creation, especially in forestry and
agriculture. This includes encouraging the development of
sustainable logging.
Web exclusive: Former chief of staff
finds new staff members
State Sen. Doug Whitsett (R-Dist. 28) has
hired Judy Trego, a former staffer for both himself and for
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Dist. 2). With her experience and
connections in federal politics, Gail Whitsett thinks Trego
will make a great chief of staff.
For her own staff chief, the
representative-elect has found Sarah Dressler, a UCLA
graduate and computer expert. Dressler, who lives in
Bend, will relocate to Salem during legislative sessions
and other busy times involving meetings or other work.
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