Early this morning Oregon State Treasurer Ben Westlund passed away after a battle with cancer, reports Blue Oregon.  He was first elected to the Oregon House of Representatives as a republican and later served in the Oregon Senate.  Westlund ran for Governor as an independent in 2006 and later became a democrat and ran for Treasurer.

He was an usual public figure who put principles before partisan politics.  I first realized how unusual he was when I gave a speech in Bend (the city he represented in the House and Senate) in the fall of 2001 about homelessness in Oregon.  Then-Rep. Westlund showed up.  Republicans don't often show up to hear about homelessness, sad to say, but there he was.  He was interested and engaged even if he didn't agree with everything I had to say.

I seriously considered voting for Westlund in his race for governor but he dropped out before the general election.  Voters liked him, however, and elected him as the State Treasurer in 2008.  Ben Westlund will be missed in Oregon.

My prayers are with him, his wife and children.      

Photo credit: State of Oregon