Willis L. Van Dusen (born 1952 or 1953) is a businessman and former politician in Astoria,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, United States, who served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Astoria from 1991 through 2014. Originally elected to the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

in 1985, Willis served as a councillor for six years before being elected

. He took the oath of office in January 1991 and was re-elected every four years since that time, most recently re-elected in 2010.City of Astoria Official Website: http://astoria.or.us/MayorCouncil/CouncilMembers/tabid/4179/language/en-US/Default.aspx In 2014, he announced that he had decided to retire at the end of his term and not run for reelection again. He was succeeded by Arline LaMear, who was sworn in as mayor on January 5, 2015.

Life

Willis Van Dusen has very close roots to Astoria and is one in a long line of Van Dusens to represent the City of Astoria. In the 1850s, future President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

visited Van Dusen's ancestor, Adam Van Dusen, when he came to Astoria. More recently, Willis Van Dusen greeted former

President Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the attor ...

who visited Astoria in May 2008 while campaigning for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

in the Democratic Primaries. In addition to serving as Mayor of Astoria, Willis Van Dusen owns a local

soft-drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) carbonated, and typically including added sweetener. Flavors used to be natural, but now can also be artificial. The sweetener ...

bottling franchise, Van Dusen Beverages. Van Dusen is a graduate of Astoria High School's Class of 1971 and earned a degree in business from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in 1975.

Movie

Shortly after he was elected mayor, Willis Van Dusen appeared in the movie ''

Free Willy ''Free Willy'' is a 1993 American Adventure film, adventure Drama (film and television), drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by ...

'', which was filmed in Astoria in 1993. He played the role of "Fish Vendor."Internet Movie Database: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886655/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Dusen, Willis Oregon city council members Mayors of places in Oregon Politicians from Astoria, Oregon Living people Year of birth uncertain Year of birth missing (living people)