Doug Whitsett (born March 24, 1943) is an American politician who served in the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the State legislature (United States), statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Ther ...

from 2005 until 2017, representing District 28. He is a Republican and served on the Ways and Means Committee, the Ways and Means Public Safety subcommittee, the Emergency Board, the Judiciary Committee, and the Office of Administrative Hearings Oversight Committee. Whitsett represents the people of Klamath,

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

, and

Crook Crook is slang for criminal. Crook or Crooks may also refer to: Places Canada * Crooks Inlet, former name of Kangiqturjuaq, Nunavut England * Crook, County Durham, a town * Crook, Cumbria, a village and civil parish * Crook Hill, Derby ...

counties, and of parts of both

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

and Deschutes counties. He was elected in 2004 and won reelection in 2008. His wife Gail Whitsett was his chief of staff before being elected to

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

Early life

On March 24, 1943, Whitsett was born in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

. Whitsett grew up on a small dairy farm in Powell Butte, Oregon. Whitsett graduated from

Crook County High School Crook County High School (CCHS) is a public high school in Prineville, Oregon, United States. It is the sole high school of the Crook County School District. The district covers all of Crook County, and a section of Deschutes County, which inc ...

Education

Whitsett received his

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

degree from

Central Oregon Community College Central Oregon Community College is a public community college in Bend, Oregon. It primarily serves residents of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook Counties. Its service district also includes portions of Klamath, Lake, and Wasco counties. His ...

and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

Career

Whitsett was a

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

. In 1968, he began practicing at Klamath Animal Clinic in

Klamath Falls, Oregon Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city ...

. By 1986, Whitsett was the president of that clinic, which he sold in 1994. Whitsett has been active in

Klamath Basin The Klamath Basin is the region in the U.S. states of Oregon and California drained by the Klamath River. It contains most of Klamath County and parts of Lake and Jackson counties in Oregon, and parts of Del Norte, Humboldt, Modoc, Siskiyou, ...

and state water issues. Before being elected to the senate he sat on the Water for Life board of directors along with his wife. He is a past president of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association, the Klamath County Cattlemen's Association, and the Lake County Veterinary Medical Association. He has been active with the

Oregon Cattlemen's Association Oregon ( , ) is a 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, while the Snake River delineates much ...

, has served as a director of the Klamath Bull Sale for the past 35 years, and has lectured at state and regional veterinary conferences. He has written articles for various publications including ''Cascade Cattlemen'', ''Cattlemen's Beef Producer'', ''

Capital Press ''The Capital Press'' is a weekly agricultural newspaper covering the West Coast of the United States, and published in Salem, Oregon. The newspaper covers farming, ranching and agriculture industries in the Pacific Northwest. The newspaper is ...

'', Klamath Falls ''

Herald and News The ''Herald and News'' is a daily newspaper serving the city of Klamath Falls and Klamath County in the U.S. state of Oregon. It also distributes east into Lake County. The General Manager is Joe Hudon and the editor is Gene Warnick. The mor ...

'', and

Oregonians In Action Oregonians in Action (OIA) is an organization in Oregon, United States, that seeks to reduce land use regulation. There are four legal entities that have used this name, but the one that is most active as of 2006 is the political action committee. ...

's ''Looking Forward'' newsletter. Whitsett and his wife currently own and operate two small farms in the Klamath Basin where they breed and raise European

warmblood Warmbloods are a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds primarily originating in Europe and registered with organizations that are characterized by open studbook policy, studbook selection, and the aim of breeding for equestrian sp ...

horses for

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

and jumping.

Electoral history

References

External links

Doug Whitsett at ballotpedia.org

at the

Oregon State Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper house, upper and lower chamber: the Oregon State Senate, Sena ...

website 1943 births American veterinarians Living people Republican Party Oregon state senators 21st-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly Politicians from Klamath Falls, Oregon People from Powell Butte, Oregon People from Monterey, California Washington State University alumni American cattlemen {{Oregon-gov-stub