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Mark O. Hatfield is one step closer to knocking Jason Lee off his pedestal.
The Oregon House voted 36-22 today to place a statue of Hatfield, the late Republican statesman, in the National Statuary Hall Collection in
Washington, D.C. The bill now moves to the state Senate—and if it passes, Hatfield moves back to Capitol Hill, where he served as a U.S. senator.
WW first reported in April that the legislature was considering a Hatfield statue to replace the current bronze of Jason Lee, the Methodist missionary who helped found Oregon.
We also provided a brief list of their respective accomplishments and failings. In brief: Hatfield opposed war but was investigated for taking bribes. Lee founded Willamette University but also a school where many Native American children died.
Advantage: Hatfield.
WWeek 2015