(1918-2015)
- Oregon State Senator, 1971-1973.
- Board Member, Land Conservation and Development Commission, 1990-2000.
About Sen. Macpherson
Former Oregon Senator Hector Macpherson sums up his key life experiences this way: “I had two very exciting times in my life. One was my four-and-a-half years in the army air corps, and my proposing Senate Bill 100 (SB100) to the Oregon Legislature. Both of them put me in the line of fire.”
A second-generation dairy farmer in Linn County, Macpherson won a senate seat in District 8 in 1970. He was immediately embroiled in the “hot” issue of field burning. He helped work out a compromise on the subject. Macpherson had observed suburban sprawl threatening Willamette Valley farmland, and he took on the controversial issue of land-use planning.
In 1969, legislators had passed SB10 requiring cities and counties to adopt comprehensive land-use plans and zoning laws. So, Macpherson took that framework and developed SB100. This added timelines and created a new state agency, the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) to enforce SB10.
During the 1973 Legislature, Macpherson, Sen. Ted Hallock, and others successfully passed the bill. Oregon’s iconic land-use goals became law. However, Macpherson’s support of SB100 cost him his senate seat in the next election. He went on to serve on the LCDC for decades, and his efforts resulted in the Oregon we know and love today.
You can help preserve history
When you donate to the Capitol Foundation or purchase Pacific Wonderland license plates for your car, you help create a living history of our Capitol and its history. Your support funds programs such as our oral history project. This program gives students, history buffs and our state’s future leaders an opportunity to learn about Oregon’s most important stories from the people who made it happen. Thank you!