[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5227]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO WAYNE KINNEY

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I wish to commemorate the retirement 
of my friend Wayne Kinney.
  Wayne is retiring as my central Oregon field representative after 
more than two decades of outstanding service to our State--and more 
specifically serving at one point or another the residents of Baker, 
Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jefferson, 
Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, 
Wheeler, and Wasco Counties.
  Suffice to say, Wayne knows everyone, and most of those folks could 
spend hours recounting their own tales of this quintessential public 
servant.
  Simply put, he will be deeply missed.
  But before Wayne takes his well-deserved retirement to his native New 
England--where he can be nearer to family and maintain closer 
supervision of his beloved Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots--I 
want to share my personal appreciation for this exemplary public 
servant, all-around good guy, and wonderfully avuncular curmudgeon.
  Wayne can forever lay claim to a significant piece of Oregon history. 
He opened Oregon's first Senate field office east of the Cascades 
shortly after I first took office in 1996.
  Wayne opened and ran my eastern Oregon office in La Grande before 
moving to Bend.
  In his service to Oregonians, he has put more miles than anybody I 
know on Oregon roads, at all hours, in all kinds of weather, to towns 
where there often are more cows than people.
  Wayne's fierce sense of loyalty and commitment to public service has 
driven him to cover all the ground he has over the years from Wasco to 
Wagontire, Ontario to Olene, Joseph to John Day, Bend to Burns, Madras 
to Mitchell, and all points in between.
  That loyalty extends to the rural communities he serves and the 
Oregonians in those communities who might not otherwise have a voice.
  Wayne always keeps the door open for cattlemen, farmers, and 
countless others who often feel the government is removed from their 
struggles.
  It is Wayne's ability to reach out and make connections with all of 
those folks that played such a large part in ensuring ``every nook and 
cranny'' in Oregon gets a voice.
  Wayne is not just a champion in general for rural Oregon communities. 
He has also proven to be an able advocate for creating opportunities 
for rural women that allows them to bring their voices into statewide 
discussions.
  Let me tell a couple of anecdotes about Wayne to provide a glimpse 
into this wonderful character--and all that he has meant to Oregon.
  For my colleagues who have not been to central and eastern Oregon, I 
would only note that the distances between towns can be great, but 
Wayne never let those long drives be a roadblock.
  In fact, his goal was to be anywhere and everywhere. He achieved that 
goal by--I believe in his words--making sure that, if anybody was so 
much as dedicating a new soda machine, he would be there to put in the 
first dollar.
  Just as great at times as the challenges of distance in his area are 
the weather challenges. Again, Wayne never let that be a roadblock.
  I remember well flying into rural Condon, OR, for a townhall in the 
snow, and who should I see with the local police chief sweeping the 
runway of snow? Wayne.
  It has been said by some that there is an unbridgeable urban-rural 
divide in Oregon. I know from more than 800 townhalls in every part of 
Oregon, that is untrue.
  In fact, I have come to use the term ``the Oregon way'' to describe 
how it is in our State's DNA to put aside partisanship in favor of 
civil conversations to find the best solutions.
  Among the many tributes in recent days in Oregon to my friend, I was 
struck by something I read about Wayne that captures how he ``lived and 
breathed'' the Oregon way.
  On Wayne's Facebook page recently, a Republican posted this powerful 
praise: ``Had lunch today with a good friend. Politically, Wayne and I 
are polar opposites. He is a Democrat, an officer with the Oregon 
Democratic Party and staff member with Senator Wyden, and I have served 
on the Executive Committee of the Oregon Republican Party, as well as 
County Central Committee Chairman. Over the years, we have had some 
great discussions, even disagreements about some very important issues, 
but we have handled our disagreements respectfully and remained 
friends. Wayne has announced his retirement and is also leaving our 
great state to move back east so he can be near family. The Oregon 
Democrats, and Senator Wyden are losing a tremendous asset, and a great 
leader of their Party.''
  Oregon truly is losing a tremendous asset, and so am I.
  I will miss Wayne tremendously, but I take heart that his work will 
live on in the issues he has resolved for Oregon and the relationships 
he has deepened among Oregonians.
  As Wayne begins his well-earned retirement, he has my eternal 
gratitude, and he has Oregon's.

                          ____________________