Willis Van Dusen
Willis L. Van Dusen is the Mayor of Astoria, Oregon. Originally elected to the City Council in 1985, Willis served as a councilman for 6 years prior to being elected Mayor. He took the oath of office in January of 1991 and has been re-elected every four years since that time. He was most recently re-elected in 2006.[1]
Willis Van Dusen is a native-born Astorian and is one in a long line of Van Dusens to represent the City of Astoria. In the 1850s, future President Ulysses S. Grant visited Willis's ancestor, Adam Van Dusen, when he came to Astoria. More recently, Willis Van Dusen greeted former President Bill Clinton who visited Astoria in May of 2008 while campaigning for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Primaries. [2]
Shortly after he was elected Mayor, Willis Van Dusen appeared in the movie Free Willy, which was filmed in Astoria in 1993. He played the role of "Fish Vendor."[3] A photo from Van Dusen's scene can be seen on the Cinema Astoria site.
In addition to serving as Mayor of Astoria, Willis Van Dusen and his brother own a local soft-drink 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 in 1975.[4]
- ^ City of Astoria Official Website: http://astoria.or.us/MayorCouncil/CouncilMembers/tabid/4179/language/en-US/Default.aspx
- ^ Daily Astorian Newspaper Article, "Presidential Expeditions Flow with the Tide," 5/14/2008: http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=51310&SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&S=1
- ^ Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886655/
- ^ City of Astoria Official Website: http://astoria.or.us/MayorCouncil/CouncilMembers/tabid/4179/language/en-US/Default.aspx