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Revered legislator Potts dies at 93 By PAUL FATTIG,Mail Tribune Dec 20, 2003 12:00 AM A A MERLIN ' Eugene D. Debbs Potts, a former state senator who retired from the Oregon Lottery Commission last month, has died. Potts, 93, was discovered dead outside his Merlin home early Friday morning by his nephew Keith Potts, according to Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel. Although the department is conducting an investigation, given the circumstances, no foul play is suspected, Daniel said. He was found outside his house with an injury to his head, Daniel said. He appears to have fallen down his (outside) stairs. Daniel, who had known Potts for years, noted the Democrat had spent half his life serving Oregonians in some capacity. — For instance, when the sheriff's posse needed an arena to work with its horses, Potts built one on his 30-acre parcel known as Pottsville, Daniel observed. Debbs is one of those people who gave everything to his community, Daniel said. He will be sorely missed by everybody ' he was a friend to everybody. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a fellow Democrat who served in the Legislature with Potts, agreed. He served with great distinction and aplomb . . . Debbs Potts was a role model for many of us and a credit to his state, Kulongoski said in a prepared statement. Potts began his political life as mayor of Grants Pass in 1959 and served until 1961, when he was elected state senator for District 25, which includes all of Josephine County and the western portion of Jackson County. Known for never having accepted campaign contributions while running for office, Potts served as senator through 1984. Elected as the Senate president in 1967 and again in 1969, he chaired several powerful committees, including Ways and Means. Named chair of Oregon Lottery Commission when it formed in 1984, he served on the commission until retiring in November. Medford resident and former congressman Bob Smith, a Republican who served with the venerable Democrat in the Legislature before being elected to Congress, said Potts served Oregon well. Debbs was a great Oregonian ' what a great contribution he made over the years, Smith said. Never mind the two were on opposite sides of the political aisle. We got along famously, said Smith, who served as speaker of the house when Potts was the Senate president. The reason was that they both shared the philosophy of working to improve the state, he said. He's kind of an icon, Smith said. I don't know any person who had anything negative to say about Debbs. He lived a great life, a long life, but it is still sad to see him go. State Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, Potts' colleague for 10 years beginning in 1974, said Potts stood out in the Legislature. Winston Churchill once said a politician is one who looks to the next election but a statesman is one who looks to the future and seeks solutions ' that was Debbs Potts, he said. He was the kind of person who rose above politics. Potts was also known to be a hard-working early riser, Hannon said. I remember when I first went to meet Debbs Potts in the 1975 session I was told to get there early, he said. I arrived at 7:30 but he had already left his office. The next day Hannon got to Potts' office at 7 a.m. But the senior senator had already left for legislative duties. So the next day I got there at 6:30 and caught him just before he left, Hannon said. He told me, 'Young man, if you are going to keep up with me, you're going to have to start early in the morning.' Named after Socialist presidential candidate Eugene Debbs, Potts was born Dec. 10, 1910, at Buzzard Roost, a long-gone hamlet in southern Shasta County, Calif. It was my mother's fault, he said in a 1998 interview with the . If my mother had put me off for three days, I would have been born in Oregon, doggone it. My parents were heading for Oregon. Potts, a Navy veteran and former pilot, was reared in Paisley in rural Lake County. He would spend more than 90 years in Oregon. He created Pottsville to house his collection of Oregon memorabilia for the 1959 state centennial. Pottsville grew to become the home of thousands of items commemorating Oregon's history, from a 1,500-pound concrete step from the state capitol building, which had burned in 1935, to a heavy horse-drawn logging wagon which once hauled logs near Wilderville in Josephine County. I want to perpetuate a place where a poor man or rich can go to look at things for free, and maybe learn a little about Oregon history, he said during the 1998 interview. People need to understand our past. He started the annual Pottsville Antique Engine and Tractor show in 1985. Put on by the Pottsville branch of the Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association, a national group, the event draws thousands of tinkerers and nostalgia buffs to the hamlet to look at a variety of machinery, including many steam-driven engines. In 1997, a life-size bronze bust of Potts was unveiled in the main foyer of the Josephine County courthouse. Kulongoski, then an Oregon Supreme Court justice, was present to say a few words about his old friend. One reason he stands above all other people I've ever met in this process is just one word: Honor, Kulongoski said. Debbs Potts is the most honorable and decent person I have ever met in the political process. If Debbs told you something, that's the way it was going to be, he said. Debbs set the standard that most people should follow as public officials in this state. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at