Legislators in Oregon like to talk about how most of the work they handle in the state Capitol is handled in a bipartisan way, and they have a point: The bitter battles over high-profile issues tend to grab the headlines, even as lawmakers reach across the aisle to tackle work that might not make the front page, but still is important to residents.

Sen. Bill Hansell, the Republican from Athena who represented Wallowa County (and a good chunk of Northeast Oregon) is a good example — maybe even the best recent example — of a lawmaker who built a career out of forging bipartisan partnerships.

Hansell is retiring this year. The short session that wrapped up earlier this month is his last after serving 12 years in the Senate — not to mention his three decades of service as an Umatilla County commissioner.

Of course, as Hansell told Phil Wright for the profile story that appears in today’s Chieftain, some of that bipartisanship was born out of necessity: Hansell never served in a session where Republicans held a majority. That means if he wanted one of his bills to pass, he needed to woo some votes from Democrats.

And he did that. Again and again, he racked up some truly remarkable legislative victories.

But it was the way he did that — the way he served in the Legislature — that really stands out. For example, he told a Democratic freshman senator that “we may disagree on an issue, but you will never be my enemy.”

“That was a really a profound statement and it still is with me,” said the Democratic senator, Kayse Jama.

Hansell told Wright that he never voted “no” on a bill just to spite another legislator: “I don’t vote no, just to vote no,” Hansell said. “Every bill has a constituency. Every bill has a champion. Every bill is important to somebody.”

Imagine if members of the U.S. Congress thought that way.

Or, imagine if voters started to assess candidates not just on their ability to raise temperatures with increasingly incendiary rhetoric but rather on their ability to forge alliances with people of every political stripe.

When someone like Hansell steps away from public service after nearly a half-century, you start to wonder why lawmakers in his mold, who emphasize cooperation, who don’t automatically reject compromise as a sign of “weakness,” are increasingly rare. What price do we pay when we continue to elect lawmakers who do not come, as another Democrat said of Hansell, “from a place of kindness?”

It must have delighted Hansell that this year’s short session, his last, managed to tackle some tough issues — but did it in a remarkably bipartisan fashion. It seems as if there might be a lesson there that other lawmakers could learn.

Or they could just set out to emulate Bill Hansell.

‘Office Hours’ at the Chieftain

Don’t forget that we’ve set aside time Wednesday afternoon for “Office Hours” at the Chieftain’s office, 209 NW First St. in Enterprise. This is a time we’ve set aside for anyone to come in and talk with us about any topic regarding the Chieftain — what we’re doing right, things we could be doing better, stories that we should be tackling. Just about any topic related to the Chieftain is fair game.

It’s also a time when we’ll be showing subscribers how to take advantage of all the options available in our digital edition, so bring your digital device for some hands-on tips.

“Office Hours” are from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. We’ll see you here.