Cliff Bentz

Cliff Bentz (born January 12, 1952) is a Republican politician from the US state of Oregon. He serves in the Oregon House of Representatives representing District 60, which encompasses the counties of Malheur, Baker, and Harney, Grant County and part of Lake County, and which includes the cities of Baker City, Burns, and Ontario.

Bentz was born in Salem, Oregon, and was raised on ranches in the eastern Oregon communities of Fields and Drewsey. He graduated from Regis High School in the Willamette Valley city of Stayton, Oregon in 1970.

He received a bachelor's degree from Eastern Oregon State College (now Eastern Oregon University) in 1974 and a J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School in 1977. From 1977 to 1980, he was a law associate with the Ontario law firm Yturri Rose, and was made a partner in the firm in 1980, a position he still holds. He specializes in agricultural, water, and real property law. He also owns a 100-acre alfalfa farm.

In 2008, Bentz was appointed by county commissioners in House District 60 to replace Tom Butler in the Oregon House of Representatives following Butler's resignation to pursue a church mission. He defeated Tim K. Smith in the Republican primary in May 2008, and then was unopposed in the 2008 general election. In 2010, Bentz won another term, and was unopposed in both the primary and the general election.

Bentz and his wife Lindsay, a veterinarian, live in Ontario and have two teenage children.