Tom McCall

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Tom McCall

30^th Governor of Oregon
In office January 9, 1967 – January 13, 1975
Preceded by	Mark Hatfield
Succeeded by	Robert W. Straub

Born	March 22, 1913 Massachusetts
Died	January 8, 1983 Portland Oregon
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Audrey Owen
Profession	Politician

Thomas Lawson McCall (March 22, 1913 – January 8, 1983) was an American politician, a Republican, and the thirtieth governor of Oregon from 1967 to 1975.

McCall's two terms as Oregon's governor were notable for many achievements in the environmental sphere, including the country's first "bottle bill", the cleanup of the Willamette River, passage of a law to maintain Oswald West's legacy of public ownership of the state's beaches, and the first statewide land-use planning system, which introduced the urban growth boundary around the state's cities.

McCall is well known for a comment that he made in a 1971 interview with CBS News's Terry Drinkwater, in which he said:

“

Come visit us again and again. This is a state of excitement. But for heaven's sake, don't move here to live.^[1]

”

1 Early life and career
2 Political career
3 Vortex I
4 Back to journalism
5 End of life
6 Tributes
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Early life and career

McCall was born in Egypt, Massachusetts on March 22, 1913.^[2] He was the grandson of copper-king Thomas Lawson and Massachusetts governor and congressman Samuel W. McCall. As a child he divided his time between his grandfather, Thomas Lawson's Massachusetts estate named Dreamwold and his father’s ranch near Prineville, Oregon aptly named Westernwold. When he was nine he settled permanently on the ranch. McCall attended the University of Oregon and graduated with a degree in journalism in 1936.

Prior to entering politics, McCall worked for years as a newspaper reporter in Moscow, Idaho and radio commentator in Portland. He made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. House in 1954. He was a television reporter and commentator for most of the next decade at KGW in Portland.

Tom McCall lead early efforts to help migrant workers. In September of 1958 McCall lead a meeting in Portland as chairman of the Steering Committee for the Oregon Committee on Migrant Affairs. This eventually lead to groundbreaking migrant civil rights legislation passed at the Oregon Legislature in 1959 as discussed by Oregon Historian Tim Hills in the Portland based quarterly McMenamins Newsletter Dec. '06 - Feb. '07.

A 1962 documentary he produced and hosted ("Pollution in Paradise") graphically portrayed the poor condition of the Willamette and helped focus public attention on the problem. McCall also hosted a show on KGW called Viewpoint, which dealt with political issues of the day. McCall appears briefly (on a TV set) in the famous 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in a cameo role based on his time at KGW.

[edit] Political career

McCall made his first run for office in 1954, winning the Republican nomination for Oregon's Third Congressional District seat. He lost in the general election to Edith Green, who went on to hold the seat for the next two decades.

In 1958, when Mark Hatfield was elected governor of Oregon, he vacated the position of Secretary of State. McCall thought Hatfield had promised to appoint him to the unexpired portion of the term, but the job went to Hatfield associate Howell Appling instead. When Appling chose not to run for re-election in 1964, McCall sought and won the job. He was elected governor in 1966 and re-elected in 1970.

While his activity on behalf of Oregon's environment brought nationwide attention to his state, McCall brought a measure of both common sense and imagination to his office.

[edit] Vortex I

In 1970, McCall was faced with a potential riot in Portland. In May of that year, a week-long student protest at Portland State University over the Kent State shootings had ended with charges of excessive police violence. The American Legion had scheduled a convention in Portland later that summer; local antiwar groups were organizing a series of demonstrations at the same time under the name of the "People's Army Jamboree", and expected to draw 50,000 protesters.

After vain attempts to convince the People's Army Jamboree to either not carry out their plans or to move the date, McCall decided to hold a rock festival at Milo McIver State Park near Estacada, Oregon called "Vortex I: A Biodegradable Festival of Life", in imitation of the famous Woodstock Festival held the previous year.

"I think I just committed political suicide," McCall is reported to have remarked immediately after approving the event. Vortex was the first and so-far only state-sponsored rock festival in US history.

The festival, nicknamed "The Governors Pot Party" by Oregonians, was a success, attracting between 50,000 and 100,000 people. Gold, The Portland Zoo, Osceola, Fox, and Chrome Cyrcus were among the bands that played. The media was announcing that Santana, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead were on the way but none of them appeared. The feared violent clash between the antiwar groups and the conservative American Legion was avoided, and the city of Portland passed the summer relatively uneventfully. And in the general election that November, McCall was returned to office with 56% of the vote.

[edit] Back to journalism

Although his popularity was at its peak, Oregon's constitution prevented McCall from seeking a third consecutive term as governor in 1974. He returned to journalism, writing a newspaper column and serving as commentator for Portland television station KATU. He made an unsuccessful bid to return to the governorship in 1978, losing in the Republican primary to State Senator Victor G. Atiyeh, who went on to defeat incumbent Robert W. Straub.

After McCall's final attempt at the governorship a group launched an initiative to repeal McCall's most lasting legacy, the state's land use planning system, which included the creation of urban growth boundaries. Measure 6 went on the ballot for the 1982 election and McCall vowed to fight it to the end. McCall was dying of cancer and used the final months of his life making sure that Measure 6 did not pass.

[edit] End of life

During his campaign against Measure 6, McCall said "You all know I have terminal cancer-and I have a lot of it. But what you may not know is that stress induces its spread and induces its activity. Stress may even bring it on. Yet stress is the fuel of the activist. This activist loves Oregon more than he loves life. I know I can't have both very long. The trade-offs are all right with me. But if the legacy we helped give Oregon and which made it twinkle from afar-if it goes, then I guess I wouldn't want to live in Oregon anyhow."

Measure 6 failed to pass in the '82 election. McCall was admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland just over a month after the election. McCall said about the hospital, "You're terminal from the minute you arrive. You've been going to go ever since you got here. Still it is unacceptable when the calendar hints that the prospect has lost its open-endedness. Despair strikes you and what was vaguely inevitable is barely down the road anymore." McCall died of prostate cancer on January 8, 1983.

[edit] Tributes

His term as governor was honored after his death by the dedication of Tom McCall Waterfront Park, a 37-acre (150,000 m²) park which runs along the Willamette River for the length of downtown Portland. It was built in 1974 by removing Harbor Drive, a freeway which previously ran alongside the river. The annual Tom McCall Forum, which pairs prominent speakers with opposing political viewpoints, is presented by Pacific University.

The Nature Conservancy named a nature preserve in Wasco County, Oregon after him.

Oregon schools that have been named for him include: Tom McCall East Upper Elementary School in Forest Grove andTom McCall Elementary Schoolin Redmond.

In 1998 he was inducted into the Hall of Achievement at University of Oregon's School of Journalism.^[3]

On October 10, 2006, the Associated Press released a story originating from the Salem Statesman Journal and announcing plans by a "committee of citizens" to fund and place a life-size bronze statue of the late governor in Salem's Riverfront Park.

Preceded by Mark Hatfield	Governor of Oregon 1967-1975	Succeeded by Robert W. Straub
Preceded by Howell Appling	Secretary of State of Oregon 1965-1967	Succeeded by Clay Myers

[edit] References

^ Walth, Brent (November 5, 2006). McCall never looked so good. But let's move on.. The Oregonian. Retrieved on November 15, 2006.
^ Governor Tom McCall: Biographical Note. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on November 15, 2006.
^ Hall of Achievement. University of Oregon School of Journalism. Retrieved on November 15, 2006.

Brent Walth, Fire at Eden's Gate: Tom McCall and the Oregon Story (Corvallis, Oregon Oregon Historical Society Press, 1994) ISBN 0-87595-247-X
Matt Love, The Far Out Story of Vortex I (Pacific City, Oregon: Nestucca Spit Press, 2004) ISBN 0-9744364-1-0