Tom McCall
Encyclopedia
Thomas Lawson McCall was an American
politician
and journalist in the state of Oregon
. A Republican, he was the 30th Governor of Oregon
from 1967 to 1975. A native of Massachusetts
, he grew up there and in Central Oregon
before attending the University of Oregon
. After college he worked as a journalist including time at Portland's
The Oregonian
during World War II
.
Later he worked in radio and then in television as a newscaster and political commentator. He made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 1954, losing in the general election to Edith Green
. While working for TV station KGW
, he produced a documentary on pollution in Oregon, which helped to spur environmental cleanup of the air and the Willamette River
. In 1964, McCall won his first political office, Oregon Secretary of State
, followed by two terms as Governor of Oregon
. As governor he worked towards environmental clean up, the Oregon Bottle Bill
, and public ownership of beaches on the Oregon Coast
among others. Tom McCall Waterfront Park
in Portland is one of several items named in his honor.
on March 22, 1913. 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 Thomas Lawson's Massachusetts estate named Dreamwold and his father’s ranch near Prineville, Oregon
named Westernwold.
Upon graduation from Redmond High School
, McCall enrolled at the University of Oregon
. Due to his family's growing financial problems he was forced to sit out long periods and took five years to earn his degree in journalism.
After graduating in June 1936, he moved to Moscow, Idaho
to write for the News-Review.
to look for work. At the time the economy of Portland was booming due to World War II
(McCall was told by the military that he was not eligible for enlistment due to bad knees and a recurring hernia) and journalists, still primarily men, were in short supply. He was quickly offered a job at The Oregonian
at nearly triple his wages in Idaho
.
While working on a story, an official of radio station KGW
(owned by The Oregonian) approached McCall about reading a public service announcement over the air. The station management was impressed by his unique voice and offered him a job as a news announcer. He worked at KGW radio until 1949, when he became administrative assistant to Oregon Gov. Douglas McKay
. In 1952 McCall returned to KGW radio, where he served as a newscaster and political commentator until 1955, when he jumped from radio to television and KGW to KPTV
.
McCall was a newscaster and commentator at KPTV, Oregon's first TV station, for about a year and a half. In November 1956 he followed colleague Ivan Smith out the door during a dispute with station management over placement of a sponsor's product on the news set. Just one month later, KGW-TV went on the air, with McCall and Smith as part of a durable news team that stayed together for seven years, until McCall's 1964 departure to run for Secretary of State.
Tom McCall led early efforts to help migrant workers. In September 1958 he led a meeting in Portland as chairman of the Steering Committee for the Oregon Committee on Migrant Affairs. This eventually led to groundbreaking migrant civil rights legislation passed by the Oregon Legislature in 1959.
In November 1962 McCall produced and hosted an ambitious KGW-TV documentary, Pollution in Paradise, which graphically portrayed the poor condition of the Willamette River and air quality throughout Oregon. The award-winning documentary Pollution in Paradise helped focus public attention on the problem. KGW repeated the program in January 1963 on the eve of the opening of the legislative session, and the 1963 Legislature was spurred to some of Oregon's early attempts at combating pollution. 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 as a late-night newscaster, based on his experience at KGW.
seat. He lost in the general election to Edith Green
, who went on to hold the seat for the next ten terms.
In 1958, when Mark Hatfield
was elected governor of Oregon, he vacated the position of Secretary of State. In his autobiography, McCall said he 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.
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 former Gov. 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. These achievements have done much to create McCall's enormous legacy in the state.
McCall is well-known for a comment he made in a Jan. 12, 1971, interview with CBS News' Terry Drinkwater
, in which he said:
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 up to 50,000 protesters.
After 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 U.S. history.
The festival, nicknamed "The Governor's 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 announced 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.
. 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 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.
Measure 6 failed to pass in the 1982 election. McCall was admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland
just over a month after the election. McCall once said about death, "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."
Tom McCall died of prostate cancer
on January 8, 1983, aged 69.
Task Force to come up with proposals to replace the riverfront freeway with a public space. A 37-acre (150,000 m²) park was built in 1974, running along the Willamette River for the length of downtown Portland. McCall was honored after his death when the park was renamed Tom McCall Waterfront Park
in 1984.
In 1969, McCall played a major role in the founding of SOLV
, an environmental
non-profit organization whose goal is to "build community through volunteer action to preserve this treasure called Oregon."
The Tom McCall Forum, which pairs prominent speakers with opposing political viewpoints, is presented annually by Pacific University
.
The Nature Conservancy named a nature preserve in Wasco County, Oregon
after McCall.
Oregon schools that have been named for him include: Tom McCall East Upper Elementary School in Forest Grove and Tom McCall Elementary School in Redmond.
In 1998 McCall was inducted into the Hall of Achievement at University of Oregon
's School of Journalism.
On October 10, 2006, the Salem Statesman Journal
announced plans by a "committee of citizens" to fund and place a life-size bronze statue of the late governor in Salem's Riverfront Park.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and journalist in the state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. A Republican, he was the 30th Governor of Oregon
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
from 1967 to 1975. A native of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, he grew up there and in Central Oregon
Central Oregon
Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards the Columbia River, eastward towards Burns, or south...
before attending the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. After college he worked as a journalist including time at Portland's
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Later he worked in radio and then in television as a newscaster and political commentator. He made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 1954, losing in the general election to Edith Green
Edith Green
Edith Louise Starrett Green was an American politician and educator in the state of Oregon. A native of South Dakota, she was raised in Oregon and completed her education at the University of Oregon and Stanford University...
. While working for TV station KGW
KGW
KGW is an NBC affiliate television station serving the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. The station broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 8, from its transmitter in Portland. It also produces segments and serves as the Portland bureau for Northwest Cable News , which is also owned by...
, he produced a documentary on pollution in Oregon, which helped to spur environmental cleanup of the air and the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
. In 1964, McCall won his first political office, Oregon Secretary of State
Oregon Secretary of State
The Secretary of State of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in line of succession to the Governor. The duties of office are: auditor of public accounts, chief elections officer, and administrator of public...
, followed by two terms as Governor of Oregon
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
. As governor he worked towards environmental clean up, the Oregon Bottle Bill
Oregon Bottle Bill
The Oregon Bottle Bill is container-deposit legislation passed in the U.S. state of Oregon in 1971 and amended in 2007. It requires cans, bottles, and other containers of carbonated soft drink, beer, and water sold in Oregon to be returnable with a minimum refund value...
, and public ownership of beaches on the Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
among others. Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a park located on the west bank of the Willamette River in downtown Portland, Oregon. It is , comprising 16 tax lots owned by the City of Portland....
in Portland is one of several items named in his honor.
Early life and career
McCall was born in Egypt, MassachusettsScituate, Massachusetts
Scituate is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 18,133 at the 2010 census....
on March 22, 1913. He was the grandson of copper-king Thomas Lawson
Thomas W. Lawson (businessman)
Thomas William Lawson was an American businessman and author. A highly controversial Boston stock promoter, he is known for both his efforts to promote reforms in the stock markets and the fortune he amassed for himself through highly dubious stock manipulations.The Scituate, Massachusetts...
and Massachusetts governor and congressman Samuel W. McCall
Samuel W. McCall
Samuel Walker McCall was a member of the United States House of Representatives, and the 47th Governor of Massachusetts...
. As a child he divided his time between Thomas Lawson's Massachusetts estate named Dreamwold and his father’s ranch near Prineville, Oregon
Prineville, Oregon
Prineville is a city in and the county seat of Crook County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the first merchant located in the present location, Barney Prine. The population was 9,253 at the 2010 census.- History :...
named Westernwold.
Upon graduation from Redmond High School
Redmond High School (Oregon)
Redmond High School is a public high school located in Redmond, Oregon, United States.-Academics:In 2008, 48% of the school's seniors received their high school diploma...
, McCall enrolled at the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. Due to his family's growing financial problems he was forced to sit out long periods and took five years to earn his degree in journalism.
After graduating in June 1936, he moved to Moscow, Idaho
Moscow, Idaho
Moscow is a city in northern Idaho, situated along the Washington/Idaho border. It is the most populous city and county seat of Latah County and the home of the University of Idaho, the land grant institution and primary research university for the state...
to write for the News-Review.
Marriage
In February 1939, while on assignment for the News-Review, McCall met Audrey Owen. The two were married on May 20, 1939. They had two children: Thomas "Tad" McCall, an environmental consultant, and Sam McCall. Audrey McCall (February 26, 1915 - November 15, 2007), died in 2007 at the age of 92.Journalism career
In March 1942 he was fired from the News-Review and traveled to Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
to look for work. At the time the economy of Portland was booming due to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(McCall was told by the military that he was not eligible for enlistment due to bad knees and a recurring hernia) and journalists, still primarily men, were in short supply. He was quickly offered a job at The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
at nearly triple his wages in Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
.
While working on a story, an official of radio station KGW
KGW
KGW is an NBC affiliate television station serving the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. The station broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 8, from its transmitter in Portland. It also produces segments and serves as the Portland bureau for Northwest Cable News , which is also owned by...
(owned by The Oregonian) approached McCall about reading a public service announcement over the air. The station management was impressed by his unique voice and offered him a job as a news announcer. He worked at KGW radio until 1949, when he became administrative assistant to Oregon Gov. Douglas McKay
Douglas McKay
James Douglas McKay was an American businessman and politician from Oregon. A native of the state, he served in World War I before he became a successful businessman, mainly as a car dealership owner in the capital city of Salem. A Republican, he served as a city councilor and mayor of Salem...
. In 1952 McCall returned to KGW radio, where he served as a newscaster and political commentator until 1955, when he jumped from radio to television and KGW to KPTV
KPTV
KPTV is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Portland, Oregon market, which includes most of the state of Oregon and portions of Southwest Washington. KPTV is owned by the Meredith Corporation in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX , with its studios located in Beaverton and...
.
McCall was a newscaster and commentator at KPTV, Oregon's first TV station, for about a year and a half. In November 1956 he followed colleague Ivan Smith out the door during a dispute with station management over placement of a sponsor's product on the news set. Just one month later, KGW-TV went on the air, with McCall and Smith as part of a durable news team that stayed together for seven years, until McCall's 1964 departure to run for Secretary of State.
Tom McCall led early efforts to help migrant workers. In September 1958 he led a meeting in Portland as chairman of the Steering Committee for the Oregon Committee on Migrant Affairs. This eventually led to groundbreaking migrant civil rights legislation passed by the Oregon Legislature in 1959.
In November 1962 McCall produced and hosted an ambitious KGW-TV documentary, Pollution in Paradise, which graphically portrayed the poor condition of the Willamette River and air quality throughout Oregon. The award-winning documentary Pollution in Paradise helped focus public attention on the problem. KGW repeated the program in January 1963 on the eve of the opening of the legislative session, and the 1963 Legislature was spurred to some of Oregon's early attempts at combating pollution. 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
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman and based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey....
in a cameo role as a late-night newscaster, based on his experience at KGW.
Political career
McCall made his first run for office in 1954, winning the Republican nomination for Oregon's Third Congressional DistrictOregon's 3rd congressional district
Oregon's 3rd congressional district covers most of Multnomah County, including Portland east of the Willamette River, Gresham, and Troutdale. It also includes the northern part of Clackamas County, including Milwaukie. Parts of northwest Portland also lie within the district...
seat. He lost in the general election to Edith Green
Edith Green
Edith Louise Starrett Green was an American politician and educator in the state of Oregon. A native of South Dakota, she was raised in Oregon and completed her education at the University of Oregon and Stanford University...
, who went on to hold the seat for the next ten terms.
In 1958, when Mark Hatfield
Mark Hatfield
Mark Odom Hatfield was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served for 30 years as a United States Senator from Oregon, and also as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee...
was elected governor of Oregon, he vacated the position of Secretary of State. In his autobiography, McCall said he 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.
McCall's two terms as Oregon's governor were notable for many achievements in the environmental sphere, including the country's first "bottle bill"
Oregon Bottle Bill
The Oregon Bottle Bill is container-deposit legislation passed in the U.S. state of Oregon in 1971 and amended in 2007. It requires cans, bottles, and other containers of carbonated soft drink, beer, and water sold in Oregon to be returnable with a minimum refund value...
, the cleanup of the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
, passage of a law to maintain former Gov. Oswald West
Oswald West
Oswald West was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. Called "Os West" by Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook, who described him as "by all odds the most brilliant governor Oregon ever had."- Early life and career :West was born in Ontario, Canada...
's legacy of public ownership of the state's beaches, and the first statewide land-use planning system, which introduced the urban growth boundary
Urban growth boundary
An urban growth boundary, or UGB, is a regional boundary, set in an attempt to control urban sprawl by mandating that the area inside the boundary be used for higher density urban development and the area outside be used for lower density development.An urban growth boundary circumscribes an...
around the state's cities. These achievements have done much to create McCall's enormous legacy in the state.
McCall is well-known for a comment he made in a Jan. 12, 1971, interview with CBS News' Terry Drinkwater
Terry Drinkwater
Terry Drinkwater was an American television and radio journalist best known for his 25 year career as a correspondent for CBS News...
, in which he said:
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 UniversityPortland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
over the Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
The Kent State shootings—also known as the May 4 massacre or the Kent State massacre—occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970...
had ended with charges of excessive police violence. The American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
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 up to 50,000 protesters.
After 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
Rock festival
A rock festival, or a rock fest, is a large-scale rock music concert, featuring multiple acts.The first rock festivals were put on in the late 1960s and were important socio-cultural milestones. In the 1980s a minor resurgence of festivals occurred with charity as the goal.Today, they are often...
at Milo McIver State Park
Milo McIver State Park
Milo McIver State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in Clackamas County, along the Clackamas River, near Estacada and close to Mount Hood...
near Estacada, Oregon
Estacada, Oregon
Estacada is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, about 30 miles southeast of Portland. The population was 2,695 at the 2010 census. -History:The Estacada post office opened in February 1904 and the city was incorporated in May 1905...
called "Vortex I: A Biodegradable Festival of Life," in imitation of the famous Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
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 U.S. history.
The festival, nicknamed "The Governor's 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 announced that Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
, Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
and the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
were on the way but none of them appeared. The feared violent clash between the antiwar groups and the conservative American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
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.
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 KATUKATU
KATU, virtual channel 2, also known as K2, is an ABC-affiliated television station broadcasting on digital channel 43 in Portland, Oregon, USA. It has been owned by Fisher Communications of Seattle, Washington, which has been the owner of the Seattle's ABC affiliate KOMO-TV, ever since it began...
. He made an unsuccessful bid to return to the governorship in 1978, losing in the Republican primary to State Senator Victor G. Atiyeh
Victor G. Atiyeh
Victor George Atiyeh is an American politician, elected the 32nd Governor of Oregon in 1978. A member of the Republican Party, Atiyeh was the first elected governor of Arab descent in the United States, serving eight years from 1979 through 1987...
, who went on to defeat incumbent Robert W. Straub
Robert W. Straub
Robert William "Bob" Straub , was an American politician and businessman in the state of Oregon. A native of California, he settled in Eugene, Oregon, where he entered politics. A Democratic politician, he served in the Oregon State Senate, as the Oregon State Treasurer, and one term as the 31st...
.
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 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.
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 1982 election. McCall was admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
just over a month after the election. McCall once said about death, "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."
Tom McCall died of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
on January 8, 1983, aged 69.
Legacy
In 1968 Governor McCall created the Harbor DriveHarbor Drive
Harbor Drive is the name of a street in Portland, Oregon, which was formerly a freeway that carried U.S. Route 99W along the western shore of the Willamette River in the downtown area...
Task Force to come up with proposals to replace the riverfront freeway with a public space. A 37-acre (150,000 m²) park was built in 1974, running along the Willamette River for the length of downtown Portland. McCall was honored after his death when the park was renamed Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a park located on the west bank of the Willamette River in downtown Portland, Oregon. It is , comprising 16 tax lots owned by the City of Portland....
in 1984.
In 1969, McCall played a major role in the founding of SOLV
SOLV
SOLV is an environmental non-profit organization working throughout the U.S. state of Oregon whose mission statement is: "SOLV builds community through volunteer action to preserve this treasure called Oregon"...
, an environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
non-profit organization whose goal is to "build community through volunteer action to preserve this treasure called Oregon."
The Tom McCall Forum, which pairs prominent speakers with opposing political viewpoints, is presented annually by Pacific University
Pacific University
Pacific University is a private university located in Oregon, United States. The first campus began more than 160 years ago and is located about 38 km west of Portland in Forest Grove...
.
The Nature Conservancy named a nature preserve in Wasco County, Oregon
Wasco County, Oregon
Wasco County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe who lived on the south side of the Columbia River. In 2010, its population was 25,213...
after McCall.
Oregon schools that have been named for him include: Tom McCall East Upper Elementary School in Forest Grove and Tom McCall Elementary School in Redmond.
In 1998 McCall was inducted into the Hall of Achievement at University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
's School of Journalism.
On October 10, 2006, the Salem Statesman Journal
Statesman Journal
The Statesman Journal is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851, the Oregon Statesman later merged with the Capital Journal to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Oregon. The Statesman Journal is distributed in Salem, Keizer, and much of...
announced plans by a "committee of citizens" to fund and place a life-size bronze statue of the late governor in Salem's Riverfront Park.
See also
- Land use in OregonLand use in OregonLand use in Oregon are the evolving laws affecting land ownership and its restrictions in the U.S. state of Oregon.- Timeline :* 1822: Henry Schenck Tanner's map of the U.S...
- 1000 Friends of Oregon1000 Friends of Oregon1000 Friends of Oregon is a private, non-profit 501 organization that advocates for sustainable communities, protection of farmland and forests, and conservation of natural areas and resources in the U.S. state of Oregon with a focus on land use laws...
, an organization established in 1975 by McCall
External links
- Gubernatorial history and biography of McCall, from the Oregon Historical SocietyOregon Historical SocietyThe Oregon Historical Society is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the Oregon Country, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, preserves, and makes available materials of historical character...
website - Oregon Secretary of State: Governor Tom McCall
- Tom McCall Preserve at RowenaRowena, OregonRowena is an unincorporated community in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Rowena as a census-designated place . The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same...
, named in his honor, from the Nature Conservancy website - Note card with McCall's "State of Excitement" quotation, from the 1000 Friends of Oregon1000 Friends of Oregon1000 Friends of Oregon is a private, non-profit 501 organization that advocates for sustainable communities, protection of farmland and forests, and conservation of natural areas and resources in the U.S. state of Oregon with a focus on land use laws...
website - Tom McCall Chapter of the Association of Northwest SteelheadersAssociation of Northwest SteelheadersThe Association of Northwest Steelheaders is the largest angling conservation organization headquartered in the State of Oregon, United States. With approximately two thousand members and supporters worldwide, its annual budget is meager and it relies primarily on its volunteers to accomplish its...