Tom McCall

Tom McCall (1969)

Thomas Lawson "Tom" McCall (born March 22, 1913 in Egypt , Plymouth County , Massachusetts , †  January 8, 1983 in Portland , Oregon ) was an American politician and from 1967 to 1975 the 30th  governor of the state of Oregon.

Early years

Tom McCall was a grandson of the "Copper King" Thomas William Lawson on his mother's side . His paternal grandfather was Samuel W. McCall , who was Massachusetts Governor and then Congressman from 1916 to 1919 . He spent part of his youth in Massachusetts and Oregon, where his father ran a ranch near Prineville . Young McCall graduated from Redmond High School and then studied journalism at the University of Oregon . After finishing his studies he went to Moscow , Idaho , where he wrote articles for a newspaper. He stayed there until 1942.

Journalistic and political advancement

During the Second World War he was a war correspondent from the Pacific theater. Then he worked as a newscaster for a radio station in Portland until 1949; that year he was appointed by Governor Douglas McKay to his advisory board. He belonged to this until 1952; then he returned to his radio station, where he made political comments, among other things. In 1955 he switched from radio to television. Until 1964 he worked as a television journalist.

In 1954, Republican McCall ran unsuccessfully for the Oregon Senate . In 1958, he hoped for the position of Secretary of State , but were not fulfilled. It was not until 1964 that he was elected to this office, which he would hold until January 1967. In 1966 he was elected as his party's candidate for the new governor.

Governor of Oregon

Tom McCall took office on January 9, 1967. After being re-elected in 1970, he was able to officiate for a total of eight years until January 1975. One of his first projects was the fight against pollution of the Willamette River . Within two years he was able to show great success there. Ecology was a focus of his policy. He appointed a commission to research new energy sources. In 1970 student unrest increased in the state. It was the time of the civil rights movement and demonstrations against the Vietnam War . In order to withdraw the audience from a planned rally, the governor organized a state rock festival in Milo McIver State Park near Estacada , which became known as " Vortex I ". This festival was the first and so far only state-organized event of its kind. Between 50,000 and 100,000 people attended the event, which made it a success. The governor was inspired by the Woodstock Festival held the year before .

Another résumé

After the end of his governorship, McCall was again active as a journalist. He wrote newspaper articles and was a guest commentator on a number of television stations. He received a chair in journalism at the University of Oregon. In 1978 he ran again, but without success, for the office of governor. Tom McCall died of cancer on January 8, 1983. He was married to Audrey Owen, with whom he had two children.

Web links

• Tom McCall in nndb (English)
• Tom McCall in the National Governors Association (English)
• Tom McCall in the database of Find a Grave (English)