By Representative David Gomberg, House District 10
Dear Neighbors and Friends,
Just outside the House chamber in our Oregon State Capitol are portraits of three recent governors – Tom McCall, Bob Straub, and Barbara Roberts (Governors Kitzhaber and Kulongoski are down in the Senate wing where they served).
I always enjoyed visiting with student groups touring the Capitol and asking them about the paintings.
“What’s going on with Tom McCall?” I would ask. “He’s standing in the ocean. Why is there a helicopter? Is that a measuring tape? And is he offering his hand to say hello or to cement some kind of agreement?”
Bob Straub worked a lifetime to clean up the Willamette River. His smile looks like a satisfied one. “Is he looking upstream or downstream? And why does it matter?” I would ask. The kids were usually more interested in his dog whose eyes followed you as you walked by.
Barbara Roberts is shown in the then-new Governor’s Residence, Mahonia Hall. Her smile beams as it always does. And she too is gesturing. “What is the message?” I would ask. “I think she is saying, Please! Come on in! This home is your house too!!”
After visiting the portraits, I would take visitors onto the House floor. That’s not on the usual Capitol tour and you can only go if escorted by a legislator. I’d show them the desks, and the voting boards, and ask how it felt to be in “the arena” with people looking down from the balconies.
The Capitol rotunda and lobbies have been closed for several years for seismic renovations and repairs. The Capitol is a construction mess. The portraits have been moved for safekeeping. And visitors or tour groups no longer visit.
I miss our old open, inviting, and interesting Capitol. I miss talking with the kids and watching their faces when I invite them into the Chamber and past the velvet rope that blocks the ceremonial doors. And I miss visiting these portraits. I knew these three Governors and the work they did to make Oregon special.
The plan is for renovations to be done before the 2025 session convenes. We’re all hoping for the best.
So what is the story with the huge, life-size McCall painting?
The Governor’s hair is tousled and he’s dressed in a stylish 1970s light tan suit with smart brown dress shoes, one on the sand and one in the ocean. He’s smiling amidst the chaos of the background. The scene portrays McCall’s highly publicized tour of the Oregon coast on May 13, 1967, when he and a team of surveyors and scientists traveled in two helicopters, touching down on beaches to demonstrate the threat posed to the public’s longstanding free access to the state’s coastline. A red and white pole was used to measure where the beach actually began for the all-important Beach Bill of 1967 – the law that made all Oregon’s ocean beaches open to the public.
After he finished his second term, Governor McCall agreed to teach two classes at Oregon State. One was to a large lecture hall class, and the other a symposium for a dozen political science seniors. That was in 1975 when I was at OSU. And so every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, it was my extraordinary fortune to sit, talk, listen, and learn from Oregon’s iconic Governor as he shared stories, strategy, and his vision for the state he loved.
I later moved to Salem to earn my MBA from Willamette and work several years before moving to the Coast. I was active there in Democratic politics. Governor Straub and his wife, Pat lived in West Salem and we visited their farm often for gatherings and campaign rallies.
And then in 1980 I met Barbara Roberts when we both attended the Democratic National Convention in New York. She was selected by the delegation as the speaker to announce Oregon’s votes to the nation.
“Madam Secretary” she proclaimed, “the beautiful State of Oregon, still demonstrating the pioneer spirit that brought Americans westward from every corner of this nation, the state of clean air, clean water, and clean politics, casts our votes…”
We all knew Barbara was very special. In the early 1970’s she began work as an unpaid, citizen-lobbyist advocating for autistic children like her son Mike. She served on her school board. She was named a Multnomah County commissioner in 1978 and was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1980, serving as majority leader in 1983 and 1984. When she was elected as Oregon Secretary of State in 1984, Roberts became the first Democrat in more than 100 years to hold that office. In 1990, she was elected Oregon’s first woman Governor.
Here is a portion of her inaugural address:
“Over the past two decades, we have changed. We live at a dizzying pace. We’re bombarded by bulletins and billboards, told what to do by television and technology. And even today, threatened by war. We struggle so hard to make sense of today’s world that we tend to become the audience rather than the actors. We settle in and settle down. Sometimes we settle for less. Because it is easier. Because we feel overwhelmed. Because we don’t think we can really make a difference.
Well, let me beg to differ.
You are looking at a woman who raised two children – one of them autistic – by herself. You are looking at a person who struggled for years to make ends meet. You are looking at a part-time student still working and committed to earning her college degree. And you are looking at a woman who got actively involved because she saw a wrong that needed to be corrected. And today you are looking at the governor of the greatest state in the union.”
Amazing what a mom can do when they set out to improve the lives of their children.
I went to work for Barbara in 1981 as her legislative Chief of Staff. Susan worked on her personal staff in both the Secretary of State and Governor’s office.
The legislature in 1981 and forty years later in 2021.
Barbara grew up in Sheridan which for ten years before redistricting, was part of our District.I worked hard to secure roughly $2 million for the Sheridan Career Technical Education Center (CTEC) in 2021. And later that year, I called Superintendent Vickery with a provocative suggestion: let’s send a message that a graduate of our local high schools can go on to do great things. I suggested naming the Sheridan Center for a Sheridan graduate who went on to become Oregon’s first woman Governor, my dear friend Barbara Roberts.In March 2022, about 200 people gathered in the huge new building to welcome Governor Roberts with a standing ovation to the Roberts CTE Center. March is Women in History Month, and I was able to remind everyone of the significant impact Barbara has had on Oregon and Sheridan history.You can read more about the event and the CTEC program here.
Mayor Baer, Superintendent Vickery, Governor Roberts, and Representative Gomberg –
News-Register Photo
When the 2023 session began, the Capitol was largely closed as renovations continued. The Rotunda was closed. The restaurant was closed. The Governor’s, Secretary of State’s and Treasurer’s offices were closed and relocated. There was literally nowhere for the public to sit down or hang a coat.
The first day is all pomp and circumstance with opening speeches, swearing in new members, and special guests. Knowing what to expect, I reached out Governor Roberts. If she was coming, she could use my office as a place to rest, relax, or leave her raincoat.
About an hour before the opening ceremonies, I looked down the hallway to see two enormous state troopers walking my way. Behind them were two Governors, Roberts and Kulongoski.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
