McCall, Tom, 1913-1983
Biography
Thomas William Lawson McCall, commonly known as Tom McCall, was born in Egypt, Massachusetts, the son of Henry McCall and Dorothy Lawson McCall. McCall grew up on a ranch near Prineville, Oregon. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 1936 with a degree in journalism, and subsequently worked as a sportswriter in Idaho, as a reporter for the Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Oregon, and as a radio news announcer for KGW in Portland, before serving in the Navy during World War II. After the war, he hosted his own radio news show on KEX in Portland.
In 1949, McCall entered politics by working as a secretary for Oregon Governor Douglas McKay. He unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican in 1954, losing to Democrat Edith Green. He then returned to broadcasting, now working as a television commentator and documentary producer for KGW-TV in Portland. In 1964, McCall successfully ran for Oregon secretary of state, and two years later was elected governor of Oregon. He was reelected in 1970.
As governor, McCall was noted for activism in environmental and conservation legislation. He supported the protection of Oregon's beaches; established the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality; led the successful fight for the Oregon Bottle Bill, the U.S.'s first mandatory container deposit law; and championed Senate Bill 100, which established statewide goals for land use planning and development.
After leaving office in 1975 due to term limits, McCall wrote a newspaper column and worked as a news analyst for KATU television in Portland. He ran for governor again in 1978, but lost the Republican primary to Victor Atiyeh. In 1982, despite suffering from terminal cancer, McCall successfully lobbied against Ballot Measure 6, which would have overturned the land-use planning legislation that he had supported.
McCall married Audrey Owen (1915-2007) in 1939. The couple had two sons: Samuel Walker McCall III, and Thomas "Tad" McCall. Tom McCall died on January 8, 1983.
Found in 13 Collections and/or Records:
Oral history interview with Clay Myers
Oral history interview with Clay Myers conducted by Tom Wright from June 17 to October 27, 1994, as part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series. Myers served as Oregon treasurer and secretary of state.
Oral history interview with Ken Rinke
Oral history interview with Ken Rinke conducted by Betsey Ellsworth from August 10-11, 1995, as part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series. Rinke was chairman of the Multnomah County Democratic Party.
Letters to Hal Stoltz from Terry Schrunk and Tom McCall
Letters from Terry Schrunk, mayor of Portland, Oregon, and Oregon Governor Tom McCall to Hal Stoltz (1943-2023) thanking him for his work with People for Portland. People for Portland was a volunteer organization formed in the summer of 1970 with the goal of preventing violent confrontation during demonstrations against the American Legion convention in Portland that August.
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