Tape 1, Side 1, through Tape 2, Side 2. In the first interview session, conducted on January 12, 2018, Randy Leonard discusses his family background, including his maternal family’s involvement in the development of Florence, Oregon, and the lives and careers of his parents. He talks about his early life in Portland, including growing up with a parent who had an undiagnosed mental illness. He discusses his early education, dropping out of school to join the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and returning to finish high school after an injury. He also talks about his experiences at Portland Community College and Portland State University. He talks about his siblings, and about their families and careers. He then describes how he became an intern and later a paid staff member for Oregon State Representative Ed Lindquist, and speaks extensively about how that experience inspired his later career as a firefighter and legislator. He also talks about increasing partisanship in the Legislature since his time as an intern in the 1970s.