Reading Into It: Biographies of Oregon Governors

At a recent Oregon Chapter APIC meeting this last year we had the great fortune to welcome Bob Straub biographer Charles Johnson and have a sit down chat with him about his book and subject matter. He signed copies of his book and talked about the dual McCall-Straub dynamic that was prevalent in most state politics in the late 60s and 70s.

The recent winter weather was a good chance to sit back down and take a second look at a couple of the other biographies on Oregon governors. Here are the ones that you can find out there (Mind you it is a small list):

Farmers Committee Hosch b' Gosh pin

Doc Hosch for Governor pin from 1938

The late 30s were certainly an interesting time in Oregon. The normally Republican state had swept Democrats into office at various levels during the Great Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt had carried the state in the last two presidential elections. It was unprecedented in Oregon history. The Democratic party had only carried Oregon twice since statehood in a presidential contest. It had now voted for a Democrat twice in the same decade! The governor, Charles Martin, was a Democrat. Elected in 1934 with the New Deal wave sweeping the nation, he was not a natural ally of Roosevelt. Many Republican business interests were backing him, especially in his dealings with labor and the Bonneville Power Administration.