Goldschmidt, Neil E. (Neil Edward), 1940-

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Neil Edward Goldschmidt (born June 16, 1940) is an American businessman and politician from the state of Oregon. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Mayor of Portland, Oregon from 1973 to 1979, as U.S. Secretary of Transportation from 1979 to 1981, and as Governor of Oregon from 1987 to 1991. Once considered the most influential and powerful figure in Oregon's politics, his career and legacy were severely damaged by revelations that he had raped a young teenage girl in 1973, during his first term as mayor of Portland.

Born in Eugene, Oregon, he graduated from the University of Oregon in 1963. The following year, Goldschmidt moved to Washington, D.C. to serve as an intern for Oregon Senator Maurine Neubeger. While there, he was recruited by New York Congressman Allard K. Lowenstein to do voter registration in Mississippi's 1964 Freedom Summer civil rights campaign. He earned a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1967. From 1967 to 1970, he worked as a legal aid lawyer in Portland, Oregon.

Goldschmidt was elected to the Portland City Council in 1970 and then as mayor of Portland in 1972, becoming the youngest mayor of any major American city. He promoted the revitalization of Downtown Portland and was influential on Portland-area transportation policy, particularly with the scrapping of the controversial Mount Hood Freeway and the establishment of the MAX Light Rail system. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of Transportation by President Jimmy Carter in 1979; in that capacity he worked to revive the ailing automobile industry and to deregulate several industries. He served until the end of Carter's presidency in 1981 and then served as a senior executive with Nike for several years.

He was elected the 33rd governor of Oregon in 1986, serving a single term. He faced significant challenges, particularly a rising anti-tax movement (leading to Measure 5 in 1990) and a doubling of the state's prison population. He worked across party lines to reduce regulation and to repair the state's infrastructure. His reforms to the State Accident Insurance Fund (SAIF), a state-chartered worker's compensation insurance company were heralded at the time, but drew strong criticism in later years.

Despite his popularity, Goldschmidt did not seek a second term as governor, becoming an influential and controversial lobbyist. Over the next dozen years or so, he was criticized by editorial boards and Oregonians for several of the causes he supported, including backing the forestry corporation Weyerhaeuser in its hostile takeover of Oregon's Willamette Industries and his advocacy for a private investment firm in its attempt to take over Portland General Electric, a publicly-owned local utility company. In 2003, Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed Goldschmidt to the Oregon Board of Higher Education, a position he resigned after his sexual abuse became public knowledge. On March 7, 2011, the Oregon Senate President and Co-Speakers of the House released a statement that Goldschmidt's Governor's portrait had been removed from the walls of the State Capitol building in Salem and put into storage out of respect for his victim.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Donald E. Clark photographs collection [graphic], circa 1964-1982. Oregon Historical Society Research Library
referencedIn Spotted Owl Management, Policy, and Research Collection, 1969-1993 (bulk: 1983-1993) Oregon State University Libraries University Archives
referencedIn Portland Rose Festival Association photographs collection, 1904-1995 Oregon Historical Society Research Library
creatorOf Goldschmidt, Neil E., 1940-. Neil E. Goldschmidt : commercials, 1972-1986. University of Oklahoma, Political Community Archives
creatorOf Goldschmidt, Neil E., 1940-. Letter, 1972, to Lewis Mumford. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Meier mss., 1927-2010 Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
referencedIn Dennis A. “Denny” Smith papers, 1979-1991, 1984-1990 Willamette University Archives and Special Collections
referencedIn Portland Town Council Records, 1974-1982 Oregon Historical Society Research Library
referencedIn Oregon Governors collection, 1869-1987. Oregon Historical Society Research Library
referencedIn Central Park Blocks Project records, circa 1999-2003 Oregon Historical Society Research Library
referencedIn Tom McCall photographs collection, 1905-1984, 1966-1975 Oregon Historical Society Research Library
referencedIn Neil Goldschmidt letter on Ballot Measure 2, 1989 June 13 Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith McCall, Tom, 1913-1983, person
associatedWith Meier, Deborah person
associatedWith Meslow, E. Charles person
associatedWith Oregon. Governor corporateBody
memberOf Oregon. State Board of Higher Education corporateBody
memberOf Portland (Or.). City Council corporateBody
associatedWith Portland Town Council. corporateBody
associatedWith Smith, Dennis A. person
leaderOf United States. Department of Transportation corporateBody
associatedWith University of Oklahoma. Political Commercial Archive. corporateBody
correspondedWith Walter, Mary A. (Mary Ann) person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Eugene OR US
Berkeley CA US
Portland OR US
District of Columbia DC US
Subject
Advertising, political
Foreign trade regulation
Forestry and Forest Products
Politics and government
Politics and government
Oregon
Radio advertising
Television advertising
Timber
Timber
Occupation
Business Executive
Cabinet officers
City council members
City Government Official
Governors
Lawyers
Legislative assistants
Lobbyists
Mayors
State Government Official
Activity

Person

Birth 1940-06-16

Male

Americans

English

Information

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