Senate Concurrent Resolution 9 Sponsored by COMMITTEE on RULES
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73rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2005 Regular Session Senate Concurrent Resolution 9 Sponsored by COMMITTEE ON RULES SUMMARY The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor′s brief statement of the essential features of the measure as introduced. In memoriam: H. Clay Myers, Jr., 1927-2004. 1 CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 2 Whereas the late Clay Myers spent almost two decades of his remarkable life in statewide public 3 office, tirelessly serving the people of Oregon; and 4 Whereas Clay Myers was once heralded as one of the living legends of a golden age of Oregon 5 politics and public affairs by Norm Smith, a protege of Clay Myers, former Republican state legis- 6 lator and the current president of the Ford Family Foundation; and 7 Whereas Clay Myers, a native Oregonian, born on May 27, 1927, in Portland, Oregon, began to 8 ponder the injustices of racism when he was a young boy living in Tillamook, a town that had a 9 “sunset law” requiring African Americans, Native Americans and other minorities to be indoors by 10 sunset; and 11 Whereas at the age of 10, Clay Myers moved to Africa and spent a year in Rhodesia (now 12 Zimbabwe), where, as part of the only white family for miles, he realized the ultimate futility of 13 racism, bigotry and intolerance; and 14 Whereas Clay Myers returned to Oregon with a thirst for activism and politics; and 15 Whereas Clay Myers graduated from Benson High School in Portland, Oregon, and later at- 16 tended the University of Oregon, where he led the Young Republicans and used that position to 17 encourage more students to become actively involved in public affairs; and 18 Whereas Clay Myers demonstrated his commitment to voting rights as a young man, forming a 19 coalition of the League of Women Voters, the Young Republican Federation of Oregon, the Young 20 Democratic Clubs of Oregon and the Non-Partisan Committee for Constitutional Reapportionment, 21 a coalition that was vital to the adoption of an amendment to the Oregon Constitution in 1952 to 22 establish the principle of one person, one vote; and 23 Whereas during his days of political activism at the University of Oregon, Clay Myers met and 24 developed lifetime friendships with former Governor Tom McCall and former Governor and United 25 States Senator Mark Hatfield, and together they fought to remove segregation from the Republican 26 party platform and to lead the party on civil rights; and 27 Whereas Clay Myers studied law at Northwestern College of Law in Portland, Oregon, and at- 28 tended the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, where he trained on 29 the famed Danmark, one of the great tall sailing ships of the world, a ship that had come to the 30 United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany and served the Allied cause during World War II; 31 and 32 Whereas in 1964, Clay Myers left his career in the insurance industry to help run Tom McCall′s NOTE: Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted. New sections are in boldfaced type. LC 1270 SCR 9 1 campaign for Secretary of State and thereafter to be appointed Deputy Secretary of State; and 2 Whereas in 1967, when Tom McCall became Governor, he appointed Clay Myers as Secretary 3 of State, a position in which Clay Myers was later elected to serve for two terms; and 4 Whereas during his terms as Secretary of State, State Treasurer and member of the State Land 5 Board, Clay Myers became known for his endeavors for careful conservation, protection and use of 6 the waters and waterways, lands and forests of the state, including the perpetual protection of 7 public access to Oregon beaches, and joining with Governor McCall to support the nation′s first 8 statewide land use planning program, the adoption of Oregon′s Bottle Bill and the creation of a 9 statewide bikeway system; and 10 Whereas in 1976, Clay Myers was elected State Treasurer, an office he held for two terms, 11 serving a total of 19 consecutive years in statewide office; and 12 Whereas Clay Myers′ unwavering efforts to apply lofty principles to his everyday life also made 13 him a national leader of the Episcopal Church, where he served as host to the Archbishop Desmond 14 Tutu, 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and worked to gain equality for women and to end exclusion 15 on the basis of sexual orientation; and 16 Whereas Clay Myers left Oregon politics to take the position of vice president of Morgan 17 Guaranty Trust Company on Wall Street and returned to Oregon to retire, but for health reasons 18 left shortly afterward for Arizona where he purchased ranchland; and 19 Whereas Clay Myers miraculously battled cancer for his last three years and remained ex- 20 tremely active up to the end; and 21 Whereas in October 2004, at the age of 77, this innovative and extraordinary leader died from 22 cancer in his home in Tubac, Arizona; now, therefore, 23 Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon: 24 That we, the members of the Seventy-third Legislative Assembly, mourn the passing of H. Clay 25 Myers, Jr. and recognize his significant accomplishments and his outstanding career in public ser- 26 vice, during which he put leadership and decency ahead of party and ideology; and be it further 27 Resolved, That Clay Myers will be remembered as a gentle but tenacious leader who cared 28 deeply about making Oregon a more livable and just place, and whose strong faith and unwavering 29 efforts helped make Oregon a national model; and be it further 30 Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be presented to his wife, Elizabeth Myers, his daughter, 31 Carolyn Myers Lindberg, his son, David Hobson Myers, his grandson, Andrew Philip Myers, and his 32 brother, Norman Myers. 33 [2].