"During my 30 years in the Senate, I had the privilege of serving with a number of outstanding public servants, but it is hard to think of anyone who served the Senate with as much honor, integrity and character as you."
Senator Bob Dole
Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Upon Sen. Hatfield being named Portland's First Citizen (2002)
"You should be extremely proud of your 30 years in the U.S. Senate where you were a superb legislator and highly respected by your colleagues, both Republican and Democrat. I am deeply grateful for our warm personal friendship and thank you for your many kindnesses."
President Gerald R. Ford
39th President of the United States of America
Upon Sen. Hatfield being named Portland's First Citizen (2002)
"We respect you, we admire you...we miss you and yes, we love you."
President George H.W. Bush
41st President of the United States of America
Upon Sen. Hatfield being named Portland's First Citizen (2002)
"(Hatfield) has served with distinction in the United States Senate and has lived his convictions as well as any person I have every known in public life."
President Bill Clinton
42nd President of the United States of America
Remarks at the retirement dinner for Sen. Mark Hatfield (1996)
"(Hatfield) embodies the humanitarian spirit that we all need a little more of in America and that gives public service its meaning and makes it worth the vicissitudes of public life."
President Bill Clinton
42nd President of the United States of America
Remarks at the retirement dinner for Sen. Mark Hatfield (1996)
"My ten years working for Senator Mark Hatfield were instrumental in shaping me as an adult. I constantly remember his smile, the dignity in which he carried himself, the humanity in which interacted with everyone on a daily basis, the remarkable patience in which he dealt with his youthful staff and his steadfast convictions on key issues of the day are among my fondest memories. Much of who I am today was formed by the opportunity to be mentored by Senator Hatfield and I am extremely grateful for the experience."
Jeffrey Boothe
Holland & Knight, Partner
Today’s interviews with Rep. Vic Gilliam and former House Speaker Larry Campbell were excellent.
Larry Campbell, former Oregon House Speaker and longtime friend of Senator Hatfield and his wife Antoinette.
Vic Gilliam, current Oregon State Representative and former Hatfield staffer.
An excellent morning interviewing two fascinating individuals. Senator Bob Packwood and Elaine Franklin. Tomorrow we interview Larry Campbell and Rep. Vic Gilliam.
Senator Bob Packwood
Elaine Franklin
Chris Maier, former Hatfield staff, currently works for Senator Wyden.
Jack Robertson, served Senator Hatfield as a Legislative Assistant and Press Secretary, currently an energy executive.
Kerry Tymchuk, former Hatfield intern and later Sen. Bob Dole's legal counsel and speech writer. Currently at Conkling Fiskum & McCormick in Portland.
Bill Calder, former Hatfield Press Secretary and currently working in public relations at Intel.
Doug Pahl, Hatfield intern fall of 1986, legislative assistant (90-94), legal counsel (95-96). Attorney at Perkins Coie.
Sue Hildick, formerly Senator Hatfield's legislative director. Currently president of The Chalkboard Project.
Please see previous blog entries for screen shots of other interviewees.
Thanks to the Paramount Hotel for hosting the most recent round of interviews.
Click HERE for The Oregonian’s original post and to view the photo.
When I recently talked with a trio of filmmakers who are working on a documentary of Mark O. Hatfield, they mentioned how so many Oregonians now mostly think of the former senator as a name appearing on so many public buildings.
That’s no doubt true. As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hatfield brought in a lot of federal money for Oregon until his retirement in 1996. And like many politicians, he liked to get things built. I remember one former Hatfield aide telling me that whenever the senator saw a construction site in Oregon, he wanted to know exactly what was being erected.
So I couldn’t resist this 1963 photo of then-Gov. Hatfield at the throttle of a digger crane during groundbreaking ceremonies for an Equitable Savings & Loan office building in Portland. Next to him was Mayor Terry Schrunk. Equitable President Ralph Cake was on the left.
The caption notes: “Governor was not too adept with digger.”
ARCHITECTURAL NOTE: I’m not sure which Equitable office was built in 1963. It’s clearly not the famousEquitable building designed by Pietro Belluschi and finished in 1948. – JEFF MAPES
Jeff Mapes, the main political reporter at The Oregonian, posted a nice piece on his blog today about The Hatfield Project documentary film. In his opening sentence, he nails the reason we need this film:
“It’s been more than 13 years since Mark O. Hatfield left the Senate, and for many Oregonians his name mostly conjures up raised metal letters on on the many public buildings that carry his name.”
Be sure to read the full piece here.
Monday we at the Hatfield Project spent most of the day interviewing people for the upcoming documentary on Senator Mark Hatfield.
I was reminded why I like interviewing people so much. Our morning started with Former Governor Vic Atiyeh. I have to tell you, he hasn’t aged much at all since the days I remember following him with a camera during my internship at KGW TV back in the early 80’s.
After spending an hour with Governor Atiyeh, you begin to see what a great leader this man truly was in a very difficult time in Oregon History. He also had the most amazing things to say about Senator Hatfield. It’s amazing to see the respect people have for Senator Mark Hatfield.
I felt like a kid listening to stories of news events I remember but had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. How little we understand about what happens in the news. We hear a sound bite and draw conclusions based on what we’re told. I felt like I was sitting face-to-face with Oregon History, because I was.
I also got the chance to interview Former Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse. Furse has so much respect for the Senator and as the interview unfolded we found out why. She told a story, that we could not share until we get permission, a story that floored me. It was a story of how Senator Hatfield had come to her defense because defending her was the right thing to do. Furse is a Democrat and she and the senator, a Republican, are dear friends. She also said something about Hatfield that keeps rolling over and over in my mind. Hatfield was consistent in ways you don’t find in leaders much these days. Senator Hatfield is Pro-Life, but that stand goes beyond abortion. He is against abortion and against capital punishment and war because they all take lives. When the senator takes a position to support life, it is to support life, all life.
I can’t wait for the next batch of interviews. The greatest part of a story like that of Senator Mark Hatfield is we all get to learn something about the senator and the state we live in. We hope to bring you clips of interesting moments from behind the scenes that will give you great conversations over coffee with your friends. If we at the Hatfield Project do our jobs well, and we will, each of us may find a bit of ourselves in the story of Mark Hatfield and the people he chose to serve.
Rick Dancer
More interviews are filling the calendar. We have Senator Bob Packwood and Elaine Franklin scheduled for late June as well as an interview scheduled at the state capitol building with Rep. Vic Gilliam (who was on Senator Hatfield’s staff in the 1980’s). More announcements to follow, including many former staffers of the Senator as well as state and federal leaders and individuals.
Below are a few raw, uncorrected screen grabs from four interviews shot at the Benson Hotel.
Governor Atiyeh
The Honorable Elizabeth Furse
Jim Fitzhenry, President of Schmitt Industries
Dave Robertson, VP of Public Policy at Portland General Electric
To see a screen shot of Gerry Frank see earlier blog post below.
