Identity elements
Reference code
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Item
Title
Oral history interview with Don E. Clark [Session 28, Recording 03 & Session 29, Recording 01]
Date(s)
- 1998-02-20 - 1998-03-27 (Creation)
Extent
Audiocassette; 00:30:41
Name of creator
Biographical history
Donald Edward Clark was born in Silverton, Oregon, in 1933. His family moved to Oregon less than a year later, and then to San Miguel, California, in 1944. The family returned to Portland in 1945. In 1952, he and Barbara Bolin were married; they later had two children. Clark attended Vanport College, which later became Portland State University, and in 1953, he transferred to San Francisco State College, where he graduated in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in sociology. While at San Francisco State, he worked as a prison guard at San Quentin State Prison. In 1956, he returned to Oregon and worked as a deputy in the Multnomah County Sheriff's office. For six months in 1958, he acted as a jail counselor at Rocky Butte Jail. Around the same time, he earned a teaching credential from Portland State University, then taught elementary school while also serving as a deputy sheriff. He was elected Multnomah County sheriff as a Democrat in 1963 and served until 1966. From 1967 to 1968, he was assistant director of the Law Enforcement Program at Portland State University. In 1968, he was elected to position 4 on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. In 1970, he and Barbara Clark divorced, and Don Clark remarried in 1971. In 1974, Clark was elected chair of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, and he served in that role until 1979, when charter amendments changing the structure of county government took effect, and he became Multnomah County executive. After an unsuccessful run for the Democratic nomination for Oregon governor in 1982, he retired from county government. He was a consultant with Cogan, Sharpe, & Cogan (now known as Cogan & Associates) for one year. In 1984, he became executive director of the Burnside Consortium, now known as Central City Concern. In 1988, he became executive director of the Housing Authority of Portland. He retired in 1992.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Tape 42, Side 1. In the twenty-eighth interview session, conducted on February 20, 1998, Clark continues discussing serving as executive director of the Housing Authority of Portland. He talks about people he hired, the differences between the Housing Authority and Central City Concern, and Mayor Bud Clark’s 12-point plan for Portland’s unhoused population. He describes the funding structure of the Housing Authority and the services it provided. He talks about gang and drug activity at Columbia Villa and describes how the Housing Authority responded, including people he hired. In the twenty-ninth and final interview session, conducted on March 27, 1998, Clark continues to discuss serving as executive director of the Housing Authority of Portland. He continues talking about gang and drug activity at Columbia Villa and describes how the Housing Authority responded, including establishing a law enforcement presence in the neighborhood, radically changing the nature of the policing methods used, and increasing maintenance of the buildings. He talks about the positive long-term effects of the Housing Authority’s response. He closes the interview by discussing his reasons for retiring in 1992.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
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Languages of the material
- English
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Access points
Subject access points
- Oregon--Politics and government--20th century
- Sheriffs--Oregon--Multnomah County
- Criminal justice, Administration of--Oregon
- Law enforcement--Oregon
- Prisons--California
- Prisoners--California
- Prisons--Oregon
- Prisoners--Oregon
- Health insurance--Law and legislation--Oregon
- Political campaigns--Oregon--Multnomah County
- Homeless persons--Services for--Oregon
- Public housing--Oregon--Management
- Central City Concern (Portland, Or.)
- Housing Authority of Portland (Or.)
- Multnomah County (Or.). Board of County Commissioners
- Multnomah County (Or.). Sheriff's Office
- Goldschmidt, Neil E., 1940-
Place access points
Name access points
- Joseph, George Manley, 1930-2003 (Contributor)