Constance McCready (born Constance Averill, August 20, 1921 – December 22, 2000), was an American journalist and politician from

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, in the United States. She held several elected offices in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

during her career, including the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

, the Portland City Council, and culminating with a partial term as Portland's

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. To date, McCready remains the last Republican to serve as mayor of the city.

Early life

She was born in

Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city in and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon, Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are ...

on August 21, 1921, the daughter of conservationist Edgar Francis Averill.Heinz, Spencer
Ex-mayor Connie McCready dies.
''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'', December 23, 2000 The family moved to Portland and she graduated from Grant High School. McCready graduated from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in 1943. After college she worked as a reporter for ''

'', Portland's main daily newspaper, later becoming the Home and Garden editor for the paper. In 1945, she married Albert L. McCready and the two had three daughters.

Politics

In 1967 and 1969, she served in the

as a Republican representing Portland. McCready was appointed to the Portland City Council in 1970, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of commissioner Stanley W. Earl, and was sworn in on March 19, 1970. She proceeded to serve as a commissioner (city council member) until 1979, being elected in 1972 and re-elected in 1976. McCready was the first woman to serve on the City Council. In 1979, by a vote of her fellow city commissioners, McCready was appointed to the position of mayor of Portland upon

Neil Goldschmidt Neil Edward Goldschmidt (June 16, 1940 – June 12, 2024) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state, and federal offices over three decades. After serving as mayor of Portland, Oregon, ...

's resignation to become

United States Secretary of Transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...

in the

Carter Administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 39th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Jimmy Carter, his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democratic Party ...

. She assumed office as mayor on September 5, 1979. She was the second of three women to hold the post. McCready was mayor during the

1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens In March 1980, a series of volcanic explosions and pyroclastic flows began at Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, United States. A series of Phreatic eruption, phreatic blasts occurred from the summit and escalated until a major ...

when Portland was blanketed by ash on three occasions, and eventually threatened businesses with fines if they failed to remove the ash from their parking lots. She was defeated in the May 1980 primary by Frank Ivancie, whose succession to the office took effect on November 24, at which point McCready retired from politics. A Republican, she was noted for her maverick political views which often deviated from the party line, including staunch support of the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...

and

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

. McCready died in 2000 of complications from a stroke.Flash: In memoriam
, University of Oregon: Volume 16, No. 3, Spring/Summer 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCready, Connie 1921 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century mayors of places in Oregon Journalists from Oregon Mayors of Portland, Oregon Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Politicians from Pendleton, Oregon Portland City Council members (Oregon) The Oregonian people University of Oregon alumni Women mayors of places in Oregon Women state legislators in Oregon 20th-century American women politicians Women city councillors in Oregon 20th-century American journalists 20th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly