Margaret D. Strachan (born 1935) is an American politician who served on the Portland City Council, in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, from 1981–1986. She was the first woman elected to the Council (

Connie McCready Constance McCready (born Constance Averill, August 20, 1921 – December 22, 2000), was an American journalist and politician from Portland, Oregon, in the United States. She held several elected offices in Oregon during her career, includ ...

and Mildred Schwab were appointed).

Early life and education

She was born Margaret Darcy in

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the capital city of Montana, United States, and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would ...

. She graduated from

Carroll College Carroll College is a private Catholic college in Helena, Montana. The college has 21 buildings on a 63-acre campus, has over 35 academic majors, participates in 15 NAIA athletic sports, and is home to All Saints Chapel. The college motto, in L ...

with a degree in English and became a high-school teacher. She taught in Montana for three years until she moved to Portland in 1973.

Activism and political career

She worked as a neighborhood activist, including as a coordinator for the City of Portland's Office of Neighborhood Associations and later on the staff of Commissioner

Mike Lindberg Mike Lindberg (born January 1941) is an American politician who served on the Portland, Oregon City Council from 1979 until 1996. His tenure of 17 years, three months was the longest of any city commissioner in the past 40 years, as of 2009; Lind ...

as a liaison to neighborhood organizations. She was the campaign manager for Charles Jordan's first run for election to the city council, in 1974, after Jordan was initially appointed to the council. She was elected to the Portland City Council in March 1981, and was sworn-in on April 9, 1981. Her 1981 election was to a partial term only, to fill a vacancy on the council created in November 1980 as a result of

Frank Ivancie Francis James Ivancie (July 19, 1924 – May 2, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as mayor of Portland, Oregon, from 1980 to 1985. Prior to his term as mayor, Ivancie served for fourteen years on the Portland City Counc ...

's succeeding

as mayor, but she won re-election in May 1982. She ran for re-election again in 1986, but lost to Bob Koch and her time on the council ended at the end of 1986. She was instrumental in the redevelopment of the

Pearl District The Pearl District is an area of Portland, Oregon, formerly occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards and now noted for its art galleries, upscale businesses and residences. The area has been undergoing significan ...

from an

industrial district Industrial district concept was initially used by Alfred Marshall to describe some aspects of the industrial organisation of nations. Industrial district (ID) is a place where workers and firms, specialised in a main industry and auxiliary indu ...

to a high-end neighborhood. During her term she was also involved in developing the Central City Plan and building

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

along the Park Blocks. In 1988, she became the Executive Director of Central City Concern, a Portland non-profit that provides resources to homeless people. She left the organization a year later, in March 1989.

Personal life

Margaret Darcy married Jim Strachan in 1954, at age 19, and became Margaret Strachan. They divorced before she moved to Portland. In Oregon, she married Sumner Sharpe. She is currently retired and living in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strachan, Margaret 1935 births Portland City Council members (Oregon) Carroll College (Montana) alumni Politicians from Helena, Montana Living people Women city councillors in Oregon 21st-century American women