Merwyn Ronald "Mitch" Greenlick (March 12, 1935 – May 15, 2020) was a
Democratic politician from the U.S. state of
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. He represented
District 33 of the
Oregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...
.
Early life and career
Greenlick was born in 1935 in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, into a Jewish family. He attended McCarroll Elementary School and graduated from
Central High School in 1952.
Greenlick was a 1957 graduate of
Wayne State University
Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
, receiving his bachelor's degree in
pharmacy
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...
. He received his Master's degree in pharmacy administration from Wayne State in 1961 and received a Ph.D. from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in health system organization in 1967. He moved with his family to
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 ...
, in 1964 to start and later direct the
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente (; KP), commonly known simply as Kaiser, is an American integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield. Kaiser P ...
Center for Health Research. He also was named Vice President of Kaiser Foundation Hospital in 1981. Starting in 1990, Greenlick served as Professor and Chair of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine at
Oregon Health Sciences University
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a
public research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon Medi ...
.
Greenlick had been active in his community as a board member of the Community Action Organization in
Washington County and as a member of the Northwest Health Foundation Board.
Political career
Greenlick first got involved in politics at the age of nine by volunteering for
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
presidential campaign. After moving to Oregon, he worked for
Neil Goldschmidt's 1970 campaign for city council. Greenlick also worked on the campaigns of Senator
Ron Wyden
Ronald Lee Wyden (; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996 United Stat ...
and Governor
John Kitzhaber
John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician who served as the 35th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003, and as the 37th governor of Oregon from 2011 until his resignation in 2015. A member of the Democratic Party ...
.
[
In 2000, Greenlick ran against incumbent Republican ]Bill Witt
William David Witt (born December 12, 1951) is an American politician. He served two terms in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1999 until 2003, and was twice the Republican nominee for Oregon's 1st congressional district.
Early life
Witt ...
in what was then House District 7. Witt was a conservative who had defeated the more liberal Republican Chuck Carpenter in the primary two years previously. Despite raising nearly $300,000, Greenlick narrowly lost the election. He ran again in 2002 after redistricting and defeated Erik T. Hartung by nearly 20 points (Witt had retired to run for the Oregon Senate
The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...
).[
Greenlick represented Northwest Portland and northern Washington County, which includes Helvetia, ]Bethany
Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West B ...
and Cedar Mill. After 2002, Greenlick never won an election with less than 64% of the vote. He faced a primary challenger only once, in 2006, whom he beat 92% to 8%.[
Greenlick chaired the Health Care Committee from the 74th Legislative Assembly, which convened in 2007, until his death. During that assembly, he served on the Education Committee and Higher Education Subcommittee. In past legislative sessions, he served on the Transportation, Land Use, Environment and Rules committees.
Representative Greenlick proposed to make nicotine a Schedule III controlled substance (along with LSD). He was in favor of banning all tobacco products, requiring people in Oregon to obtain a doctor's prescription to get tobacco products (including cigars), and to impose a fine of $6,250, up to a year in prison, or both on offenders.
]
Electoral history
Personal life
Greenlick was married to Harriet Greenlick from 1956 until his death, and together they had three children, including state judge Michael.
Greenlick was diagnosed with lymphoma
Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...
in 2005 and recovered.[ He died on May 15, 2020, after battling numerous illnesses, at the age of 85.]
References
External links
Legislative Website
Campaign Website
Map of Oregon House District 33
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenlick, Mitch
1935 births
2020 deaths
Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives
Wayne State University alumni
University of Michigan alumni
Oregon Health & Science University faculty
Politicians from Detroit
Politicians from Portland, Oregon
21st-century American politicians
Jewish American people in Oregon politics
21st-century American Jews