H. Clay Myers, Jr.
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Henry Clay Myers Jr. (May 27, 1927 – October 29, 2004) was an American politician who, during his career, was considered one of Oregon's most influential
moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...
Republicans, together with his contemporaries,
Tom McCall Thomas Lawson McCall (March 22, 1913 January 8, 1983) was an American statesman, politician and journalist in the state of Oregon. A Republican, he was the state's thirtieth governor from 1967 to 1975. A native of Massachusetts, McCall grew up th ...
and
Mark Hatfield Mark Odom Hatfield (July 12, 1922 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served for 30 years as a United States senator from Oregon, and also as chairman of the Senate Appropr ...
.


Early life

Born in
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, Myers' childhood was spent in the coastal community of
Tillamook, Oregon The city of Tillamook is the county seat of Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the southeast end of Tillamook Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The population was 5,231 at the 2020 census. History The city is named for the T ...
. He lived with his family briefly in
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
(known as Southern Rhodesia at the time) when he was 10 and in a 2004 interview with ''The Oregonian'' described it as "a mind-blowing experience." They lived miles from the nearest white family, and Myers said that he learned an enduring lesson in the futility of racism. /sup> A graduate of Portland's Benson High School (1945), Myers went on to the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
, where he founded the Zeta Omicron chapter of
Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...
(ZO 009), led the
Young Republicans The Young Republican National Federation, commonly referred to as the Young Republicans or YRNF, is a 527 organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization ...
, and promoted student involvement in elections, campaigns and political issues. He studied law at
Northwestern College of Law The Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College (also known as Lewis & Clark Law School), is an American Bar Association-approved private law school in Portland, Oregon. The law school received ABA approval in 1970 and joined the Ass ...
in Portland and attended the
U.S. Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) is a service academy of the United States Coast Guard in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1876, it is the smallest of the five U.S. service academies and provides education to future Coast G ...
in Connecticut. /sup> Before entering politics, he pursued a business career in banking and insurance. Myers and his wife Elizabeth had three children, Carolyn, David, and Richard Clay.


Political career

Myers' first held office as
Oregon Secretary of State The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in line of succession to the governor. The duties of the office are auditor of public accounts, ch ...
, being appointed to that post in 1967 by
Tom McCall Thomas Lawson McCall (March 22, 1913 January 8, 1983) was an American statesman, politician and journalist in the state of Oregon. A Republican, he was the state's thirtieth governor from 1967 to 1975. A native of Massachusetts, McCall grew up th ...
who had vacated the office to become governor. Myers had been a staff member on the McCall gubernatorial campaign. He was elected to the office in 1968, and re-elected in 1972. In 1974, he was defeated in a bid for the Republican nomination for Governor by Vic Atiyeh, whom he had previously recruited to run for the state legislature.
Term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...
prevented his running for reelection in 1976, so he entered and won the race for State Treasurer. He served seven years in that office, to complete an exceptional eighteen years in continuous service in statewide public office.


Latter years

After leaving office, Myers returned to the business world, joining J.P. Morgan Investment Management in New York. He retired in 1989, and returned to Oregon, where he remained active in community and church affairs. Health problems, including a lengthy battle with cancer, prompted his move in 1999 to
Tubac, Arizona Tubac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2010 census. The place name "Tubac" is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name ''Cuwak'', which tr ...
. Long disenchanted with the rising
social conservatism Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institutio ...
of the Republican Party, Myers announced in 1999 that he had registered as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
, turning the tables on a quotation of
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
by saying at the time, "I didn't leave the party. The party left me." In 2003, he registered as a Democrat in support of Howard Dean's primary campaign, later actively working to elect John Kerry. He died of cancer on October 29, 2004 in his Arizona home.


Legacy

Myers was deeply involved in public policy, as a Republican Party leader, a statewide office holder, and finally, as elder statesman. He is remembered for his work on some of Oregon's most innovative initiatives in land use planning, environmental and transportation policies and legislation. After his death, he was honored in a joint resolution of the Oregon State Legislature as "a gentle but tenacious leader who cared deeply about making Oregon a more livable and just place, and whose strong faith and unwavering efforts helped make Oregon a national model."In memoriam: "LC1270: H. Clay Myers, Jr., 1927-2004" Joint Resolution, Oregon State Legislature. October 30, 2004


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, H. Clay 1927 births 2004 deaths State treasurers of Oregon Secretaries of State of Oregon University of Oregon alumni Lewis & Clark Law School alumni People from Tillamook, Oregon Deaths from cancer in Arizona Oregon Republicans 20th-century American politicians