Talk:Bill Bradbury

Edit request
Change "is running for governor" to "ran for Governor". Katyeymann (talk) 21:55, 8 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please be more specific about what needs to be changed. --Stickee (talk)  22:12, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

External links modified
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External links modified
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add an obituary
I would like to add a page for Bill's obituary and then publish a link to that page.

Here are the words I would like added.

William Chapman Bradbury III, May 29, 1949 – April 14, 2023

William Chapman “Bill” Bradbury III, former state legislator and Oregon Secretary of State, died April 14, 2023, aboard ship at the island of Comoros while on vacation with his wife, Katy Eymann. He was a committed, joyous advocate for the environment, democracy, and social justice.

Bill is survived by his wife, Katy Eymann of Bandon, Oregon; two daughters, Abby Bradbury, and Zoe Bradbury DeSurra; their mother, Betsy Harrison; and four grandchildren (all of Langlois, Oregon). He is also survived by his sisters, Joan Kendall Bradbury of Chicago, Illinois, and Katharine Lorraine Bradbury of Brookline, Massachusetts.

Bill was born in Chicago, Illinois, to William and Lorraine (Patterson) Bradbury on May 29th, 1949. His early childhood was primarily in Chicago where his father was a professor of sociology at the University of Chicago. Bill’s ethics were shaped by Quaker values and democratic traditions. His home life was infused with deep beliefs in the worth of every person, the awareness of injustice, and the commitment to take action. As he matured, Bill found ways to act on these values that remained with him throughout his life.

Tragedy struck Bill and his family on August 28, 1958, when his parents died in an automobile accident while returning to Chicago after a summer in Seattle. He and his sisters then moved to Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, to live with the family of Bill’s maternal aunt, Katharine Gay and her husband, Paul. The Gay household also held Quaker beliefs, and Bill’s ethical development continued in that tradition. It was while living with the Gay family that Bill went to Washington, DC to hear Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963.

In 1965 he returned to Chicago to live with his older sister, Joan, who became his guardian. He attended the University of Chicago Laboratory School where he began to delve into journalism and developed an interest in photography. He opposed the Vietnam War and was granted Conscientious Objector status by the local draft board.

In the fall of 1967 Bill entered Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, majoring in Media Studies. In the summer of 1968, he went to San Francisco to intern with KQED-TV, a public television station. Because union workers for San Francisco newspapers had gone on strike earlier that year, KQED-TV started Newsroom, a televised weekly news magazine program that featured its reporters reading short news stories. Even as an intern, Bill was included as an on-air reporter. In San Francisco he was introduced to the Sony Porta-Pak, the first portable video recorder, which he embraced as a natural extension of his interest in photography and media.

In 1972 Bill and his girlfriend Betsy Harrison moved to Bandon, Oregon, to join friends as partners in a restaurant business. The partners soon left, but Bill and Betsy stayed to operate the restaurant. In 1975 they traded the business for a rural property on Floras Creek in nearby Langlois, where Bill and his now-wife Betsy began to create a long-term family home while he pursued his interests in media. His daughter, Abby, was born there in 1976 and Zoë was born in 1979. To this day, Abby, Zoë, and Betsy operate a thriving organic farm on the treasured family property.

In Bandon and Coos County Bill found a community of people with whom he forged friendships that shaped his personal, professional, and public life. Bill began producing documentaries, including a short black and white video about South Slough, a relatively undeveloped arm of the Coos Bay estuary where a controversial residential development had been proposed to the county. This video triggered local interest in protecting South Slough, which eventually led to its designation as the nation’s first National Estuary Sanctuary.

In July 1975, he traveled to Salem to interview former Governor Tom McCall, who had been a strong advocate for the new statewide land use planning law. On that same trip, Bill interviewed the chief sponsor of the land use legislation, State Representative Hector MacPherson, at his grass-seed farm in the Willamette Valley. These two interviews were foundational to Bill’s appreciation for the political process, and the fact that individuals with conviction could make a positive difference.

Bill’s involvement in local land use issues in Coos County came to the attention of officials in Salem who were designing the new statewide land use planning program. In 1975 he traveled with state officials to videotape public meetings about the new land use law in communities throughout eastern Oregon. He was now seeing the larger landscape of Oregon, learning about the social and economic issues of this vast state, and meeting people who cared deeply about their communities.

In early 1976 Bill began an independent video production business entitled “Local Color.” His video stories, which focused on local people doing interesting things, were syndicated to TV stations around the state. Among these productions was a three-part series on the closing of a lumber mill in the little town of Kinzua in northeast Oregon, an event that foreshadowed the future decline of the timber industry statewide.

Bill joined KCBY-TV in Coos Bay and then KVAL-TV in Eugene as an on-air newsman and later moved to Portland, first as a freelance video producer and then as a news and features producer at KGW-TV. He continued Local Color as a side business.

In early 1980 he returned to Bandon to run for the state House of Representatives. Bill won the general election and was sworn in as a State Representative in January 1981. He focused on creating the Salmon & Trout Enhancement Program (STEP) to assist landowners and citizens in protecting and enhancing fish habitat. More than 30 years later, STEP continues to be a successful program. Upon reelection in 1982 he created Small Business Development Centers at Oregon’s community colleges.

In the early eighties, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, which he announced publicly in 1984 when he ran for and won a vacant state Senate seat. Through the mid-1980s Bill was an outspoken opponent of Reagan Administration proposals for offshore oil and gas development and marine mineral mining on the Oregon coast. During this time, he and Betsy agreed to divorce but remained good friends as they cooperatively raised their daughters.

In early 1986, Bill ran for the Democratic nomination for Congress, narrowly losing the primary election to the eventual winner, Peter DeFazio. That summer Bill married Katy Eymann. They eventually built a permanent home in Bandon, but they also lived part-time in Salem and Portland throughout his political career.

In January 1987, Bill was elected Senate Majority Leader, a position he held for six years. He introduced Senate Bill 630, the Oregon Ocean Resources Management Act. It was the first state ocean law in the nation, which inspired other states such as California and Massachusetts to adopt state ocean protection plans and led to regional ocean partnerships articulated in 2010 by President Obama’s National Ocean Policy.

Bill was elected Senate President in 1993 and served one term. In 1995, he resigned his Senate seat to launch For the Sake of the Salmon, a non-profit organization advocating for protection and restoration of salmon and their habitats throughout Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. For more than four years Bill served as its Executive Director.

When Oregon Secretary of State Phil Keisling resigned in November 1999, Governor Kitzhaber appointed Bill as Oregon’s 23rd Secretary of State, embracing him as “the big Chinook.” Bill served the remaining 14 months of Keisling’s term and then ran for and won re-elections in 2000 and 2004 and served until 2009. In 2002, Bill unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Gordon Smith.

As Secretary of State, Bill was an enthusiastic advocate for vote-by-mail enacted by citizen initiative. Because Oregon was the first state in the nation to implement vote-by-mail, he spoke often to fellow Secretaries of State from around the country on the benefits and mechanics of the Oregon system. He also supervised creation of ORESTAR, an on-line political campaign contribution reporting system that enables the public to find information about contributions to political campaigns in Oregon. As Secretary of State, he joined the Governor and State Treasurer on the State Land Board, which oversees a wide range of state land assets, among which is the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve that Bill had helped establish more than 25 years earlier. Atop his Segway, which Bill used for mobility assistance instead of a wheelchair, he cut an inspiring figure as he zipped around the capitol beaming his irrepressible smile.

In 2010, Bill ran in the Democratic primary for Governor against his friend John Kitzhaber who was seeking to return to office after an absence of two terms. Although he lost the primary race, Bill received the endorsement of several key figures including former Vice-President Al Gore. Bill had become acquainted with Gore through the Climate Reality Project and was one of Gore’s first fifty trainees championing climate change awareness. Bill became an outspoken advocate for Gore’s message about climate change and toured Oregon, giving over 500 presentations to communities statewide.

In 2011, Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed Bill to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, a multistate organization that develops a region-wide power plan and fish and wildlife conservation measures. Bill remained on the Council until he retired in 2018, serving as Chair in 2013 and 2014. In his retirement he served on several boards, remained engaged in local, state, and national politics, and delighted in spending time with his four grandchildren.

Bill was passionate about being on the water. He and Katy regularly rafted and kayaked with friends on rivers throughout the Northwest. In later years they chartered sailboats to fulfill Bill’s passion for adventures on the water and to accommodate his increasing physical limitations due to MS. With the decline of his mobility, Katy was always by his side as a devoted companion in both his political and personal life. His final adventure was a ‘round-the world cruise that ended early when he passed away from sepsis at the age of 73. He was beloved by all who knew him.

All are invited to a local celebration of Bill’s life on August 6 from 1 PM to 5 PM at the Coos History Museum. It will be a casual drop-in event featuring Bill’s political memorabilia and awards. Please bring a memory of Bill to share with others.

July 6, 2023 47.33.179.53 (talk) 02:37, 6 July 2023 (UTC)