VANCOUVER, Wash. -- A former Portland city commissioner and trailblazing journalist for the Pacific Northwest has died of heart complications at the age of 79.
Dick Bogle --newsman, police officer andtwice-elected Portland commissioner--died from congestive heart failure at a Vancouver hospital. He was survived by his wife, Nola, a son and four daughters.
A celebration of the Portland native's life will be scheduled soon, Nola Bogle told the Willamette Week.
After attending Oregon State and Portland State universities, Bogle began a career with the Portland Police Bureau, where he served for nine years, in the 1960s. News was a passion for Bogle, according to the public record of his life available across the Internet and from KATU-TV, where Bogle began work as a journalist after his time at the bureau.
According to KATU.com Bogle was the first black journalist in the Northwest when he was hired. The Willamette Week described him as the first black television news journalist and second black person elected to City Council.
After 15 years of reporting on Portland, Bogle left the news desk but didn't stray far from the camera. He was elected to City Hall in 1984andeven entertained a run for the mayor's office, according to archived newsreels here at KGW Newschannel 8.
News-8 Archives:Bogle on being Mayor of Portland'
Bogle lost re-election in 1992 after two terms and retreated toward his passions -- jazz, photographyand policework.
Bogle enjoyed writingabout jazz later in life. He kept a blog on jazz historyand was avolunteerdisc jockey atKMHD 89.1-FM. Bogle's affection for news carried into his retirement - he wrote a jazz history column for Portland's newspaper,The Skannerandwas an accomplished photographer. An archive of his work may be accessed at his personal website, www.dickbogle.com.
Bogle also stayed active with the Police Bureau and continued work with the Cold Case Squad long after retiring from public life.
Despite a long, accomplished career serving the Rose City, Bogle moved to Vancouver later in life, where his wife now resides.
