PORTLAND, Ore. — Neil Goldschmidt, once mayor of Portland and then Oregon governor, is dead at the age of 83. Goldschmidt's lucrative career in politics came to an abrupt end in the early 2000s, after he admitted to having sex with a minor decades earlier.
The Oregonian was the first to report the news. A friend of Goldschmidt, who worked on one of his first campaigns for city council, confirmed to KGW he passed away Wednesday.
An attorney, Goldschmidt's political career began in 1970, when he won election to the Portland City Council. From there he went on to become the city's then-youngest mayor, later serving as U.S Transportation Secretary in 1979 during the Carter administration. He was elected governor of Oregon and served one term before pivoting into a career as a lobbyist and business consultant.
Reporting by Willamette Week's Nigel Jaquiss revealed in 2004 that during Goldschmidt's first term as Portland mayor in the 1970s, he statutorily raped a 14-year-old girl — beginning a period of abuse that lasted for years. By the time this became public information, the statute of limitations for prosecution had long passed.
Goldschmidt admitted to the relationship, although he disputed many of the details. He resigned from the Oregon State Bar and retreated from public life.
The woman who survived that abuse died at the age of 49 in 2011 after a protracted illness, the Associated Press reported. The woman believed Goldschmidt's abuse contributed to her struggles with addiction and mental health issues, according to longtime Portland journalist Margie Boule.
In 2011, Oregon lawmakers removed Goldschmidt's portrait from the state capitol. A similar portrait at Portland City Hall was stolen and burned in a 2019 "act of civil disobedience."
"On the political history of Oregon, few Oregonians rose so quickly at such a young age (as Goldschmidt) ... but no Oregonian in political history so tarnished their legacy by their personal, criminal actions than did he," said Kerry Tymchuck of the Oregon Historical Society. "The crimes he committed, the crimes he confessed to, the crimes that ruined a young girl's life will always be, I think, the lead line in whatever legacy he has."
Mitzi Scott, who worked on one of Goldschmidt's first campaigns for Portland City Council, acknowledged that many people will remember him for the sex abuse scandal. However, she said she wanted to impress that Goldschmidt did a great deal of good for Portland and for the state of Oregon — that not only did he have a vision of how to make things better, but she said he was able to mobilize people and businesses to make it happen.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden was less optimistic on the topic of Goldschmidt's legacy.
“Neil Goldschmidt’s abuse of a young girl destroyed her life, a horrific act that should make any other discussion of his political career moot," he said in an email. "The best response to this news would be to contribute to organizations dedicated to preventing sexual abuse, such as the Oregon Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse.”
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