December 29, 2002
Dottie Do-Good
In today's edition of The Sunday Oregonian, columnist John Terry profiles Dorothy McCullough Lee, the first woman to become mayor of the City of Portland (and the first woman mayor of any major American city), back in 1948 -- with 70% of the vote, no less. Her campaign slogan: "I will enforce the law."
Portland, you see, was a rather iniquitous place back in the day, as anyone who followed Phil Stanford's 'Portland Confidential' series over in the Tribune knows full well. Lee ran against such vice and corruption. Her opponents had a hard time countering her moves, it would seem, at least given the following:
Lacking anything more substantial, foes attacked her hats. It started with a June 1949 letter to The Oregonian editor complaining about "those audacious 'blobs' of felt or straw which always seem to eb on the verge of falling down over her honor's eyes."
Oddly enough, I was just yesterday that I first heard of Lee, when I came across the previously-mentioned Portland Timeline section of the City Auditor's website.
Interestingly, the article notes that Lee went on the serve on the federal Subversive Activities Control Board, a response to the Red Scare which existed from 1950 to 1972.