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Thomas Lawson McCall (March 22, 1913 - January 8, 1983) was an American politician, a Republican, and the thirtieth governor of the state of Oregon, USA, from 1967 to 1975.
While his activity on Oregon's environmental conditions brought nation-wide -- if not world-wide -- attention to his state, McCall brought a measure of both common sense and imagination to his office.
McCall is best known for a comment that he made in 1971 in a speech before the Junior Chamber of Commerce Convention, in which he said: "We want you to visit our State of Excitement often. Come again and again. But for heaven's sake, don't move here to live. Or if you do have to move in to live, don't tell any of your neighbors where you are going."
Prior to his term as governor, he was a political commentator for a local television station.
The Establishment holds a rock concert
In 1970, he was faced with a potential riot in Portland. In May of that year, a week-long student protest at Portland State University over the Kent State shootings had been ended with excessive police violence. The American Legion scheduled a convention in Portland the summer of that year; local antiwar groups were organizing a series of demonstrations at the same time under the name of the "People's Army Jamboree", and expected to draw 50,000 protesters.
After vain attempts to convince the People's Army Jamboree to either not carry out their plans or to move the date, McCall decided to hold a rock festival at Milo McIvor state park near Estacada, Oregon called "Vortex I: A Biodegradeable Festival of Life", in imitation of the famous Woodstock Festival held the previous year.
"I think I just committed political suicide," McCall is reported to have remarked immediately after approving the event. According to Matt Love, The Far Out Story of Vortex I (Nestucca Spit Press, Pacific City Oregon: 2004), Vortex was the first -- and only -- state sponsered rock festival in US history.
The festival was a success, attracting between 50,000 and 100,000 people. The feared violent clash between the antiwar groups and the conservative American Legion was avoided, and the city of Portland passed the summer relatively uneventfully. And in the general election that November, McCall was returned to office with 56% of the vote.
Tribute
His term as governor was honored after his death by the dedication of Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park, a 37 acre (150,000 m²) park which runs along the Willamette River for the length of downtown Portland, was built in 1974 by removing a freeway which previously ran alongside the river.
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