Richard Waldo Bogle Jr. (October 19, 1930 – February 25, 2010) was an American journalist and politician. He was the first black television news reporter in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

(as well as in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

as a whole) and later served two terms as a

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

city commissioner.

Early life

Bogle was born in Portland in 1930 to Richard W. Bogle, a businessman, and Kathryn Hall Bogle, a journalist and activist. His great-grandparents, Richard Arthur and

America Waldo Bogle America Waldo Bogle (June 2, 1844 – December 28, 1903) was a pioneer in the Oregon Territory. She and her husband, Richard Arthur Bogle, were among the first Black settlers in Walla Walla, Washington. Early life America Waldo was born i ...

, were some of the first black settlers in the Pacific Northwest. Growing up on Tibbetts Street, Bogle attended Hosford Grade School and graduated from Washington High School. He then attended

Oregon State College Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

and Vanport Extension Center (now Portland State University).

Career

After college, Bogle worked as an insurance fraud investigator. In 1952, he published a jazz review and an endorsement of

Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...

for U.S. president in the '' Portland Challenger'' newspaper, which was founded by William A. Hilliard and targeted the black community. He also served as Associate Editor of the ''Challenger''. He continued to write jazz and sports articles for the ''Portland Reporter'' and worked as a police officer from 1959 to 1968. Bogle was hired as a reporter for

KATU KATU (channel 2) is a television station in Portland, Oregon, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside La Grande–licensed independent station KUNP, channel 16 (which KATU simulcasts on its sec ...

in January 1968 and assigned to cover that year's primary election. In September of that year, he interviewed

Melvin Belli Melvin Mouron Belli (July 29, 1907 – July 9, 1996) was a United States lawyer and writer known as "The King of Torts" and by insurance companies as "Melvin Bellicose". He had many celebrity clients, including Zsa Zsa Gabor, Errol Flynn, Ch ...

, and in 1973 he became an anchor of ''Eyewitness News''. Bogle continued to work for KATU until 1982, when he was hired as City Commissioner

Mildred Schwab Mildred A. Schwab (January 9, 1917 – was an attorney and politician from Portland, Oregon, in the United States. She served as a City Commissioner from 1973 to 1986; she was appointed to fill the vacancy created when Neil Goldschmidt was elec ...

's executive assistant. In 1984, City Commissioner Charles Jordan, the first black commissioner (member of the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

) in Portland, announced his resignation, and Bogle entered the race to succeed him. He won 28% of the vote in the initial round, and defeated Herb Cawthorne with 55% in the runoff. This made Bogle the second African American elected to Portland's City Council. He was re-elected in 1988 but lost in 1992. His 1992 loss was attributed to several controversies, such as a $20,000 settlement on a sexual harassment claim and a $1,500 trip to Asia on the taxpayer's dime. On his final day as commissioner, he said, "I promised I would work to make Portland a city my grandchildren would be proud of. I have and it is." After leaving politics, Bogle turned back to writing, publishing articles in ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'', ''Senior Lifestyles'', ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

'', and ''

The Skanner ''The Skanner'' or ''The Skanner News'' is an African-American newspaper covering the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Its head office is in Portland, Oregon, with an additional office in Seattle, Washington. It discontinued its regular p ...

''. He also took and published photos of jazz artists. He volunteered as a jazz DJ for

KMHD KMHD (89.1 FM) is a listener-supported, non-profit FM broadcast radio station in Portland, Oregon. For the first 25 years of its operation, the station's studio was located on the Mt. Hood Community College campus in Gresham, Oregon, before movi ...

and for the

Portland Police Bureau The Portland Police Bureau (PPB), officially the Portland Bureau of Police, is the law enforcement agency of the city of Portland, Oregon, Portland, the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of September 2024, the Bureau has around 800 ...

's cold case unit.

Personal life

Bogle's third marriage was to jazz singer Nola Sugai Porter in 1977, and they had three children together (in addition to two children Porter had from a previous relationship). They moved to

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

, in 2005. He died in Vancouver on February 25, 2010, from

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

References

External links

Jazz CD Reviews by Dick Bogle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bogle, Dick 1930 births 2010 deaths 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American people African-American city council members in Oregon African-American police officers American newspaper reporters and correspondents American television reporters and correspondents Law enforcement officials from Oregon Oregon State University alumni People from Vancouver, Washington Portland City Council members (Oregon) Portland Police Bureau officers Portland State University alumni Television anchors from Portland, Oregon 20th-century Oregon politicians