Terrence Doyle Schrunk (March 10, 1913 – March 4, 1975) was an American politician who served as the mayor for the city of Portland,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, 1957–1973, a length tying with George Luis Baker, who also served 16 years (1917–1933). Schrunk was appointed sheriff of

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Th ...

in 1949 by the county commissioners, succeeding M. L. Elliott, who was removed from office in a

recall election A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of of ...

. Schrunk was subsequently outright elected to the office, In his 1956 campaign for mayor, Schrunk advocated for

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

. Schrunk beat incumbent Fred L. Peterson by 17,000 votes in a nine-person primary, but did not get an absolute majority, and then beat Peterson in the fall run-off election. He took office at midnight on January 1, 1957."Schrunk Sworn In As Mayor" (January 1, 1957). ''The Oregonian'', p. 1. In 1968 and 1969, he served as president of the

United States Conference of Mayors The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded i ...

. Terry's son, Mike Schrunk, was elected district attorney of

in 1981, and is thought to be the longest-serving district attorney in Oregon history.

Mayor

In mid-twentieth-century Portland, gambling dens, brothels, and unlicensed bars operated virtually uninhibited by police as long as vice racketeers paid scheduled kickbacks to key city law enforcement officials. Schrunk was elected mayor with Teamsters union support, allegedly in part because the incumbent Republican mayor, Fred Peterson, offended the union when he wouldn't oust Police chief J. Bardell Purcell. The Teamsters felt that Purcell impeded their drive to open a wider vice business in Portland. In 1957 he appeared as himself in the CBS documentary film '' A Day Called X'' and on September 2nd of that year, as reported by the Oregonian on its September 4th 1957 edition, was seen in the front seat of a Lincoln convertible as he and the then biggest star in the world of music, the 22 year old

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

saluted the 14,600 fans awaiting for his concert to start at Providence Park (known at that time as Multnomah Stadium). An allegation against Mayor Schrunk soon landed him before the special Senate committee headed by Arkansas Democrat John McClellan investigating U.S. labor racketeering in March 1957. While still sheriff in September 1955, Schrunk and his deputies had raided the 8212 Club, a gambling and after-hours drinking joint financed by Portland Racketeer James B. Elkins. Elkins testified that the manager, Clifford Bennett, told him he had paid Schrunk $500, and the sheriff had gone away without causing any more trouble—except for arresting a few drunks. Although Bennett refused to testify, several others confirmed pieces of the story. Schrunk flatly denied having taken bribes from Bennett. But he did admit that his deputies had raided the 8212 Club, seen liquor being illegally served after hours, spotted gambling equipment all over the place—and that he had gone away without taking further action.

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

, then the lead attorney for the Senate committee, came to Portland to testify against him. Jurors acquitted Schrunk in less than two hours. Three years later, Kennedy was managing his brother, Senator

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

's, presidential campaign, with Oregon one of seven primaries that JFK entered. Kennedy's pursuit of Schrunk had angered enough Oregon Democrats that some of JFK's key supporters persuaded Kennedy operative Joseph S. Miller to ask Senator Kennedy to keep his younger brother out of Oregon. Although JFK largely accepted the advice, Miller's bluntness angered both brothers. Continued resentment by Schrunk and his supporters was seen as a contributing factor to Robert Kennedy losing the Oregon Democratic Primary to Eugene McCarthy in May 1968. In 1968 and 1969, he served as the president of the

. Schrunk suffered a heart attack in October 1972 while at City Hall and was taken to the hospital where he survived. Schrunk died after suffering another heart attack in 1975, less than a week before his 62nd birthday.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schrunk, Terry Mayors of Portland, Oregon Oregon sheriffs 1975 deaths 1913 births Oregon Republicans People from Stayton, Oregon 20th-century American politicians Presidents of the United States Conference of Mayors Roosevelt High School (Oregon) alumni

Mayor

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