Monroe Sweetland

Monroe Mark Sweetland (January 1910-2006) was an American politician in the state of Oregon. A native of the state, he served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly starting in 1950. A Democrat, he also twice ran and lost bids to serve as the Oregon Secretary of State. Sweetland later served as a staffer for the National Education Association, supporting passage of the Bilingual Education Act of 1968.

Early life

Monroe Sweetland was born on January 20, 1910, in Salem, Oregon. His father was a doctor who also served as athletic director at Willamette University. When Sweetland was two, the family moved to Michigan where he remained until college. At the age of 11 in 1922 he and a friend organized a city caucus to elect candidates after learning that none had been scheduled. Sweetland graduated from Wittenberg College in Springfield, Ohio, with a bachelor's of art degree in 1930. He then entered law school at Syracuse University and later Cornell University. In 1931, he married Lillie Megrath whom he met in law school. They had two daughters, Barbara and Rebecca.

Political career

In the 1930s, Sweetland retuned to Oregon as an activist in the Socialist Party and a Student Socialist organization. He was a Norman Thomas supporter for president in 1932 and 1936. Shortly thereafter; Sweetland became a Democrat and the Executive Director of the Oregon Commonwealth Federation (OCF), a liberal organization whose goals included public power, increased membership in labor unions, civil rights, and social security. The OCF helped engineer the defeat of conservative Democrat Governor Charles Martin in 1938. The winner of the primary, Henry Hess, was defeated, but the primary victory emboldened Sweetland and other liberals.

Sweetland served during World War II, first as the head of the CIO War Relief Effort, and then with the Red Cross on in the Pacific Theater. It was during this time that he became acquainted with fellow Oregon Democrat Howard Morgan, who would, upon war's end, help Sweetland organzie Democratic victories in Oregon.

In 1948 Sweetland was elected as a Harry Truman delegate, as well as Oregon Democratic National Committeeman, thereby successfully wresting control of the Democratic Party from a reactionary "Dixiecrat" element and becoming the highest ranking Democratic official in the state. This position made him the figure consulted by President Truman regarding federal appointments in Oregon. During the ensuing eight years, under Sweetland's leadership, the modern progressive Oregon Democratic Party emerged, with victories in the governorship, both houses of Congress, and in the Oregon State Legislature. One of the primary goals of the Oregon Democratic Party during those years was the creation of the Columbia Valley Authority, a national public power entity based upon the Tennessee Valley Authority. Although many in the Pacific Northwest favored the CVA, conservative Democrats like former Oregon Governor Oswald West and most Republicans bitterly opposed and defeated the idea on was the creation of the CVA. West was a harsh critic of Sweetland, accusing him and other liberal Democrats such as Federal Judge and former Oregon Commonwealth Federation member Gus Solomon of having Communist affiliations. .

Elected to the Oregon House in 1950, Sweetland became the first Democrat to win a House seat in Clackamas County in two decades. He served 10 years in the Legislature, winning a Senate seat in 1954 and 1958. Sweetland wanted to run for U.S. Congress in Oregon's 3rd Congressional district in 1954, but was strongly dissuaded by some Democratic peers, including Howard Morgan and State Senator Richard Neuberger, who feared that Sweetland's past Socialist ties would result in his defeat and that of others just as the party was beginning its rise. . Sweetland decided to not run, and, in the Fall, Democrat Edith Green won election in the 3rd, while Neuberger won a razor thin victory for U.S. Senate, becoming the first Democrat elected to that position from OR in four decades.

Sweetland did run for secretary of state in 1956, losing narrowly to fellow State Senator Mark Hatfield. In 1960, he again ran for secretary of state and lost, this time to Howell Appling, who had been appointed by Hatfield as his successor upon Hatfield's election as Governor in 1958. During his years as a part-time Oregon legislator, Sweetland was a newspaper publisher in Milwaukie (his home), also owning papers in Newport, Molalla.

Later life

He and his family moved to San Mateo, California, in 1965, where Sweetland served as the National Education Association representative to 13 western states in Congress until mandatory retirement in 1975. He then founded Western Wilderness Products, in San Mateo where he worked gathering rare plants until 1994.

He left his his mark through efforts such as transforming Portland State University into a full-fledged urban university, for which he was honored with the President's Award in 1995. Sweetland also helped to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. Additionally, he sponsored legislation to provide scholarships for Oregonians to attend state universities.

Sweetland’s initiated what became the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, which provided federal money to encourage school districts to try approaches such as teaching English as a second language. Sweetland's daughter, Barbara Sweetland Smith, said he considered the act "the most important thing he ever did."

Sweetland returned to Oregon in 1994 and spent his final years as a beloved elder statesman, including an unsuccessful run for his old State Senate seat at age 88 in 1998. He lost to his friend, moderate Republican Verne Duncan for District 12. Monroe Sweetland died on September 10, 2006, at the age of 96 in Milwaukie. Duncan delivered a eulogy at Sweetland’s memorial service.

External links

• Monroe Mark Sweetland - Obituary