Earl Riley
Encyclopedia
Earl Riley was an Oregon politician and businessman, and mayor of Portland, Oregon
1941-1949.
He was born Robert Earl Riley on February 18, 1890 in Portland, Oregon to Harriett Miranda (Richardson) and Lester N. Riley. His father was a fire bureau captain and his grandfather ran a tannery on Multnomah Stadium (now PGE Park
).
1908-1910, and later the Holmes Business College in Portland. As a second lieutenant he served at the 4th Officers Training School 1918-1919. He was the superintendent of the Columbia Engine Works machine shop 1919-1931.
and the British Ministry of Information sent Earl to Europe to tour war torn cities and boost morale as a “typical American mayor”. Perhaps he was a typical American mayor, but in 1945 Earl was charged by the influential City Club of Portland
with negligence in stamping out vice and corruption. Two years later the Portland Ministerial Alliance repeated the charges. According to historian E. Kimbark MacColl, Riley had a secret vault in his City Hall office to store his percentage of vice protection payments. In the book Vanishing Portland, the Bottenbergs reported that the Portland police were collecting $60,000 a month in protection payments from gambling and prostitution operations with much of this money going to Earl. Despite denials of laxness in his administration, Earl lost his third mayoral campaign to the reformer Dorothy McCullough Lee
.
The Oregonian obituary in 1965 called Earl “a tough, able and demanding administrator and a wizard at municipal financing”. Commissioner William A. Bowes described him as a man willing to work 18 and 20 hours a day.
automobile dealership. The business failed when the car ceased production, and he became a car salesman for a competitor, Barnard Motors. He was an active civic leader, with an interest in the Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children
and the Easter Seals
campaigns. Earl retired from business in 1959 after suffering a serious heart attack.
Besides the Shriner’s he also belonged to the American Legion
, Moose International
, Fraternal Order of Eagles
, Rotary International
, Woodmen of the World
, Royal Order of Jesters
, Phi Delta Theta
, Neighbors of Woodcraft, the Multnomah Athletic Club
, and was a 33rd Degree Freemason. He was also a Baptist.
Earl died at the age of 75 of a heart attack at his home on August 17, 1965. He is buried at Portland’s Lone Fir Cemetery
. After her husbands death, Fay moved to Richardson, Texas to be with daughter Mrs. Reeves Hoffpauer when her husband died in 1965. Fay died on July 25, 1968 and is buried at Lone Fir Cemetery, next to her husband.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
1941-1949.
He was born Robert Earl Riley on February 18, 1890 in Portland, Oregon to Harriett Miranda (Richardson) and Lester N. Riley. His father was a fire bureau captain and his grandfather ran a tannery on Multnomah Stadium (now PGE Park
PGE Park
Jeld-Wen Field is an outdoor sports stadium located in Portland, Oregon, United States that is used primarily for soccer and American football...
).
School and early career
Earl graduated from the Portland Academy in 1907, attended Oregon State CollegeOregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
1908-1910, and later the Holmes Business College in Portland. As a second lieutenant he served at the 4th Officers Training School 1918-1919. He was the superintendent of the Columbia Engine Works machine shop 1919-1931.
Civil Service Commission and City Council
Earl’s political career began with appointment in 1928 to Portland’s civil service commission, on which he served through 1930. Two years later, while he was serving as a partner in a tire company, he was named to fill a vacancy on the city council. He served on the council as commissioner of finance from 1930-1940.Mayor of Portland
In November 1940 he won his first election to mayor, and was re-elected in 1944. In 1943, the United States Office of War InformationUnited States Office of War Information
The United States Office of War Information was a U.S. government agency created during World War II to consolidate government information services. It operated from June 1942 until September 1945...
and the British Ministry of Information sent Earl to Europe to tour war torn cities and boost morale as a “typical American mayor”. Perhaps he was a typical American mayor, but in 1945 Earl was charged by the influential City Club of Portland
City Club of Portland
The City Club of Portland is a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic organization based in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was organized in 1916 by a small group of men who began meeting in a downtown Portland restaurant to discuss the city's public institutions and government...
with negligence in stamping out vice and corruption. Two years later the Portland Ministerial Alliance repeated the charges. According to historian E. Kimbark MacColl, Riley had a secret vault in his City Hall office to store his percentage of vice protection payments. In the book Vanishing Portland, the Bottenbergs reported that the Portland police were collecting $60,000 a month in protection payments from gambling and prostitution operations with much of this money going to Earl. Despite denials of laxness in his administration, Earl lost his third mayoral campaign to the reformer Dorothy McCullough Lee
Dorothy McCullough Lee
Dorothy McCullough Lee was an American politician and attorney in the state of Oregon. She was the first female mayor of Portland, Oregon.-Early life:...
.
The Oregonian obituary in 1965 called Earl “a tough, able and demanding administrator and a wizard at municipal financing”. Commissioner William A. Bowes described him as a man willing to work 18 and 20 hours a day.
Later career
After his mayoral loss, Earl told his friends he was through with politics. He acquired a PackardPackard
Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
automobile dealership. The business failed when the car ceased production, and he became a car salesman for a competitor, Barnard Motors. He was an active civic leader, with an interest in the Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children
Shriners Hospitals for Children
Shriners Hospitals for Children is a network of 22 non-profit hospitals across North America. Children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-centered environment, regardless of the patients’...
and the Easter Seals
Easter Seals (US)
Easter Seals is a nonprofit charitable organization that assists more than one million children and adults with autism and other disabilities and special needs annually through a network of more than 550 service sites in the United States, Canada, Australia and Puerto Rico...
campaigns. Earl retired from business in 1959 after suffering a serious heart attack.
Personal information
Earl was known as a flashy cigar-chewing man. He is described in his draft records as brown haired and blue eyed. Earl met his future wife E. Fay Wade while the two were attending Oregon State College, and they married March 25, 1920.Besides the Shriner’s he also belonged to the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
, Moose International
Moose International
Moose International is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888, consisting of the Loyal Order of Moose, with nearly 1 million men in roughly 2,400 Lodges, in all 50 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces, plus Great Britain and Bermuda; and the Women of the Moose with more than...
, Fraternal Order of Eagles
Fraternal Order of Eagles
Fraternal Order of Eagles International is a fraternal organization that was founded on February 6, 1898, in Seattle, Washington by a group of six theater owners including John Cort , brothers John W. and Tim J. Considine, Harry Leavitt , Mose Goldsmith and Arthur Williams...
, Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, Woodmen of the World
Woodmen of the World
Woodmen of the World is a fraternal organization based in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that operates a large privately held insurance company for its members....
, Royal Order of Jesters
Royal Order of Jesters
The Royal Order of Jesters is a fraternal organization affiliated with Freemasonry and the Shriners.- Formation :The original meeting resulting in the formation was held on February 20, 1911, by Shriners in the Captain’s office of the S.S. Wilhelmina on a pilgrimage to Aloha Temple, Hawaii. Noble A.M...
, Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
, Neighbors of Woodcraft, the Multnomah Athletic Club
Multnomah Athletic Club
The Multnomah Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in Portland, Oregon, United States.Founded in 1891, the club has expanded greatly from its beginnings. It now fills two buildings totaling , making it the largest indoor athletic club in the world...
, and was a 33rd Degree Freemason. He was also a Baptist.
Earl died at the age of 75 of a heart attack at his home on August 17, 1965. He is buried at Portland’s Lone Fir Cemetery
Lone Fir Cemetery
Lone Fir Cemetery in the southeast section of Portland, Oregon, United States is a cemetery owned and maintained by Metro, a regional government entity. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first burial was in 1846 with the cemetery established in 1855...
. After her husbands death, Fay moved to Richardson, Texas to be with daughter Mrs. Reeves Hoffpauer when her husband died in 1965. Fay died on July 25, 1968 and is buried at Lone Fir Cemetery, next to her husband.