Gordon Faber
Encyclopedia
Gordon Faber is a former politician and business owner in the U.S. state of Oregon
. A native of Pennsylvania
, he grew up in Hillsboro, Oregon
, where he served on the city’s budget committee and city council
before serving two terms as mayor from 1993 to 2001. He served in the military and was a small business owner before becoming a real estate agent and entering politics. The Gordon Faber Recreation Complex in the city’s northeast corner is named in his honor.
, but since Hillsboro did not have a city pool he was unable to earn his swimming merit badge
. He attended the local schools and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1949 before enrolling at Lewis & Clark College
in neighboring Portland
. Farber attended the school for a year and a half and then joined the United States Air Force
when the Korean War
began. In the Air Force he was assigned to the Armed Forces Special Weapons project and spent nearly four years with the unit.
Following his military service he returned to Oregon and college. Faber entered Willamette University
in Salem
where he graduated with a degree in economics in 1956. He then returned to Hillsboro and worked for his father in the family’s plumbing and electrical business that included a retail appliance store. Later he bought out his brother and then father from the business, but sold it in 1985. Faber then worked as a car salesman before entering the real estate field as a sales agent for Barbara Sue Seal Properties. He was also a member of Hillsboro’s Rotary International
club, including serving as president from 1984 to 1985.
. After a two-year absence he returned for a second four-year term in 1987, followed by another term that would have run until 1995. In July 1992, Farber announced he would run for mayor of Hillsboro to replace Huffman who could not run again due to term limits.
During the campaign season he openly opposed the Oregon Citizens Alliance
’s ballot measure
that was seen as anti-gay rights. He ran unopposed and won the election that November, while the ballot measure was defeated. Faber took office in 1993, and left the city council at that time after spending ten years on the council.
also voted in favor of allowing the complex, while later mayor Jerry Willey voted against the complex. After the vote Faber announced he would not seek a second term as mayor, but changed his mind and announced he would run for a second term in July 1996. He presided over the ribbon cutting at the apartment complex when it opened in August 1996, and later called the vote the toughest decision he had to make as mayor.
In the November 1996 election he defeated retired sheet metal worker Gordon B. Sherman, winning 84% of the vote. He advocated for the expansion of the urban growth boundary
, including bringing in the South Hillsboro Reserve area. "I view the city as a living, breathing thing. And if it doesn't grow, it dies. I think growth was necessary to keep the town alive and healthy."
Faber worked to defeat a proposal to site a new women’s prison in Hillsboro in 1997. Oregon governor John Kitzhaber
insisted a prison be built in the Portland metropolitan area
in either Hillsboro or at the site of the former Dammasch State Hospital
in Wilsonville
. The Wilsonville location was selected in May 1997, though the prison (Coffee Creek Correctional Facility
) was later built north of the former state hospital. Faber joined Kitzhaber on a visit to Japan
in 2000 where Faber visited Hillsboro’s sister city of Fukuroi as well as the headquarters of many of the Japanese based companies with facilities in Hillsboro.
On January 2, 2001, he left office and was succeeded by Tom Hughes
. While mayor the city grew from approximately 40,000 residents to 72,630 and became the fifth most populous in the state. During his tenure the MAX Light Rail’s Blue Line opened to Hillsboro, the city created the Ronler Acres urban renewal district that led to a new campus in the city from Intel as well as the construction of Hillsboro Stadium
, and the Hillsboro 2020 Vision plan was created. The Gordon Faber Recreation Complex includes the stadium, and is named in his honor.
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. A native of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, he grew up in Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
, where he served on the city’s budget committee and city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
before serving two terms as mayor from 1993 to 2001. He served in the military and was a small business owner before becoming a real estate agent and entering politics. The Gordon Faber Recreation Complex in the city’s northeast corner is named in his honor.
Early life
Gordon Faber was born in 1931 in Pennsylvania to Ben Faber. The family moved to Hillsboro, Oregon, in 1934 where he grew up. As a boy he was a member of the Boy ScoutsBoy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
, but since Hillsboro did not have a city pool he was unable to earn his swimming merit badge
Merit badge (Boy Scouts of America)
Merit badges are awards earned by youth members of the Boy Scouts of America , based on activities within an area of study by completing a list of periodically updated requirements. The purpose of the merit badge program is to allow Scouts to examine subjects to determine if they would like to...
. He attended the local schools and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1949 before enrolling at Lewis & Clark College
Lewis & Clark College
Lewis & Clark College is a private institution of higher learning located in Portland, Oregon. Made up of an undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences, a School of Law, and a Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Lewis & Clark is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges with athletic...
in neighboring Portland
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...
. Farber attended the school for a year and a half and then joined the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
when the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
began. In the Air Force he was assigned to the Armed Forces Special Weapons project and spent nearly four years with the unit.
Following his military service he returned to Oregon and college. Faber entered Willamette University
Willamette University
Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...
in Salem
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
where he graduated with a degree in economics in 1956. He then returned to Hillsboro and worked for his father in the family’s plumbing and electrical business that included a retail appliance store. Later he bought out his brother and then father from the business, but sold it in 1985. Faber then worked as a car salesman before entering the real estate field as a sales agent for Barbara Sue Seal Properties. He was also a member of Hillsboro’s 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...
club, including serving as president from 1984 to 1985.
Political career
Faber’s political career began when he served on Hillsboro’s budget committee. In 1981, he joined the city council where he served a four year term ending in 1985 alongside later mayor Shirley HuffmanShirley Huffman
Shirley Todd Huffman is a former politician and legal secretary in the U.S. state of Oregon. Raised in Dayton, Oregon, she settled in Hillsboro, Oregon, where she served on the city council before serving two terms as mayor from 1985 to 1993...
. After a two-year absence he returned for a second four-year term in 1987, followed by another term that would have run until 1995. In July 1992, Farber announced he would run for mayor of Hillsboro to replace Huffman who could not run again due to term limits.
During the campaign season he openly opposed the Oregon Citizens Alliance
Oregon Citizens Alliance
The Oregon Citizens Alliance was a conservative Christian political activist organization, founded by Lon Mabon in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was founded in 1986 as a vehicle to challenge then–U.S...
’s ballot measure
Oregon Ballot Measure 9 (1992)
Ballot Measure 9 was a ballot measure in the U.S. state of Oregon in 1992, concerning gay rights and public education, that drew widespread national attention.Measure 9 would have added the following text to the Oregon Constitution:...
that was seen as anti-gay rights. He ran unopposed and won the election that November, while the ballot measure was defeated. Faber took office in 1993, and left the city council at that time after spending ten years on the council.
Mayor
As mayor in April 1995, he cast the tie-breaking vote that allowed for the construction of an apartment complex in the Jackson School neighborhood that was opposed by the neighborhood, but allowed by the existing zoning of the property. Hillsboro mayors do not hold a vote on the city council, but do break ties. Later state legislators Jim Hill and Bruce StarrBruce Starr
Bruce Starr is an American politician and businessman in Oregon. A Republican, he served two terms in the Oregon House of Representatives before winning election to the Oregon State Senate in 2002. There he joined his father Senator Charles Starr and they became the first father-son team to serve...
also voted in favor of allowing the complex, while later mayor Jerry Willey voted against the complex. After the vote Faber announced he would not seek a second term as mayor, but changed his mind and announced he would run for a second term in July 1996. He presided over the ribbon cutting at the apartment complex when it opened in August 1996, and later called the vote the toughest decision he had to make as mayor.
In the November 1996 election he defeated retired sheet metal worker Gordon B. Sherman, winning 84% of the vote. He advocated for the expansion of the urban growth boundary
Urban growth boundary
An urban growth boundary, or UGB, is a regional boundary, set in an attempt to control urban sprawl by mandating that the area inside the boundary be used for higher density urban development and the area outside be used for lower density development.An urban growth boundary circumscribes an...
, including bringing in the South Hillsboro Reserve area. "I view the city as a living, breathing thing. And if it doesn't grow, it dies. I think growth was necessary to keep the town alive and healthy."
Faber worked to defeat a proposal to site a new women’s prison in Hillsboro in 1997. Oregon governor John Kitzhaber
John Kitzhaber
John Albert Kitzhaber is the 37th Governor of Oregon. He served as the 35th Governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003 and became the first person to be elected to the office three times when he was re-elected to a non-consecutive third term in 2010...
insisted a prison be built in the Portland metropolitan area
Portland metropolitan area
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area , also known as the Portland metropolitan area or Greater Portland, is an urban area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S...
in either Hillsboro or at the site of the former Dammasch State Hospital
Dammasch State Hospital
Dammasch State Hospital was a mental hospital, asylum, and educational center located in Wilsonville, Oregon, United States. It opened in 1961 and closed in 1995. After its closure, the former site was embroiled in local controversy as it was a proposed location for a women's prison, which angered...
in Wilsonville
Wilsonville, Oregon
Wilsonville is a city primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A portion of the northern section of the city is in Washington County. Originally founded as Boones Landing due to the Boones Ferry which crossed the Willamette River at the location, the community became Wilsonville in...
. The Wilsonville location was selected in May 1997, though the prison (Coffee Creek Correctional Facility
Coffee Creek Correctional Facility
Coffee Creek Correctional Facility is a women's prison and prisoner intake center in Wilsonville, Oregon, United States. Operated by the Oregon Department of Corrections, the 1,684 bed facility opened in 2001 at a campus. The selection of the location for the prison was controversial and included...
) was later built north of the former state hospital. Faber joined Kitzhaber on a visit to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 2000 where Faber visited Hillsboro’s sister city of Fukuroi as well as the headquarters of many of the Japanese based companies with facilities in Hillsboro.
On January 2, 2001, he left office and was succeeded by Tom Hughes
Tom Hughes (Oregon politician)
Tom Hughes is a politician and former educator in the U.S. state of Oregon. He is the president of Metro, a regional government in the Portland metropolitan area. A native of Hillsboro, he served as on that city's planning commission and city council before serving two terms as mayor from 2001 to...
. While mayor the city grew from approximately 40,000 residents to 72,630 and became the fifth most populous in the state. During his tenure the MAX Light Rail’s Blue Line opened to Hillsboro, the city created the Ronler Acres urban renewal district that led to a new campus in the city from Intel as well as the construction of Hillsboro Stadium
Hillsboro Stadium
Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States is a multi-sport stadium owned by the city of Hillsboro. Opened in 1999, the award winning stadium is part of the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex located in the northeast part of the city adjacent to the Sunset Highway...
, and the Hillsboro 2020 Vision plan was created. The Gordon Faber Recreation Complex includes the stadium, and is named in his honor.