Ahead of His Time: Richard Neuberger, A conversation with Steve Forrester and Chet Orloff

The title of this conversation is also the title of the chapter written by Steve Forrester in the recently published book Eminent Oregonians. The book’s subtitle is Three Who Matter: Abigail Scott Duniway, Richard Neuberger, Jesse Applegate. Steve Forrester’s chapter focuses on why Neuberger is a forgotten figure in Oregon and national political history. Neuberger was the second Jew elected to the US Senate after the 17th Amendment, which mandated the popular election of senators. This chapter of the book is the first story of his life drawn from primary sources.

Prior to moving to Astoria in 1987, Steve Forrester was Washington correspondent for Pacific Northwest newspapers in Washington, D.C., for ten years. He was also the publisher of NorthwestLetter, a political newsletter, and producer/host of Northwest Week in Review, a weekly half-hour show about regional politics that aired on public radio stations in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Steve was editor and publisher of The Daily Astorian for 28 years. He is president of the EO Media Group. He was the founding president of Liberty Restoration, Inc., a private non-profit that restored the historic Liberty Theater in Astoria. He served as chairman of the Oregon Arts Commission. Prior to earning a degree in economics at Portland State University, Steve served in Vietnam with the U.S. Marine Corps. In 1973, he was one of the five principals who started Willamette Week. He is married and has two children.

Since the 1970s, Chet Orloff has served (in Afghanistan) as a Peace Corps teacher, taught urban design, planning, history, and museum studies at Portland State University and the University of Oregon, worked as director of the Pamplin International Collection, the virtual Museum of the City, the Oregon Historical Society, and other organizations, and served on Portland’s planning, cultural, parks, and landmarks commissions as well as numerous local, state, and national arts, historical, and museum committees and institutions.

Register here Donate Today

We are grateful for your participation and encourage you to consider supporting our virtual programs.