HOT TIMES ON THE CITY COUNCIL

[Editor’s note: political struggle of today reminds us of this humorous story from the past. We leave

conclusions to the readers.]

From 1956 until 1964, I [Phil Jonsrud] had the privilege of serving on the Sandy

City Council. It was a time to learn to do your own thinking and not just go along with the

crowd. With fewer government restrictions, it was an easier job than now, though at

times we had difficult decisions to make. Most meetings proceeded normally but I recall

one that had an unusual interlude that probably only could happen in a small town

among rugged individuals.

When plans were being made for the new four-lane highway from Gresham to

Zigzag in the early 1960s, the question came up about where the road would go through

Sandy. It was never clear whether the Sandy City Council would have any power to

make the decision, but the council assumed that they would have that right. The State

Highway Commission recommended that there should be a one-way couplet

(east-bound on Pioneer Blvd. and west-bound on Proctor Blvd.) as the best way to

handle the traffic. The only alternative was to keep all traffic on Proctor. Most local

people preferred the couplet as it would give Sandy two improved streets instead of just

one. However, the Mayor and one or two councilmen wanted to keep through traffic on

Proctor Blvd.

A special council meeting was scheduled to consider the issue. The only other

item for the meeting was a Portland architect's report on the approximate cost of a

proposed new and larger city hall.

Over the years, most City Council meetings were very orderly but this one turned

into a “red-hot” confrontation when one councilman and an interested citizen lit into the

Mayor about his choice and then added some personal comments. The Mayor

responded with equally strong language. The air was electric. The Sandy Post referred

to it in their next issue as “fast-flying, unprintable prose.” This went on for a time and

was getting pretty serious. The three were about to get out of their chairs and get at

each other when fortunately, the situation finally cooled down.

Meanwhile, the poor Portland architect was so nervous of there being a

knockdown-drag-out fight and being able to get out of the City Hall alive that he was a

nervous wreck and could hardly give his report, which to some of us was really pretty

funny. Actually the three antagonists that were involved in the verbal hassle were very

independent, strong-willed, self-made men who called a spade a spade and never were

overly concerned with diplomacy. None of the three probably realized how badly they

had scared the Portland architect.

Before the meeting adjourned, the Council voted to submit the question to a vote

of the people. They voted for a one-way couplet by a large majority. But hey, what did

that Portland guy expect? We were just a little town not far past being the former tough,

rowdy “frontier” town on the pioneer Barlow Road in the early Oregon Trail days!

Jonsrud, P .

“80 Years in the Same Neighborhood” copyright 2002 by Sandy Historical Society,

Inc., Sandy, Oregon, page 88; Jonsrud, P .

“Hometown Sandy Oregon: 36 Short Stories by Phil Jonsrud”

copyright 2011 by Sandy Historical Society, Sandy, Oregon, pages 76-77.