Terry Schrunk

Terrence Doyle Schrunk (March 10, 1913 – March 4, 1975) was an American politician who served as the mayor for the city of Portland, Oregon, 1957–1973, a length tying with George Luis Baker, who also served 16 years (1917–1933).

Schrunk was appointed sheriff of Multnomah County in 1949 by the county commissioners, succeeding M. L. Elliott, who was removed from office in a recall election. Schrunk was subsequently outright elected to the office,

In his 1956 campaign for mayor, Schrunk advocated for urban renewal. Schrunk beat incumbent Fred L. Peterson by 17,000 votes in a nine-person primary, but did not get an absolute majority, and then beat Peterson in the fall run-off election. He took office at midnight on January 1, 1957.

In 1968 and 1969, he served as president of the United States Conference of Mayors.

Terry's son, Mike Schrunk, was elected district attorney of Multnomah County in 1981, and is thought to be the longest-serving district attorney in Oregon history.

In mid-twentieth-century Portland, gambling dens, brothels, and unlicensed bars operated virtually uninhibited by police as long as vice racketeers paid scheduled kickbacks to key city law enforcement officials.

Schrunk was elected mayor with Teamsters union support, allegedly in part because the incumbent Republican mayor, Fred Peterson, offended the union when he wouldn't oust Police chief J. Bardell Purcell. The Teamsters felt that Purcell impeded their drive to open a wider vice business in Portland.

In 1957 he appeared as himself in the CBS documentary film The Day Called 'X' and on September 2 of that year, as reported by the Oregonian on its September 4, 1957, edition, was seen in the front seat of a Lincoln convertible as he and the then biggest star in the world of music, the 22-year-old Elvis Presley saluted the 14,600 fans waiting for his concert to start at Providence Park (known at that time as Multnomah Stadium).