Tom Potter
| Tom Potter | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 50th Mayor of Portland, Oregon | |
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In office January 3, 2005 – January 1, 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Vera Katz |
| Succeeded by | Sam Adams |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Thomas Jay Potter September 12, 1940 North Bend, Oregon, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Karin Hansen |
| Profession | Policeman and Police Cheif (former) |
| Religion | Secular Humanist |
Thomas Jay "Tom" Potter (born September 12, 1940) is a former American politician and law enforcement officer in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served as Mayor of Portland from 2005 to 2009, and had been the chief of the Portland Police Bureau. As mayor he continued his advocacy of community policing and expressed interest in other reforms of the Portland police department. He marched against the Iraq War on the first anniversary of American involvement in March 2004 and was dismayed at the black uniforms and the militarized appearance of the Portland police he saw. He made it part of his campaign to rid the police of such a militarized appearance.
Potter was born in 1940 in North Bend, Oregon. When he was 10 years old, his family moved to Portland, Oregon.
Potter lives in the neighborhood of southeast Portland with his wife Karin Hansen. His hobbies include archaeology, hiking, camping, and bicycling.
Potter's openly lesbian daughter, Katie Potter, is a retired Portland police officer. Potter, as the city's Chief of Police, marched in his police uniform in Portland's annual gay pride parade to show his support for Katie,and the LGBT+ community. the first Portland Police Chief to do so, and has spoken out in support of marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples, including Katie and her partner, police officer Pat Moen. Katie and "Pam", Pamela Moen, have two daughters, McKenzie "Kenzie" Potter-Moen and Madison "Madi" Lynn Potter-Moen.
Potter began as a police officer in 1967 as a beat officer in southeast Portland in the Brooklyn and Sellwood neighborhoods. Although the neighborhoods are considered desirable residential locations today, at the time they were largely crime-ridden and threatened by gangs. According to Potter, early in his career a citizen in Sellwood asked him what he, as a citizen, could do to help the police. His sergeant informed him to tell the citizen to "stay inside and let the police do their jobs." The comment helped motivate Potter's early interest in making changes between the relationship of the police and the citizens. There was also a saying in police culture which evoked Tom's political fires known as "go along to get along." Basically translating to "do the wrong thing so as not to disturb our nice lives."
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Wikipedia