A “forgotten figure” is how author Stephen Forrester describes Richard Neuberger, the Oregon journalist and senator who confidently brought his democratic views to this then-conservative state. 

Forrester made trips to the University of Oregon to search through Neuberger’s archives, he studied Neuberger’s archives in the Jewish Museum and much more. Forrester says he stayed motivated and inspired to work on this book because he kept “hitting the jackpot” with his research.

Neuberger created monumental impact on the political landscape of Oregon, pushing for democratic policy and change during a time when the state was overwhelmingly conservative, from the 1930s to the ’50s. He was only 28 when he became the first elected Democrat for the Oregon Senate in 40 years. Richard Neuberger: Oregon Politics and the Making of a U.S. Senator takes a deep dive into Neuberger’s life: the ups, the downs, the remarkable achievements and the moments where no one believed him. 

 An extremely successful journalist and senator, Neuberger had his fair share of struggles getting to that point. When he started at the UO, Neuberger already had over a hundred bylines in The Oregonian, which helped him become editor at the Daily Emerald as just a sophomore. However, his time at UO was not as you’d expect — he did not graduate, but rather dropped out. Neuberger was also of Jewish and German descent and experienced antisemitism on campus. 

People described Neuberger as a fantastic writer, putting together pieces at speeds people had never seen before. As he decided to get into politics, he fought for women in politics, conservation and other topics that — as shown through Forrester’s research — shook Oregon politics as they knew it. 

Forrester interviewed Neuberger’s wife, Maurine Neuberger, a pioneer woman in politics who became the fifth woman in the U.S. to be elected to the Senate. He discovered that their work together, as a couple in politics, was highly effective. 

Neuberger died young at age 47, concluding his only term in the U.S. Senate. Without Neuberger’s influence and rhetoric, Forrester believes Oregon would have seen a democratic shift much later. 

Forrester worked as the editor and publisher for The Daily Astorian and was with the EO Media Group for the bulk of his career, and once retiring in 2016, he got to writing this book after years of research. 

Richard Neuberger, Oregon State University Press, $29.95