Governor Robert W. Straub's Administration
Summary of Records
The records of Governor Robert W. Straub consist of correspondence, press releases, speeches, natural resource records, and executive power records. These records date from when he was elected in 1974, until Governor Atiyeh was sworn in in 1979, and they represent events occurring in Oregon at that time and the Governor's role in them.
The records of the office of governor are a collection of different sub-offices and advisory groups. The office that is most in direct contact is the ombudsman's office. The correspondence of this office includes letters from citizens offering suggestions on problems such as how to finance schools, and questions requesting the opinions of the Governor.
One of the Governor's many jobs is to propose legislation to the Legislative Assembly and then see it through to become law. Much of Governor Straub's proposed legislation can be found in his administrative correspondence. Since much of the legislation proposed by Governor Straub dealt with the environment more proposed legislation can be found in the Natural Resource Files.
Another task of the governor is as the chief law enforcement officer. With the power from this position comes the ability to parole and pardon criminals. Governor Straub took this power very seriously and while paroling or pardoning more convicts than any previous governor, took care to review each case and have very thorough investigations made of each request before making a decision. This process is well documented in the series titled Executive Clemency Records. The governor must make all of Oregon's extradition requests and the Extradition Files provide insight into how and why the governor allows extraditions to take place.
Governor Straub established several task forces which discussed the role of women and minorities in Oregon. Among the task forces created were ones that focused on sexual preference, migrant workers, and youth labor. He also required all state agencies to conform their hiring practices to those mandated by Affirmative Action so that the agencies would have proportional representation of every minority. Great steps were taken by Straub to achieve minority equality. Discrimination cases still appeared and some documentation of them exists in the Governor's records, however, Straub's emphasis was on finding ways to prevent complaints.
The records of Governor Straub also reflect issues affecting the rest of the country and the world. These include President Nixon's resignation, the oil and energy crises, and drought conditions in the western United States.