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| Affiliation | Democratic |
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| Name | Charles H. Martin |
| Address |
Portland, Oregon , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
October 01, 1863
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| Died | September 22, 1946
(82 years)
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| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Last Modifed | RBH
Aug 21, 2015 02:45pm |
| Tags |
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| Info | Born in White County, Illinois to Samuel H., a local politician, lawyer and judge, and Mary Jane (Hughes) Martin on October 1, 1863; an Episcopalian. Married Louise J. Hughes of Portland, Oregon in 1897; father of Ellis, Samuel, Louise and Jane. Although young Martin showed interest in following his father's career, after a year at Ewing College, his father induced him to accept an appointment to West Point. Graduating in 1887, Martin was assigned to Ft. Vancouver, Washington. Martins military career took him to the Philippines, China, Mexico, France, Germany,Panama and to stations within the United States. He rose to the rank of Major General in the regular army before his retirement in 1927. Martin had maintained a residence in Oregon through the years. Although a registered Republican prior to 1930, he won two elections to Congress from Oregon s Third Congressional District as a Democrat. Running as a write-in candidate in 1930, he defeated Republican Franklin Korrell, 49,316 votes to 35,483. In 1932 he polled 74.397 votes against 40.650 for Republican Home Angell. In 1934, at the urging of former Governor Oswald West and others, Martin sought and won the Democratic nomination for governor. Ostensibly a supporter of the national administration, Martin soon made it clear that he was no friend of a number of programs, particularly the development of the Columbia River by the national government to provide cheap public power. Republicans also had split bitterly over the public power issue. When Joe E. Dunn, whose position on the issue was at best ambiguous, won the Republican nomination, State Senator Peter Zimmerman, a zealous proponent of public power development, announced himself as an independent candidate. Benefitting from the dissension within the majority party, Martin won, receiving 116,677 votes to Zimmerman`s 95,519 and Dunn's 86,923. As governor. Martin loudly, and sometimes profanely, voiced the criticisms of conservatives and reactionaries about the economic and social programs of the New Deal. A zealous believer in a law and order regime, he largely ignored the economic and social plight of large numbers oi Oregonians and fought efforts by the national administration to intercede on their behalf. His administration proved to be disastrous for the aspirations of younger and more liberal Democrats who hoped to build a strong and winning party in the state. Martin's actions led to bitter internecine strife that left the party in a shambles, and resulted in his repudiation by the national administration in the primary election in 1938, which saw Martin defeated in a bid for another nomination for governor by Henry L. Hess. a state senator. 59,620 votes to 52,642. Martin campaigned against Hess in the general election and the Democrats lost the governorship, control of the lower house of the State Legislature, and the congressional seat in the Third District. Martin, recurrently honored by his powerful supporters, lived in Portland until his death on September 22, 1946. He was interred in Riverview Cemetery after a ceremony with full military honors at Trinity Episcopal Church on September 26, 1946.
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