George W. Joseph

George W. P. Joseph (May 10, 1872 – June 17, 1930) was an attorney and Republican politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. A native of California, his family relocated to Oregon when he was young. There he would practice law and serve in the Oregon State Senate.

Early life Joseph was born on May 10, 1872, in a log cabin on Joseph Creek in Modoc County, California. The son of Delilah Jane Joseph (née Heath) and Edwin Worthington Joseph, Joseph moved to Oregon in 1876 with his parents. They had a son, George W. Joseph Jr., born in 1905.

After Meier left the partnership to join his family's department store, Meier & Frank, Joseph partnered with Bert E. Haney to form the legal practice Joseph, Haney, and Littlefield. Notably, he drew up and executed the will of his friend E. Henry Wemme, owner of the Mount Hood Company and, thereby, the Bull Run Hydroelectric Project and the historic Barlow Road.

Joseph was a noted opponent of an effort to call a state constitutional convention in 1905, which was generally popular among Portland attorneys.

Political career Joseph was elected to the Oregon State Senate in 1910 as a Republican representing Multnomah County. He served in the 1911 and 1913 legislative sessions. He introduced legislation supporting the 1912 amendment to the Oregon Constitution that established women's suffrage, and introduced Senate Bill 42 in 1911 that would have created a highway commission. Joseph did not seek re-election in the 1914 election.

In 1920, Joseph was re-elected to the Senate. He was active in Portland's civic issues in addition to his duties at the state level; for instance, his plan for downtown Portland traffic and parking was described in a 1921 Oregonian story. He was elected to another four-year term in 1924, representing District 13. Joseph did not return for the 1929 legislative session.

During his time in the Oregon Senate, Joseph introduced numerous bills that would have promoted the development of hydroelectric power under public ownership. At the time, the state was home to less than 1% of the U.S. population, but was understood to possess 10 to 12% of the nation's potential hydroelectric capacity. Joseph's bills, however, were not taken seriously in the Senate.

In late 1925, Joseph considered a run for the United States Senate, and received strong assurances from Henry Hanzen, a political editor, that the Republican nomination was his for the asking. He ultimately declined to run for national office, however, stating to Hanzen: ...I shall never seek office which will take me away from the people of Oregon. I am going to stay in the fight for them. Joseph then announced his candidacy for Governor of Oregon in the 1930 election,

Joseph was considered a populist candidate, and a prominent advocate for public development of hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River. He won the Republican nomination on May 16, defeating incumbent A. W. Norblad by over 5000 votes. In those days, the Republican nomination virtually guaranteed victory in the general election. during an army drill near the Oregon National Guard's Camp Clatsop (later renamed Camp Rilea). Meier won the three-candidate election with 54.5% of the vote. He went on to pass legislation in accordance with Joseph's platform, highlighting those efforts in his 1935 address. Meier later unveiled a monument to Joseph at Camp Clatsop.

Joseph's heirs donated a piece of property to the State of Oregon in 1934, which is now known as George W. Joseph State Natural Area. Joseph's cousin, George M. Joseph, was a prominent Oregon attorney and judge.