KPOJ (620 AM) is a radio station located in the Portland, Oregon, area. It airs a progressive talk format and was an original Air America Radio affiliate.

History[link]

For more than 70 years, the station at AM 620 was KGW, founded in 1922 by The Oregonian newspaper and owned and operated by it until 1953, when it was sold to King Broadcasting. KGW affiliated with the NBC network in 1927 and stayed for 29 years until joining ABC Radio in 1956.

Among KGW's early personalities was Mel Blanc, a local musician and vocalist featured on the "Hoot Owls" variety program from 1927 to 1933. Here Blanc discovered a talent for character voices that would win him stardom as the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and many other Warner Brothers cartoon features.

Under The Oregonian the station gained an AM sister, KEX, in 1933, and the Northwest's first FM station, KGW-FM (now KKRZ), in 1946. King Broadcasting founded KGW-TV in 1956. All three stations continue to exist in Portland, but none have any remaining connection to AM 620.

"62 KGW", as it called itself during its later years under those call letters, was one of the most popular radio stations in Portland in the 1960s and 1970s, but its ratings declined during the 1980s,^[3] and on August 28, 1989 the station changed from a Top 40 music format to a talk format, using primarily local hosts.^[3] The change did not produce the hoped-for ratings turnaround, and in July 1991 the talk programming was replaced by a simulcast of sister station KINK-FM's programming, but retaining the longstanding and locally well-known call sign, KGW, until 1993, when the call letters were changed to KINK. In 1995, KINK-AM changed back to all-talk, now airing nationally syndicated talk radio programming instead of local talk,^[4] and the call letters changed to KOTK. The frequent changing of call letters continued, with the station becoming KEWS ("K-News") in 1997, KDBZ ("The Buzz") in 2000, and KTLK in 2002. The station picked up the current KPOJ call letters on August 18, 2003. For many years and with various formats, the station called itself "Super 62".

The KPOJ call sign originated at what is now KKPZ AM 1330, which for many years was the Mutual Broadcasting System's Portland affiliate. In the 1970s, that station changed its call letters to KUPL. The call letters stand for Portland Oregon Journal, the now-defunct newspaper that once owned AM 1330.

Influence on other radio stations[link]

The station is noteworthy because it was the first progressive talk radio station to be owned by Clear Channel Communications. Its schedule features a local morning show and syndicated programs from Dial Global, Premiere Radio (which is owned by Clear Channel) and other radio syndication companies. KPOJ was the first station to call its format "Progressive Talk", a tag that is often used.^{[citation needed]}

Just prior to adopting the present format,^{[clarification needed]} KPOJ was an oldies station with low Arbitron ratings. Immediately after picking up talk, KPOJ quadrupled their number of listeners, and in its first Arbitron ratings book became the most-listened AM station in the market, particularly among younger listeners coveted by advertisers. Following their success in Portland, Clear Channel rolled out the format and a nearly identical on-air lineup on many of their struggling AM stations in other markets, to mostly modest success.^{[citation needed]}

With the switch to its current format, KPOJ, in just two years, has gone from a low-rated afterthought, with many format and call letter changes over the years, to one of the most influential stations in the country.

The KPOJ On-air Line-up[link]

Many progressive talk stations around the country, owned by Clear Channel and by other companies, air a weekday lineup, including Thom Hartmann, Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes. KPOJ differs from many other progressive talk radio stations in that it airs a local-live morning show (instead of the syndicated Stephanie Miller Show, which is part of the line-up on most other progressive talk stations but does not air in Portland, although it aired on KCMD (now KUFO) opposite the KPOJ local show until 2009). The original host of KPOJ's morning show was Thom Hartmann, who has since scaled back his involvement in the local program to focus on his syndicated program, which is broadcast from KPOJ.

Weekday programming[link]

KPOJ weekday programming runs from 3 a.m. Monday to 3 a.m. Saturday. The Bill Press Show, the local morning show hosted by Carl Wolfson, the Ed Schultz Show and Thom Hartmann Nationwide are broadcast live. All other programs are on a delay of at least three hours.

As of 12 March 2012, the weekday lineup is as follows:

• 3 - 6 a.m.: The Bill Press Show
• 6 - 9 a.m.: "Carl in the morning" - Weekday mornings, AM 620 KPOJ goes "live and local from the banks of the Willamette River" with a "thinking person’s morning show" hosted by Carl Wolfson, who is nationally-known as a comic, Carl has also been a Northwest political activist. Christine Alexander, an award-winning news anchor, co-hosted the show with Carl, but left the show in July 2010. Long-time progressive talk host and best-selling author Thom Hartmann also co-hosted the last half-hour of the show until late 2010, when Hartmann moved to Washington, D.C. Currently, Paul Pimentel, the show's long-time producer, appears on air with Carl. Progressive activist Adam Klugman also makes frequent in-studio appearances, usually during the 7 o'clock hour.
• 9 a.m. - Noon: The Ed Schultz Show
• Noon - 3 p.m.: Thom Hartmann - Nationwide
• 3 - 6 p.m.: The Randi Rhodes Show (Three hour delay)
• 6 - 9 p.m.: The Norman Goldman Show (Three hour delay)
• 9 - Midnight: The Mike Malloy Show (Three hour delay)
• Midnight - 3 a.m.: The Alan Colmes Show (Five hour delay)

References[link]

External links[link]

• KPOJ Website
• On the left side of the dial: Portland advertisers see an opportunity in alternative to conservative talk radio
• KPOJ on Facebook
• KPOJ on Twitter
• Query the FCC's AM station database for KPOJ
• Radio-Locator Information on KPOJ
• Query Arbitron's AM station database for KPOJ

The Honorable Kurt Schrader
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's 5th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Darlene Hooley
Member of the Oregon Senate from the 20th district
In office 2003 – 2008[1]
Preceded by	Verne Duncan
Succeeded by	Martha Schrader
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 23rd district
In office 1997–2003
Preceded by	Jerry Grisham
Succeeded by	Wayne Scott
Personal details
Born	(1951-10-19) October 19, 1951 (age 60) Bridgeport, Connecticut
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Martha Northam Schrader
Residence	Canby, Oregon
Alma mater	Cornell University, University of Illinois
Occupation	Veterinarian
Religion	Episcopal[2]

Kurt Schrader (born October 19, 1951) is the U.S. Representative for Oregon's 5th congressional district. He is a member of the Democratic Party and previously served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly.

Early life, education, and early career[link]

Schrader was born in Connecticut and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1973. While at Cornell, Schrader met Martha Northam and the two were married in 1975.^[3] Schrader earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Illinois in 1977. A year later, the Schraders moved to Oregon, and Kurt opened the Clackamas County Veterinary Clinic in Oregon City, to begin his veterinary practice.^[3]

Schrader served for 16 years on the Canby Planning Commission.

Oregon legislature[link]

Elections[link]

After winning his first election in 1996, Schrader served four terms in the Oregon House of Representatives. Schrader ran for the Oregon House of Representatives in 1994, where he lost to Republican Jerry Grisham in the general election by 38 votes.^[4] In 1996, Schrader ran again; and this time defeated Paul Kraxburger.^[5] He was subsequently reelected to the House in 1998 and 2000.

In 2002, Schrader ran for the Oregon State Senate seat vacated by the retiring Verne Duncan, representing the 20th district in southwestern Clackamas County, including the cities of Barlow, Canby, Gladstone, Johnson City, Oregon City and portions of Milwaukie. He defeated fellow Oregon House member Kathy Lowe in a contentious Democratic primary, and then faced no Republican opposition in the general election.^[6] Martha Schrader was the Democratic nominee to succeed her husband, but lost in the general election to Wayne Scott.^[6] She served as a Clackamas County commissioner until 2009, when she was appointed by the same commission (with Martha recusing herself from voting) to replace her husband in the State Senate.^[1]

Committee assignments[link]

In the Oregon Senate, Schrader served as co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee in the 2003^[7] and 2005 sessions, as well as chair of the Interim Joint Legislative Audit Committee in the 2005 session.^{[citation needed]} To prepare for his House seat, Schrader resigned effective December 17.^[1]

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

Election[link]

2008

In May 2008, Schrader won the Democratic nomination for Oregon's 5th congressional district for the seat being vacated by Darlene Hooley.^[1] In the general election, Schrader defeated Republican Mike Erickson, winning election to the U.S. House.^[8] Schrader won the election with 54 percent of the vote to Erickson's 38 percent. Schrader won all seven of the counties in the 5th congressional district, though he posted a plurality win in Polk County.

2010

Schrader was challenged by Republican nominee and Oregon State Representative Scott Bruun and Pacific Green nominee Chris Lugo. Despite several polls showing Bruun ahead and expert tracker Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight predicting Schrader would likely lose his bid for reelection, the final vote tally had Schrader winning by a fairly comfortable five-point margin, picking up 51% of the vote to Bruun's 46%. It was the closest House race in Oregon in 2010, a year in which Republicans picked up at least 63 House seats, but only one on the West Coast.

Tenure[link]

Schrader voted for the Budget Control Act. He voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and in favor of funding SCHIP.^[9][10]

Schrader is a political moderate, breaking with his party more frequently than 63% of the Democratic Caucus.^[11]

On December 17, 2009, Schrader announced that he would become a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.^[12]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry
  • Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry
• Committee on Small Business

Caucus Memberships[link]

• Congressional Arts Caucus

Personal life[link]

Schrader and former Oregon state senator Martha Schrader divorced in 2011.^[3][13] Every one of Schrader's predecessors in the 5th District has also divorced while serving in that office: Denny Smith, Mike Kopetski, Jim Bunn and Darlene Hooley.^[14]

Schrader's district residence is the Kraft-Brandes-Culberston Farmstead in Canby, also known as Three Rivers Farm, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[15]

References[link]

External links[link]

• U.S. Congressman Kurt Schrader official U.S. House site
• Kurt Schrader for U.S. Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Clackamas County Veterinary Clinic

Jeff Merkley
United States Senator from Oregon
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2009 Serving with Ron Wyden
Preceded by	Gordon Smith
64th Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives
In office January 3, 2007 – January 2, 2009
Governor	Ted Kulongoski
Preceded by	Karen Minnis
Succeeded by	Dave Hunt
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 47th District
In office January 3, 1999 – January 2, 2009
Preceded by	Frank Shields
Succeeded by	Jefferson Smith
Personal details
Born	Jeffrey Alan Merkley (1956-10-24) October 24, 1956 (age 55) Myrtle Creek, Oregon
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Mary Sorteberg
Residence	Portland, Oregon
Alma mater	Stanford University (B.A.) Princeton University (M.P.P.)
Profession	Budget and Policy Analyst, Congressional Budget Office
Religion	Lutheran – ELCA
Website	merkley.senate.gov

Jeffrey Alan "Jeff" Merkley (born October 24, 1956) is the junior United States Senator from Oregon. A member of the Democratic Party, Merkley was a five-term member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly representing House District 47, located in eastern Multnomah County within the Portland city limits. He also served as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives.

He defeated two-term Republican incumbent Gordon Smith in the 2008 U.S. Senate election.

Early life, education, and early political career[link]

Merkley was born in Myrtle Creek, Oregon, the son of Betty L. and Darrell Philip Merkley. His paternal grandmother was born in Caliope, Australia.^[1] He attended first grade in Roseburg before moving to Portland with his family.^[2] He graduated from David Douglas High School, obtained a bachelor of arts degree in International Relations from Stanford University in 1979, and earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University in 1982.^[3][4]

After completing his master's in 1982, Merkley was selected as a Presidential Management Fellow, working at the Office of the Secretary of Defense on the security of American military technology. After his fellowship, he worked in the Congressional Budget Office, analyzing nuclear weapons policies and programs.^[5]

Merkley returned to Portland in 1991 to serve as executive director of Portland Habitat for Humanity.^[6] He also started the Walk for Humanity, initiated the Journey for Mankind, launched development of the Habitat Home Building Center, and initiated a pilot project for “YouthBuild” in which gang-affected youth built homes in their own neighborhoods.^[7] He served as Director of Housing Development at Human Solutions, where he worked to make available affordable housing complexes^[8] and launching Oregon’s first Individual Development Account (IDA) program that helps low-income families save money to buy homes, attend college, or start businesses.^[9] Jeff Merkley was President of the World Affairs Council of Oregon^[10] for seven years and continues to serve on the Board of Trustees.^[11]

Oregon legislature[link]

In 1998, Merkley was elected as a Democrat to the Oregon House of Representatives from a district in east Portland (now District 47). He succeeded Frank Shields, who moved from the House to the Oregon State Senate due to term limits.^[12] In its endorsement, The Oregonian predicted that Merkley was the most likely of several Democrats to "accomplish something positive in the Legislature."^[10] Following the 2003 session, he was elected Democratic leader, and after Democrats gained a majority in the Oregon House in the 2006 Oregon statewide elections, he was chosen (in a unanimous vote of the 31 incoming Democrats) to serve as Speaker of the House in the 74th Oregon Legislative Assembly.^[3]

During Merkley's tenure as Speaker, the Oregon House passed several pieces of legislation: it created a state "rainy day fund" (a savings account to protect public schools against an unstable economy); increased funding in Oregon public schools by 14 percent ($1 billion) and by 18 percent ($1.4 billion) in state universities; banned junk food in schools (effective 2009); expanded the Oregon indoor smoking ban; revised the Oregon Bottle Bill; outlawed discrimination by sexual orientation and gender identity in housing and in the workplace; and gave same-sex couples state-granted rights, immunities, and benefits.^[13]

U.S. Senate[link]

2008 election[link]

Jeff Merkley campaigning for Senate

On August 13, 2007, Merkley received the endorsements of Democratic Governor Ted Kulongoski and former Democratic Governor Barbara Roberts.^[14] He was endorsed in December 2007 by the Oregon AFL-CIO, the state's largest labor federation. The union's leaders cited Merkley's 97% record of voting in the interests of working families, and his electability in a general election against the incumbent senator Gordon Smith.^[15] Merkley was the first federal candidate to be cross-nominated by the Independent Party of Oregon.

Merkley won the Democratic nomination to challenge Smith in 2008, narrowly defeating activist Steve Novick and four others in the Democratic primary.^[16] Given the difficulty of running against an incumbent senator, Merkley was initially thought to have only a moderate chance of unseating Smith. But in July 2008, a Rasmussen poll showed Merkley with a lead over Smith, albeit within the margin of error.^[17] By August, after strongly negative campaigning on both sides, Rasmussen reported that Merkley's support had deteriorated, with Smith taking a strong lead in the polls. Merkley's favorable rating was at 42%, while his unfavorable rating had risen to 45%.^[18]

Polls taken shortly before the election indicated that Merkley's standing had once again improved, with Merkley's 12-point deficit turning into a slight lead.^[19]

On election night, the Merkley-Smith race was too close to call, but media outlets including The Oregonian called the race for Merkley on the morning of November 6, and Smith conceded later that morning.^[20] Ultimately, Merkley defeated Smith by three percentage points, 49% to 46%. While Merkley only carried six counties, one of them was his home county of Multnomah County, which he won by a staggering 142,000-vote margin--a deficit which proved too much for Smith to overcome. Merkley thus became the first person to unseat an incumbent Oregon senator since Bob Packwood's defeat of Wayne Morse in 1968.

Merkley formally resigned his seat in the Oregon House in a letter to Secretary of State Bill Bradbury on January 2, 2009.^[21] He was sworn as a Senator on January 6, 2009. Upon his swearing-in, Oregon was represented in the Senate by two Democrats for the first time since Maurine Brown Neuberger served alongside Morse from 1960 to 1967.

Tenure[link]

Merkley has accumulated a progressive record during his Senate career to date. Merkley became the first Democratic member of the Senate to announce that he'd vote against the confirmation of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, citing Bernanke's failure to "recognize or remedy the factors that paved the road to this dark and difficult recession." As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, Merkley became a leading force in the effort to pass the Wall Street reform bill. Merkley championed an amendment known as "Merkley-Levin" or the "Volcker rule" which banned high-risk trading inside commercial banking and lending institutions. In 2010, Merkley successfully included the Merkley-Levin amendment in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill during conference committee. Merkley also championed an amendment that banned liar loans, a predatory mortgage practice that played a role in the housing bubble and subsequent financial collapse.

He was a founding signatory of a mid-February 2010 petition to use reconciliation to pass legislation providing for a government-run health insurance program in the Senate.^[22] Merkley also championed legislation that provides new mothers with a private space and flexible break times to pump breast milk once they return to work. Merkley's breastfeeding amendment was included in the health care reform law and signed into law by President Obama in 2010.

In late February 2010, Merkley again made headlines when he unsuccessfully tried to persuade Republican colleague Jim Bunning of Kentucky to drop his objection to passing a 30-day extension of unemployment benefits for jobless Americans. Bunning replied, "Tough shit." A spokesman for Merkley claimed that the Oregon senator did not hear Bunning's remark at the time.^[23]

In late 2010, Merkley began circulating a proposal to his fellow Senate colleagues about the need to force Senators to filibuster in order to block legislation. In 2011, Merkley introduced a bill to reform the filibuster and help end gridlock in the Senate. He was joined by Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa.

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Economic Policy
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
  • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportion and Community Development
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Environment and Public Works
  • Subcommittee on Children's Health
  • Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
  • Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
  • Subcommittee on Children and Families
  • Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety

Source: 2009 Congressional Record, Vol. 155, Pg. S729{{{3}}}

Political positions[link]

Iraq war[link]

Merkley supports the Reid-Feingold Amendment, a plan for redeploying troops from Iraq,^[24] and has his own five-point plan for stability in Iraq:^[24]

• Removing all combat troops starting right away and completing the redeployment in six to 12 months
• Eliminating permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq
• Engaging Iraq’s neighbors in a diplomatic effort to secure the peace, particularly Turkey, Iran and Syria
• Removing all American contractors from the country and replacing them with Iraqi contractors, and
• Directing our attention toward stronger engagement with the Iraqi Parliament and Courts

In March 2008, Merkley became the first^[25] U.S. Senate candidate to endorse the Responsible Plan to End the War In Iraq.^[26]

Health care[link]

Merkley is a cosponsor of the Healthy Americans Act, the health care reform bill sponsored by fellow Oregon senator Ron Wyden.

Merkley voted yes on the Senate's healthcare bill.

Social issues[link]

Merkley has publicly announced support for same-sex marriage and introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in the Senate during the 111th United States Congress as S. 1584.^[27] BlueOregon, a progressive Oregon blog, commented on the suitability of Sen. Merkley to be lead sponsor of ENDA, noting that as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives Merkley had successfully guided Oregon's state version of ENDA, the Oregon Equality Act, to become law.^[28]

In 2010, Merkley cosponsored legislation to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT), and allow gay Americans to serve in the military openly. In March 2011, Merkley cosponsored legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), legislation that bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

Impeachment of Alberto Gonzales[link]

On August 20, 2007, Merkley called for the impeachment of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.^[29]

Personal life[link]

Merkley and his wife, Mary, have two children, Jonathan and Brynne. Brynne appeared with Merkley in several campaign ads in the 2008 campaign.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jeff Merkley

• Senator Jeff Merkley official U.S. Senate site
• Jeff Merkley for U.S. Senate official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times