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Bernard Goldsmith Politician

Bernard Goldsmith (November 20, 1832 – July 22, 1901) was the mayor of Portland, Oregon, United States from 1869–1871. He was a Democrat before the Civil War, then shifted to the Republican party in opposition to slavery and in support of Abraham Lincoln, following the national pattern. He ran for mayor on the Union (Republican) ticket, then switched back to the Democratic party in 1875.He was Portland's first Jewish mayor. He was part of a group of successful early Jews in Portland who exhibited a strong sense of public responsibility and appetite for public life, along with another of Portland's early mayors, Philip Wasserman.Portland historian E. Kimbark MacColl called Goldsmith's term as mayor "one of the more successful in Portland history." His accomplishments include adding downtown park blocks and public squares to the city's domain, and in 1871, purchasing 40 wooded acres in the hills above downtown Portland, which would become the nucleus of what is now Washington Park. The $32,000 price drew considerable criticism. Goldsmith was the driving force behind the building of locks to navigate around the Willamette River falls across from Oregon City, which allowed boats to travel from the Pacific Ocean to Eugene, Oregon, cutting the cost of shipping Willamette Valley goods to Portland by half. Goldsmith and his associates obtained a $200,000 legislative grant from the state of Oregon for the project; when cost estimates more than doubled, Goldsmith paid an additional $200,000 out of his pocket.Goldsmith was born in Bavaria in 1832 and died in 1901. When he was young, he worked in his father's store. He came to America with his brother, Solomon, and apprenticed as a watchmaker in New York. He became the most prosperous Jew in Oregon, and was the eighth-wealthiest Portland resident when he served as mayor.In 1864, businessman Goldsmith was one of the original directors of the Library Association of Portland, founded in that year.Goldsmith was a backer of the Willamette River Navigation Company, as well as the Willamette Falls Locks and Canal Company, which was responsible for building the Willamette Falls Locks. He was one of twelve founding members of the elite Portland Stock and Exchange Board in 1865.