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Mike Marshall, the combative political operative who founded Oregon Recovers seven years ago, announced he’ll leave his post at the end of 2024.
“As you may know, I am currently running for City Council in Portland,” Marshall wrote in an email blast today. “Regardless of the outcome of the election, I will hand over the reins of Oregon Recovers to the next executive director in December.”
Related: A City Council entrance interview with Mike Marshall.
Marshall came to Oregon from California in 2013 to run a statewide same-sex marriage campaign. When the courts unexpectedly legalized same-sex marriage, Marshall moved over to run then-Gov. John Kitzhaber’s re-election campaign in 2014. Following Kitzhaber’s victory over the late Dennis Richardson, Marshall became the executive director of the City Club of Portland.
In 2017, Marshall, who overcame addiction to drugs and alcohol, co-founded Oregon Recovers. The premise: Nearly every family is touched in some way by addiction, a disease that crosses racial, cultural and economic boundaries but previously lacked a cohesive voice. From the group’s beginning, Marshall took an aggressive stance, clashing with the alcohol industry and the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, and breaking with progressive groups in 2020 to oppose Measure 110, the drug decriminalization measure that passed overwhelmingly but soon careened in a ditch.
Related: Leading Addiction Advocacy Services Group Announces Opposition to Measure 110
In a political arena where passive-aggressive behavior and faux politeness rule, Marshall left the passive part out. He challenged his opponents and told uncomfortable truth about the damage drugs and alcohol due to Oregonians—both wreak more damage here than in many states. He made plenty of enemies in Salem but did so, he has often explained, in service of saving people’s lives and helping them get sober.
“When we set out seven years ago to create a movement of people in recovery, I could not have imagined the vibrancy and size of the statewide community we have built,” Marshall said today. “It has been the honor of my life to serve as executive director.”