The end of an era is coming to Washington County in 2025: Roy Rogers, former three-term Tualatin mayor and a county commissioner representing District 3 for the last 40 years, is stepping down.
Rogers has shaped the direction of the county in many areas during his long tenure, and his name might sound familiar because a quarter century ago, the Washington County Board of Commissioners named a new road connecting Scholls Ferry Road and 99W after him.
Mayor of Tualatin
Rogers has lived most of his life in Tigard or Tualatin, and he noted that his community service started in Tualatin, where he was living next door to the mayor, Jim Brock, in 1975.
“We got acquainted, and Jim said, ‘We need someone on the Budget Committee,’” Rogers said. “I went to a meeting, and I knew more than the city staff about state budget laws.”
Rogers might have to thank his dad for that. Rogers, born in 1948, was raised in Portland near the Columbia River, graduated from Madison High School and was headed for a career in accounting, but because Portland State University didn’t offer a degree in accounting, Rogers earned a business degree. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but my dad said accounting would be a good career,” Rogers said.
He initially worked for a large, national accounting firm in Eugene, which folded and became part of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Back in Portland, “I joined this firm,” Rogers said in the conference room of Pauly Rogers & Co., where he became a partner. “Sometimes you find a home and don’t stray too far. Beyond doing a lot of normal tax practice, we do a lot of government audit work and municipal accounting.”
And he went on to become president of the Oregon Society of CPAs after serving on several board positions. Rogers is now a licensed municipal auditor with 200 clients including cities and school districts, but even at the time he was living in Tualatin, he was a natural fit for the city’s Budget Committee and joined. Then there was a vacancy on the Tualatin City Council, and Rogers was appointed to that seat. Soon he was the council president, and then the council elected him mayor when there was a vacancy. Rogers went on to win three terms as mayor, noting that he spent a total of 7 ½ years on the council; during his mayoral tenure, he was president of the Oregon Mayors Association.
Serving on the Board of Commissioners
Then some local politicians, including (future Tigard mayor and county commissioner) Tom Brian, asked him to run for county commissioner. Brian was his campaign manager in his race against the incumbent, and Rogers won the election in May 1984 and started serving as the commissioner in January 1985, which means he will mark four decades on the commission in January.
“People ask me all kinds of questions about my long years of service, and I respond that I have been very fortunate and very blessed,” Rogers said. “It’s not about fame or fortune. There is no fame or fortune. It’s always about service and always surrounding yourself with excellent staff. You go out and make speeches and cut ribbons while the staff does all the hard work. I have always been lucky to have had excellent staff – that’s what has kept me going.”
Ironically, as a county commissioner, the only hiring he did was the county administrator, the Clean Water Services CEO and the county counsel but not any of the support staff.
Due to his longevity on the board, Rogers is in a unique position regarding the workload compared with the other county commissioners. “We were originally all part time, until three years ago when they decided to be full-time,” he said. “I didn’t want to be a professional politician. I am a citizen legislator.”
While the other four commissioners went full-time with full-time salaries, Rogers said he initially worked 40 percent time with a commensurate salary and now is officially working halftime. “I’m not critical if that’s what they chose to do,” he said.
“I always thought we were policy-makers, and we hired people to implement the policies,” Rogers added. “But now it is more hands-on. If I hire people to do things, I expect them to do that. If you pay them to do a job, what are you doing if you have to do it for them? What are they doing?
“If people want to be professional politicians, that’s OK. I know that sounds strange. (Former Mayor of King City) Jean Young said, ‘We don’t need more politicians, we need more statesmen to make the hard decisions.’”
Rogers said he goes to his office in the Washington County Courthouse in Hillsboro a couple times a week and usually meets people in his business office on 72nd Avenue in Tigard. “People like the convenience,” he said.
Career accomplishments
Rogers hesitates when asked what he considers his accomplishments during his long tenure on the Washington County Board of Commissioners. “I have zero accomplishments by myself,” Rogers said. “County staff had accomplishments and are the backbone and real heroes of the county.”
However, he concedes that “there isn’t a project around here that I didn’t have a hand in.”
One project was bringing a commuter-rail line (aka WES or Westside Express Service) to Washington County linking Beaverton and Wilsonville with stops in Tigard and Tualatin.
Another is the expansion of Clean Water Services (CWS), which was originally formed as the Unified Sewerage Agency in 1970 consolidating 26 separate wastewater treatment facilities. It evolved into a water-resources management utility by also recovering valuable resources and managing stormwater and the flow of the Tualatin River, according to its website.
“We were under a mandate,” Rogers said. The Unified Sewerage Agency was renamed Clean Water Services in 2001 to reflect its broader role in protecting water resources, and in 2004 CWS received the country’s first watershed-based National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.
“CWS is recognized around the world for the work we do here,” said Rogers, whose contributions led to him earning two national awards for his work in the clean water industry.
On another front, he said, “We do a lot of interesting things with our blended rural and urban multi-model. That includes the homeless crisis and long-term solutions. Another is developing the framework between cities and the county for development. I was involved in the Intel negotiations on such issues as tax abatement, but we respected each other as we came to a conclusion.”
One of Rogers’ proudest accomplishments is the formation of the Washington County Cooperative Library Services system that features inter-library loans, library mail service, and much more. And did you know that Washington County runs the largest street-lighting system in the state?
“Our tent is pretty big,” Rogers said. “I’m a strong proponent of including cities in county business.”
When Rogers first became a commissioner, the county’s population was around 230,000, and now it’s 630,000. “We are adding the equivalent of a city the size of King City every year,” Rogers said.
Naming Roy Rogers Road
Perhaps the most controversial project during Rogers’ tenure was naming Roy Rogers Road after him after the original road that ran between Scholls Ferry and Beef Bend roads was extended to 99W in Sherwood with some pushback from business owners and farmers along the road. “The property owners along the road said, ‘Name it after one of us,’ and Tom Brian suggested we see what they had contributed to the area,” he said. “No one had contributed any significant public service, and there is nothing wrong with that, but it’s not a reason for recognition.
“But they fought us the entire time and wanted a fortune for their land. I was involved in transportation all that time and went back to Washington, D.C., for funds. The other commissioners wanted to name the road after me, which I thought was a nice gesture.
“We couldn’t have three different names for three different sections of that road, and the commissioners thought the guy who did the work and put it together should have his name on it. They didn’t think it would be controversial. I do things because they are the right thing to do. I didn’t vote on it and abstained. My dad was dying during that time. It was tough.”
Reflections
Rogers also clarifies that he is not named after a certain singing cowboy from yesteryear (the middle of the last century). “Roy was my mother’s dad, and I was named after him,” he said.
And Rogers has changed his mind about some things. “I was opposed to term limits, but now I’m in favor of them,” he said. “I believe I represent your kids and grandkids as well as you. You have to look forward – that’s my job. And we need people of different backgrounds to serve on our boards and commissions as well as take responsibility. If I can’t take responsibility and accountability, then I shouldn’t be doing it. I sound like one of those old people I listened to 50 years ago.”
Why, after 40 years as a county commissioner, is now the time to step down? “Now is the time,” Rogers said. “One year after I won my last election, the other commissioners went full-time. I was not ready to leave my business. It’s no secret I was a minority of one on the issue. Since the rules changed after my last election, I’m the last one under the old system.”
Rogers noted that “I have always been a volunteer at heart,” and his volunteerism has netted him several awards. These include First Citizen of Tigard, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tualatin Chamber of Commerce and a Legacy Award from the Washington County Chamber of Commerce.
Rogers and his wife Adrienne each have two grown children in their blended family and five grandchildren between them.
