Raised in Ashland, Oregon, Fred Neal graduated from Beaverton High School and attended Pomona College, earning his law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School. Fred held various government positions in Oregon over a 32-year period and all of
them involved the Oregon State Capitol.
Fred started out as a law clerk in Legislative Counsel working in a crowded storage room before the wings were built, in 1975. He returned as a Deputy Legislative Counsel to a real office with a real door in 1977. In the early 1980s he lobbied through the State Court Reform, reorganizing and refinancing the state trial and appellate courts. He served as Legal Counsel to the League of Oregon Cities, was the “Non-Lobbyist” for Multnomah County and then returned to the State Capitol as his office building, serving as an elections manager for the Secretary of State, retiring in 2006.
Fred has been on the OSCF board since 2009 and served as Chair from 2015-2017.
I’ve loved our Capitol from my first visit to my latest and am familiar with every nook and cranny. The building is open, simple and honest, adorned with home-state art and visual records of our history, just like government should be everywhere!
Fred Neal