Archives West Finding Aid

This oral history interview with Rick Rolf was conducted by Michael O'Rourke in Washington, D.C., and at the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon, from June 3 to September 24, 1988. In this interview, Rolf very briefly discusses his family background and early life in Ontario, Oregon. He talks about how he first came into contact with U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield in 1972 and how he got involved in politics as a result of the war in Vietnam. He discusses working for Hatfield as an intern after college and working toward an embargo on Ugandan coffee. He talks about other members of Hatfield's staff, including Gerry Frank. Rolf discusses how Hatfield interacted with other senators; Hatfield's opinion of the Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan administrations; and Hatfield's work as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Rolf speaks at length about Hatfield's opposition to much of the Reagan administration's agenda, both foreign and domestic. He discusses his foreign policy work of the 1980s, including two trips he took to El Salvador, the peace process in Nicaragua, and observing elections in Guatemala. He also discusses the geopolitics of the Middle East. He talks about Hatfield's feelings on the War Powers Act; Hatfield's filibuster against Selective Service; and Hatfield's opposition to nuclear weapons and nerve gas. He closes the interview by discussing Hatfield's real estate scandal and how it was resolved.