Mike Erickson at Portland State

Mike Erickson at Portland State

1984: Erickson transfers from University of Washington, starts at Portland State.

Fall 1985: Erickson becomes student senator for ASPSU.

April 22, 1986: Erickson and running mate Dan Swift win ASPSU presidential election by nine votes.

Oct. 14, 1986: Erickson and Swift are elected to serve on National Student Roundtable lobby group.

Nov. 4, 1986: Erickson and Swift appoint first ASPSU director of international and minority affairs.

Dec. 5, 1986: Due to a failure to confirm the positions at a senate meeting, Erickson is forced to retroactively "terminate" six ASPSU employees, including the director of international and minority affairs.

Jan. 6, 1987: Erickson is allowed to rehire all six ASPSU employees.

Feb. 13, 1987: Erickson testifies before the House Committee on Education and Human Resources about two bills affecting higher education

Feb. 24, 1987: The Coalition of Minority, International and Globally Concerned students publicly requests the resignation of ASPSU President Erickson and Vice President Swift. The coalition was told by Popular Music Board Director Michael Brewin that Erickson and Swift allegedly said, during a homecoming preparation meeting, that they wanted that year’s dance to be whites only.

March 3, 1987: History Professor David Horowitz writes a summary of Michael Brewin’s recounting of his meeting with Erickson, Swift and ASPSU Director of Promotions Christopher Seagle.

Brewin, who was Horowitz’s graduate teaching assistant, said that he requested that a mostly African-American band play for the homecoming dance. According to Horowitz, Brewin contended that Erickson made a face when Brewin mentioned the band and Swift allegedly said, "We don’t want black people coming to this dance. This is for whites only."

Erickson denied involvement in the incident in 1987 and in 2006. Erickson said that Swift had stated that ASPSU wanted to have a different band that would appeal to older students. He said there was no talk of a whites-only dance and said that many reported events in the Vanguard during those times were unfounded.

April 7, 1987: PSU President Natale A. Sicuro meets with the coalition to discuss the allegations they placed against Erickson and Swift.

April 17, 1987: Oregon Gov. Neil Goldschmidt writes a statement for Erickson to give to congressmen during a trip to Washington, D.C.

Erickson uses parts of the statement on campaign literature for the following year’s ASPSU presidential election. Erickson said in 1987 and in 2006 that he had permission to use the statement, but a Goldschmidt spokesman said in 1987 that Erickson had no permission to use the statement as campaign literature.

May 8, 1987: One of the top three candidates for 1987-88 ASPSU president, James Ekeji, is disqualified from the election after posting two oversized posters in Smith Memorial Student Union.

May 12, 1987: Erickson is disqualified for the 1987-88 presidential race by the ASPSU Constitutional Committee, student government’s highest court at the time, because of the "deceptive nature" of some of Erickson’s campaign literature, specifically referencing his use of Goldschmidt’s statement.

May 15, 1987: Tod Northman is elected 1987-88 ASPSU president, beating one of three opponents after two others, including Erickson, are disqualified.

Northman was the Vanguard editor-in-chief during the 1986-87 academic year, but resigned in the spring for the election.

May 19, 1987: Erickson contests election, requesting the decisions about disqualifications be revisited.

July 1, 1987: Northman is affirmed as victor of 1987-88 ASPSU presidential election. The student affairs vice president said that the Constitutional Committee, which decided on the disqualifications of the election, acted within its purview. The vice president sided with the Constitutional Committee over two other Portland State committees, both of which had ruled that the Constitutional Committee had overstepped its boundaries.

Spring 1988: Erickson runs and wins as the Republican nominee for the House District 9 primary race.

Erickson graduates with a degree in business marketing from Portland State.

November 1988: Erickson loses November election to then Tigard Mayor Tom Brian.

All information taken from Vanguard archives, The Oregonian archives and interviews with Erickson.

?”Compiled by David Holley