# Jay Bowerman
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{{Short description|13th Governor of Oregon}}
{{For|the American Olympic biathlete|Jay Bowerman (biathlete)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name= Jay Bowerman
|image= Oregon Governor Jay Bowerman.jpg
|caption=
|order=13th
|office= Governor of Oregon
|term_start= June 17, 1910
|term_end= January 11, 1911
|lieutenant=
|predecessor= [Frank W. Benson](/source/Frank_W._Benson_(politician))
|successor= [Oswald West](/source/Oswald_West)
|office2= [President](/source/List_of_Presidents_of_the_Oregon_State_Senate) of the [Oregon State Senate](/source/Oregon_State_Senate)
|term2= 1909–1910
|preceded2= [E. W. Haines](/source/E._W._Haines)
|succeeded2= [Ben Selling](/source/Ben_Selling)
|constituency2=
|birth_date= {{birth date|1876|8|15|mf=y}}
|birth_place= [Hesper, Iowa](/source/Hesper_Township%2C_Winneshiek_County%2C_Iowa), US
|death_date= {{death date and age|1957|10|25|1876|8|15|mf=y}}
|death_place= [Portland, Oregon](/source/Portland%2C_Oregon), US
|spouse= Elizabeth Hoover Bowerman, 1903;
Wayfe Hockett Bowerman, 1914
|profession= Lawyer
|party= [Republican](/source/United_States_Republican_Party)
|alma_mater=[Willamette University](/source/Willamette_University)
|children=[Bill Bowerman](/source/Bill_Bowerman)
|footnotes=
}}
'''Jay Bowerman''' (August 15, 1876 – October 25, 1957) was an American politician of the [Republican Party](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) who served as the 13th [governor of Oregon](/source/governor_of_Oregon), for the final few months of the term of [Frank Benson](/source/Frank_W._Benson_(politician)), who retired due to illness.
==Early life==
Bowerman was born in [Hesper, Iowa](/source/Hesper_Township%2C_Winneshiek_County%2C_Iowa), the son of Daniel and Lydia (Battey) Bowerman. He received his early education in public schools and moved to [Salem, Oregon](/source/Salem%2C_Oregon), in 1893.
Bowerman entered [Willamette University](/source/Willamette_University) in 1893, and graduated with a [law degree](/source/Willamette_University_College_of_Law) in 1896. He was admitted to the Oregon Bar the following year, practicing law in [Salem](/source/Salem%2C_Oregon) until 1899. He then moved to [Condon](/source/Condon%2C_Oregon), in [Gilliam County, Oregon](/source/Gilliam_County%2C_Oregon), where he lived for the next 12 years. There he became a law partner of H. H. Henricks. Bowerman's service in the [Spanish–American War](/source/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War) briefly interrupted his practice of law.
==Political career==
{{See also|1910 Oregon gubernatorial election}}
Bowerman was a [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)). He was elected to the [Oregon State Senate](/source/Oregon_State_Senate) from Gilliam County in 1904 and was reelected four years later. He served as president of that body from 1909 to 1911.
When Governor [Frank W. Benson](/source/Frank_W._Benson_(politician)) was incapacitated by ill health in June 1910, he asked Bowerman, as president of the Senate, to assume gubernatorial responsibilities. On June 16, 1910, at age thirty-three, Bowerman became Acting Governor.
Mindful of the bureaucracy of a large administration, Bowerman advocated the establishment of a [Board of Control](/source/Oregon_Board_of_Control) to administer the state institutions, which would permit fiscal savings by combined purchasing for state institutions through the office of a single purchasing agent. However, the Board of Control was not established until the administration of his successor.
He also acted to reduce the risk of loss through bank failure by prohibiting Oregon bankers from the use of speculative stock as assets if they had actively promoted that stock.
In 1904, the citizens of Oregon adopted a direct primary law prohibiting party nominating conventions. Establishment Republicans, unwilling to relinquish party control over nominations, held an "assembly" in 1910 at which they nominated Bowerman as their candidate for governor.
Bowerman's [Democratic](/source/U.S._Democratic_Party) gubernatorial rival, [Oswald West](/source/Oswald_West), cast him as an opponent of the [Oregon System](/source/Oregon_System) of direct government. Bowerman campaigned on a platform supporting modernized highway systems, increased economies in the administration of government, and continued tight control of state land management.
Bowerman was also involved in a sex scandal, having an affair with his secretary.[{{cite news
|title=The courage to follow (Editorial)
|work=Brainstorm NW
|url=http://brainstormnw.com/archive/oct06_editorial.html
|date=October 2006}}]
West defeated him 54,853 votes to 48,751.
==Later life==
After leaving the office of governor on January 8, 1911, Bowerman moved to [Portland](/source/Portland%2C_Oregon), where he resumed the practice of law. He was reelected president of the State Senate but retired following the 1911 session.[{{cite web| url= http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_oregon/col2-content/main-content-list/title_bowerman_jay.html|title= Oregon Governor Jay Bowerman|publisher=National Governors Association|accessdate=August 11, 2012}}]
As a private citizen he actively supported Oregon's first statewide bond issue for highway construction, a $6,000,000 proposal. He also served as an active lobbyist for years at the [State Legislature](/source/Oregon_Legislative_Assembly).
Bowerman died in Portland in 1957, and was buried in Lincoln Memorial Park in Portland, Oregon.
==Personal life==
From an early age, Bowerman was estranged from his father.