Charles Jordan, Portland’s first African-American city commissioner and one of the architects of the city’s nationally renowned parks system, died Friday morning of a long-term illness.

The city flag was lowered Friday for former City Commissioner Charles Jordan.

Jordan was 77 and had largely removed himself from public life as he dealt with the increasing impact of Alzheimer’s disease.

“He just had such a presence, everything from his towering height to his powerful voice to all those great aphorisms he used,” said City Commissioner Nick Fish. “He will be remembered as the guy who taught us that at the core of a great parks system is a commitment to serving families, and especially to serving kids.”

Jordan was born on Sept. 1, 1937, in rural Longview, Texas, and did not know his father. His mother, a domestic servant, moved Jordan and his two siblings to a Native-American reservation near Palm Springs, Calif., when he was 13.

"That's where he learned to love the environment," said his son, Dion Jordan. "They were out in the desert, out in these big open spaces."

Charles Jordan's voice

Charles Jordan was known as a man of many aphorisms. Here are some of his more famous sayings, courtesy of the Portland Parks Bureau.

“What people don’t understand, they won’t value; what they don’t value, they won’t protect; and what they don’t protect, they will lose.”

“Today you follow, but tomorrow you will be expected to lead.”

“If change is to be, it’s up to you and me.”

“Dreams are simply goals with wings.”

“Don’t let anyone steal your joy.”

“Take good care of yourself and you can care for others.”

“We’re more than just fun and games.”

“Develop a passion for something and do it well.”

“Model the way – you never know who is watching and wanting to be just like you.”

Jordan earned a basketball scholarship to Gonzaga University. He spent two years in the U.S. Army, did graduate work at Loma Linda University and the University of Southern California, and came to Portland in 1970 to work on the Model Cities Program, the federal anti-poverty program.

That job brought Jordan into the circle of smart, ambitious, progressive young politicians and planners who remade Portland in the early 1970s. In 1974, then-mayor Neil Goldschmidt appointed him to an open seat on the Portland City Council. He became the first -- and still one of only two -- African Americans to serve on the City Council.

As a city commissioner, Jordan prodded the Fire Bureau to hire more people of color and pushed for more civilian oversight of the Portland Police Bureau after a series of racially divisive shootings. He was police commissioner when two off-duty officers dumped dead possums outside a black-owned Northeast Portland restaurant, an incident seen as threatening and racist by many African Americans. Jordan and then-Chief Bruce Baker fired the officers. The officers’ union fought back, holding a no confidence vote that prompted Baker to resign. Soon after, Mayor Frank Ivancie took the bureau back from Jordan.

“Ivancie basically fired him,” said Mike Lindberg, who served on the City Council at the same time as Jordan. “Charles was trying to do the right thing, but the political pressure was unbelievable.”

Jordan resigned his City Council seat in 1984 to run the parks department in Austin, Texas -- his $64,000 salary in Texas was almost $20,000 more than he’d earned as an elected official. He returned to Portland in 1989 to become parks director here.

His homecoming was controversial: Lindberg, then the parks commissioner, brought Jordan back without conducting a national search for the job. That prompted a state investigation into whether Lindberg had given him the job in exchange for Jordan agreeing not to run against Mayor Bud Clark in 1992.

Investigators found no evidence of illegal activity.

Jordan led the Parks Bureau for 14 years, through a period of rapid change and growth. Portland gained 44 new recreational facilities during his tenure, implemented dozens of free offerings such as Movies in the Park and became nationally recognized for its approach to public parks. He helped create the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, the Southwest Community Center, the East Portland Community Center and the University Park Community Center. He retired in 2003 one month after voters approved a $49 million parks levy.

“In staff meetings, Charles would also tell us, ‘This is not fun and games. What we do helps people. It helps them be proud of their neighborhoods, it helps them feel good about themselves, it helps them feel like part of a community,’” said Zari Santner, who worked under Jordan and then succeeded him as parks director.

After leaving city government, Jordan spent several years running the Conservation Fund, an Arlington, Va.,-based nonprofit that works on environmental issues nationwide. Among his accomplishments there was establishing a land trust for black farmers in a remote stretch of eastern North Carolina.

Doctors diagnosed Jordan with Alzheimer’s disease in 2000. By 2005, his memory problems were bad enough that he left the Conservation Fund to concentrate on writing books and spending time with his family.

Two years ago, the City Council renamed University Park Community Center after him.

“He was just a giant in this city,” Lindberg said. “He made contributions that helped every neighborhood, every single citizen.”

Jordan is survived by his wife, Esther Jordan, two children and three grandchildren. Family members are planning a small private memorial but say they will also participate in a broader community celebration of Jordan’s life.

“All his accomplishments, all the jobs he had, all the things he did, it all came from his love of people,” his son said. “He had a huge heart, and his goal was always to treat people right. ‘Treat them fair. Love them.’ That’s why he did the work he did. He was just this smart, funny, wonderful man.”