KOIN.com

Mike Schrunk, longest serving Multnomah County DA, dies at 80

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schrunk presides over the public inquest in the shooting of James Jahar Perez, Wednesday, April 28, 2004, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Pool, Jim Clark)

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Mike Schrunk, the longest-serving Multnomah County District Attorney in history, died Monday at the age of 80.

His death was confirmed by former Clackamas County DA John Foote, who worked for Schrunk for 10 years.

“Mike Schrunk was the greatest public prosecutor in the history of Oregon. One of his favorite sayings was ‘It’s amazing what you can accomplish when no one worries about who gets the credit’. That’s why people still don’t appreciate all that he did,” Foote told KOIN 6 News.

Schrunk spent 32 years in public service, first joining the Multnomah County DA’s Office in 1970. He went into private practice for a while until he was elected DA in 1981.

When the Multnomah County Commissioners dedicated a day in his honor in 2012, it noted he served “with more than 300 prosecutors, 14 police chiefs, eight county sheriffs, five mayors, and more than a couple dozen county board members.”

Rod Underhill took over as DA when Schrunk retired. Underhill stayed for years until current DA Mike Schmidt was elected in 2020.

Mike Schrunk came from a family of public servants. His father, Terry Schrunk was mayor of Portland from 1957-1973. A downtown park directly across from City Hall is named for Terry Schrunk.