Larry Taylor, who was the subject of a Labor Press feature story in September 2023, died in September at age 71.
Taylor was former Democratic Party chair in Multnomah and Clatsop counties. After a career as a project manager at Intel, in retirement he became a certified parliamentarian — an expert on how to use Robert’s Rules of order.
In that role, he helped train people on meeting procedures, and he served unions and other groups as a convention parliamentarian, conferring on stage with union presidents to help meetings run smoothly. He was the parliamentarian at the last two conventions of the Oregon AFL-CIO.
Dear People For Democratic Party Reform,
As is the case with most of PDPR, I am deeply saddened to hear of the loss of our fearless Chairman, Lawrence David Taylor. Honestly, this news came from someplace beyond left field for me, and I’m also a bit shaken. Larry gave so much of his time to our little band of pro-democracy-rebels, that I have been in awe of his dedication since I first met him, taking one of his Cascadia eUnit Parliamentary Classes, back in October of 2020. He was a 1st-class mentor to me. From the moment we met, he encouraged me to study RONR, and take the exam to become a member of the National Association Of Parliamentarians (NAP). On several occasions I’d ask him if he had time to chat and ask him questions about parliamentary procedure. He. Was. ALWAYS. available ! He was completely dedicated to helping folks “democratize” their respective Democratic County and State Central Committees, and to run, if they weren’t already Members. He painstakingly took the necessary time with us, “newbies”, giving us concrete steps we could take to hold Leadership accountable, but also encouraged us to run for those same leadership roles. For me, and I know many of you, his legacy light will never dim, and I will always cherish the memories of my dear friend, Chairman Taylor.
In loving memory,
Jason C. Small
Tonight, a People for Democratic Party Reform group held a virtual memorial for Larry – a courageous, dedicated, and beloved leader of “the people”.
A recording was made, so if you would like to see it, visit the PDPR facebook page.
Many of us will hold his flame in our hearts as we work on for justice at whatever level we can. Let’s also remember his wonderful laugh.