1961, he enlisted in the United States Army. He was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division and the 10th Mountain Division where he served as a public information specialist, writing dispatches to The Nashville Banner, the Louisville Courier-Journal, The Nashville Tennessean, Stars and Stripes, and Army Times, among other publications. AuCoin's Army postings included Fort Ord, California; Fort Slocum, New York; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Fort Benning, Georgia; and Sullivan Barracks, West Germany. While stationed in the segregated South, AuCoin was caught up in a near race riot in reaction to a sit-in by blacks at an all-white lunch counter, an event that crystallized his zeal for progressive politics. Following his Army career, AuCoin worked for one summer at The Redmond Spokesman newspaper, then returned to Pacific University, where he was hired as the director of the school's public information department and simultaneously completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in 1969. He married Susan Swearingen in 1964, and the couple had two children: Stacy in 1965 and Kelly in 1967. Oregon House of Representatives In 1968, AuCoin's opposition to the Vietnam War led him to co-chair Eugene McCarthy's Presidential campaign in Oregon's Washington County, west of Portland. AuCoin stayed with McCarthy after President Lyndon B. Johnson dropped out of the race. McCarthy's upset victory over Robert F. Kennedy in the Oregon Democratic primary encouraged AuCoin to run for elective office in 1970, seeking and winning an open seat in the Oregon House of Representatives in Washington County. Two years later, he was re-elected to the 57th Oregon Legislative Assembly. The Democrats took control of the chamber and he was elected House Majority Leader, the second highest position in the House. During his time in the Oregon House, AuCoin championed environmental, consumer protection, and civil rights issues. As the Democratic floor leader, he helped pass maverick Republican Governor Tom McCall's plan (opposed by legislative Republicans and later rejected by voters) to provide 95% state funding for public schools, enacted statewide land use planning rules, reduced penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana, and established funding of mass transit from highway funds that had been earmarked solely for roads. AuCoin also chaired the committee that led the efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. U.S. Congress In 1974, United States congressman Wendell Wyatt of Oregon's 1st congressional district announced that he would not seek a fourth term. AuCoin won a