Robert William Straub (May 6, 1920 – November 27, 2002) was an American politician and businessman from the state of Oregon. A native of San Francisco, California, he settled in Eugene, Oregon, where he entered politics. A Democratic politician, he served in the Oregon State Senate, as the Oregon State Treasurer, and one term as the 31st Governor of Oregon from 1975 to 1979. Like his perennial opponent for governor, Tom McCall, he was a noted environmentalist. Early life Robert William Straub was born on May 6, 1920, in San Francisco. His parents were Thomas J. and Mary Tulley Straub who were staunch Republicans. During World War II, he served in the Army's Quartermaster Corps. Straub earned a bachelor of arts degree from Dartmouth College in 1943, and then a masters of business administration from the school in 1947. While a student at Dartmouth, he married Pat Straub (née Stroud) in 1943, and they had three sons and three daughters. In 1946, the family moved to Springfield, Oregon, when Straub accepted a job at the new Weyerhaeuser facility there. At Weyerhauser he worked with former classmate and later Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives Richard Eymann. Straub also established a construction firm. He became independently wealthy by investing in the stock market, in real estate development, and trading in timber. Political career Straub worked at his construction firm until beginning his political career when he was elected to the Lane County Board of Commissioners in 1954. Straub served on the commission from 1955 to 1959. He represented Lane County in the Oregon State Senate from 1959 to 1963. During his time in the senate, Straub established his reputation as an advocate for natural resource management and conservation. He was one of the state's first leaders to voice concern about air and water pollution. In 1964, Straub was elected to a four-year term as the Oregon State Treasurer. Two years later he ran unsuccessfully for the Governor's Office, losing to Tom McCall. As State Treasurer, Straub worked to create the Local Government Investment Pool and the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). He also opposed construction on U.S. Highway 101 planned for an area south of Tillamook where the highway was planned to go across the Nestucca River, up the sandspit past Cape Kiwanda along the ocean front. He helped lead those opposed to the plan and was able to