Nick Fish, Leading Figure In NY And Portland Politics, Dies At 61

PORTLAND, OR — It was late 2007, and Nick Fish took a call from a reporter. Fish had moved to Portland from New York just over a decade before. The reporter, who was getting ready to make the same move, was trying to get a sense of what it would be like.

"It's not like New York," Fish said. "Not better or worse, overall. Just different."

Fish was preparing for his third run for the city council at the time. For him, politics was about people. It was a lesson that had been passed through his family for more than 200 years. The Fishes first started serving when Nicholas Fish served in the American Revolution, eventually becoming the chief military officer in New York.

"Always listen to what people have to say," Fish said. "Be open-minded and give them a chance."

Few things were as important as listening for Fish, who died Thursday at 61. Just two days earlier, he resigned his seat on the city council because of "the demands of" battling stomach cancer.

"Serving on the council has been the great honor of my life," he said. "However, I no longer believe that I can do this work at the high level our community deserves and I expect of myself.

"I cannot escape the very sad fact that I will be unable to serve the remainder of my term."

As a city commissioner, Fish spent years trying to fix problems at the Water Bureau and the Bureau of Environmental Services. He also led the Housing Bureau and oversaw parks and recreation.

Fish arrived in Portland in 1996 after his wife, Patricia Schechter, got a job teaching history at Portland State University.

To make the move, he'd stepped down as the chairman of Community Board 5, which covered midtown New York. During his tenure, he championed the successful efforts to turn the run-down Times Square Hotel into affordable housing, helping transform the neighborhood.

Fish's time on Community Board 5 was a natural step in his family's history. Four previous generations had represented New York in Congress. His dad, Hamilton Fish IV, served for 13 terms and was the second Republican member of the House of Representatives to indicate they would vote for articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon.

Regardless of what he was working on, Fish tried to foster a cooperative approach, saying that once a disagreement became public, the cause was lost.

Some people assumed that coming from a family that included numerous diplomats, successful businessmen and elected officials, besides the representatives and senators, would put pressure on Fish.

He would say that was true but not in the way most people thought.

Fish said he never felt that he had to be an elected official.

"It's never about politics," he said. "It's about what you do to help people, what you do with your life."

Fish is survived by Schechter and their two children.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated.