[1][2] U'Ren promoted and helped pass a corrupt practices act, the presidential primary, and direct election of U.S. senators.

William Simon U'Ren (accent the last syllable)[1]: 285  was born on January 10, 1859, in Lancaster, Wisconsin,[3] the son of immigrants from Cornwall, England.

[6] A long-time sufferer of asthma, while in Colorado U'Ren contracted tuberculosis, and consequently moved to Hawaii in search of a climate that would make possible his recovery from the frequently fatal illness.

[6] U'Ren then moved to the western part of the state, settling in the town of Milwaukie, Oregon, just outside Portland, where he established a law practice.

Mrs. Durkee knew that the Lewellings, a local fruit growing family, had often offered lodging and care to hard luck cases, such as U'Ren was.

Albert Lewelling gave him a copy of James W. Sullivan's book Direct Legislation by the Citizenship Through the Initiative and Referendum (1892) and U'ren decided to invest his time and effort in the cause.

U'Ren brought together representatives of the state Farmer's Alliance and labor unions to form the Direct Legislation League, of which he was named secretary.

After his 1897 defeat, U'Ren reorganized the Oregon Direct Legislation League to broaden the base of initiative, referendum, and recall support.

[10] In 1908 U'Ren led the successful effort to amend[11] the Oregon state constitution to accommodate proportional representation that would provide voters with first, second and third choices on the ballot.

"[12] U'Ren was a strong proponent of the single tax system advocated by Henry George, but was unsuccessful in getting it adopted in Oregon.