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"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
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Mossback's Guide to the Governors
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| Contributor | Ralphie |
| Last Edited | Ralphie Jan 15, 2005 09:01am |
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| Category | Profile |
| Media | Newspaper - Seattle Weekly |
| News Date | Wednesday, January 12, 2005 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Washington is about to have a new chief executive—call her the Cinderella Governor. This week, she's taking the oath of office; next week, a court order could turn her into a pumpkin.
In my professional life, they've been a mixed bag—men and women of great strengths and, sometimes, great weaknesses.
Dan Evans: If the state GOP ever had a Camelot, it was during the Evans era, which stretched over three terms from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. This was a time when the most progressive, reform-minded state officeholders were Republicans, led by Evans.
Dixy Lee Ray: Elected as a moderate Democrat in 1976, her sharp mind and tongue—honed in academia—combined with unapologetic anti-environmentalism to alienate many of the people who voted for her, enough that she was dumped in the Democratic primary when she ran for re-election.
John Spellman: The former King County exec was a moderate, mainstream Republican who lacked Evans' boldness or charisma.
Booth Gardner: The plucky Pierce County Weyerhaeuser heir provided a breath of stylistic fresh air, fueled by deep pockets that took him from being a political unknown to the governor's office in a year. Gardner was a Bill Clinton Democratic centrist before most of us had heard of Clinton.
Mike Lowry: The most liberal of the gubernatorial Democrats on this list, Lowry alienated many voters by winning on a promise to raise taxes only "as a last resort," then announcing a likely increase before inauguration day.
Gary Locke: He was a visible and popular icon for Washington's Pacific Rim aspirations and a role model for immigrant offspring rising to the top against the odds.
It's too early to thumbnail Gregoire beyond saying that she and Dino Rossi have some mirror-image qualities. Rossi seems to be all charm and no substance. Gregoire is all substance and no charm. With a little genetic engineering, we might have a governor we can love. |
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