Helen Sommers: An Oral History

Melinda McCrady
CoMMUNiCaTioNS DiReCToR
MeliNDa McCRaDY
HoUSe DeMoCRaTiC CaUCUS
pg. 187
In 1998, I was the state-wide Field Director for the House Democratic Campaign Committee. At that time, Helen
Sommers was the treasurer of the HDCC, and also helped with a lot of the candidate recruiting. So even though
I had met her during the 1998 session while working as a temporary Public Information Officer, I got to know her
much better on the campaign side.
A couple little stories stand out in my mind from that time. The first one involves – what else? – money. As the
treasurer of the campaign committee, Helen had to approve my expense reimbursements. I may not have known
much about her, yet, but even then I had heard about her tight hand on the budget.
So as I travelled all over the state that summer and fall, I generally stayed in very cheap motels or camped-out
in candidates’ basements. When it came time for the state convention, however, I knew the accommodations were
going to cost quite a bit more than usual.
A little nervous about that, I mentioned to Helen in a meeting that I was trying to find somebody with whom to
share a room. She looked at me for a minute with that expression many readers would recognize, and then she said,
“Melinda, adults certainly should not have to share hotel rooms!”
Everybody at the table was quiet for a minute and then we all burst out laughing. After a moment, Helen laughed,
too. “That wasn’t exactly the way I meant that,” she said.
The other campaign story happened after the election. The Democrats had done somewhat better than expected
that year, picking up seven seats and moving into a 49-49 tie in the House. Needless to say, Helen was very pleased.
She and Speaker Frank Chopp took the campaign staff out for dinner at Gardner’s Restaurant in Olympia. We had
a lovely meal, but we only briefly talked about the campaign or the election. That was all in the past. Helen instead
wanted to discuss the book she was reading at the time – Undaunted Courage, about the Lewis and Clark expedition.
She was animated, informed, and fascinating, and we all had a wonderful time.
I joined the House Democratic Caucus staff that December on a permanent basis, and soon was assigned to
work with Helen as her PIO and as the caucus “translator” for the operating budget. It was only after I started that
job that I began hearing stories about Helen – how afraid other legislators, lobbyists, and staff were of her, how intimidating
she was, and how difficult it was to get on her good side. None of those things jived at all with the Helen
I knew! To me, she was brilliant, funny, and interesting.
It was my pleasure to work with her from 1998 until her retirement. Sometimes we worked very closely together
and sometimes not as much. But she was unfailingly kind to me and to all her staff, bringing us snacks when we
worked late into the night and making sure we were included in whatever meetings we needed in order to do our
jobs. Certainly, I saw tensions between her and other members from time to time, but this is the absolute truth – in
all the years I worked with her I never once heard her say a negative thing about another Representative or Senator.
She disagreed with them, sometimes vehemently, but she was always respectful and courteous of their positions.
When Dan Monahan met with Helen about this Oral History the first time, I went with him. Helen’s reaction
was typical of her. “Really?” she said. “Who would be interested in reading that!!?”
A lot of us, Helen. A whole lot of us.
State of
Washington
House of
Representatives
OFFICE OF DEMOCrATIC COMMUNICATIONS DIrECTOr:
102C leGiSlaTiVe BUilDiNG, Po BoX 40600, olYMPia, Wa 98504-0600 • 360-786-7385
PRiNTeD oN ReCYCleD PaPeR