Helen Sommers: An Oral History

The Press
lican co-chief clerk under the co-Speakers, said
years later of Bagnariol and Berentson, “Sitting
there with those guys was just a lot of fun. They
could fight with one another and still be friends.
It’s not like that today when [the parties] fight and
become enemies” (Turner and Callaghan).
Chiechi’s Democratic counterpart, co-Chief Clerk
Dean Foster, recounted that “Baggie” (as Bagnariol
was often known) and Berentson, joined by other
legislative leaders and the chief clerks, reached agreement
over drinks at the Thirteen Coins restaurant
in Seattle. In late December 1978 Bagnariol and
Berentson announced that they would serve as co-
Speakers, presiding over the House on alternating
days. Under the carefully negotiated arrangement,
each party would also name co-chairs of seven of
the most important House committees. Chairs of
the remaining 14 committees were divided evenly
between the parties. Procedural rules ensured that
no significant action could occur without participation
by both parties.
With the agreement in place, the formal election
for Speaker on January 8, 1979, took place in
an upbeat and friendly atmosphere. Bagnariol and
Berentson each received 49 votes and were each
sworn in as Speaker. Republican Representative
Irv Newhouse contributed to the festivities by
presenting Berentson and Bagnariol with a special
gavel that had two separate handles set 90 degrees
apart, so that the co-Speakers could jointly the
gavel session to order.
Reflecting the amiable spirit of the day, which
concluded with dual champagne receptions for the
co-Speakers, the official House Journal dutifully
recorded Bagnariol’s assurances of co-operation:
“I would like to point out just a few similarities
– we purposely wore suits that were very close
to being the same; we both wear the same kind of
glasses. Duane and I are both salesmen; we both
drive reddish-brown Lincolns – his is a little faster
than mine [Berentson had recently been stopped
twice for speeding]. We’re going to work well together”
(Journal).
Co-operation Continues
pg. 303
By all accounts the co-operative spirit largely
endured through the 1979 legislative session. Controversial
matters were generally avoided and much
of the legislation that passed did so unanimously
or by large margins. The one big exception was the
budget, which could not be put off and on which
the parties were deeply divided. As in most years,
the Legislature did not agree on a budget during
the 60-day regular session and was called back into
a special session, which this time dragged on for
months. Berentson finally ended the stalemate by
reluctantly voting with the 49 House Democrats
for the Democratic-supported budget, allowing
the House to adjourn for the year.
Berentson and Bagnariol presided jointly over
a much shorter House session in the spring of 1980,
before that fall’s election ended the membership tie.
Propelled by the scandal surrounding the arrest
and eventual conviction of Bagnariol and Senate
Democratic Leader Gordon L. Walgren on racketeering
charges and by the nationwide Republican
landslide led by Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), House
Republicans claimed a 56-to-42-seat majority and
elected Bill Polk of Mercer Island as Speaker.
By then both former co-Speakers had left the
House. Bagnariol lost in the primary after his arrest.
Berentson ran unsuccessfully for the Republican
nomination for governor; in 1981 he was appointed
head of the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Bagnariol and Berentson were not the
last duo to serve as co-Speakers. Republican Clyde
Ballard and Democrat Frank Chopp reprised the
roles when the elections of 1998 and 2000 produced
consecutive membership ties in the House.
Sources
House Journal of the Forty-Sixth Legislature
of the State of Washington (Olympia: Washington
State House of Representatives, 1979), pp. 19-21;
“Turning Points Timeline: House of Representatives
Members in a Tie,” Washington Secretary of State
website accessed July 8, 2009 (www.secstate.wa.gov/
legacyproject/TurningPointsTimeline.aspx?t=4);
“State of Washington Members of the Legislature:
1889-2009,” Washington State Legislature website