booth gardner - Washington Secretary of State

Other critics took note of the tension in the inner circle and stoked the embers.
They said it seemed as if Orin Smith, the budget chief, had more influence on the governor
than Foster or Harris. Becky Bogard, the governor’s legislative liaison, was said to be a
weak link. Foster was respected on both sides of the aisle. Why not move him into that
job? And why did such a hot-shot manager need 17 more staff members than Spellman?
* * *
Minority Republicans pointed to a better-than-expected revenue forecast and said
they could fund many educational improvements without new taxes. They were licking
their chops at the prospect of hitting the campaign trail in 1988 with a no-new-taxes
budget. Lawyers, CPA’s and hair dressers were certainly impressed. In the Senate the GOP
found allies in three defecting Democrats and created an impasse that forced Gardner to
call a special session. When the smoke cleared, they had dramatically diluted his public
school education-reform plan.
What he got was considerably
better than nothing, although
the teachers’ union gave it a “D”
and sent him to the corner. The
package featured approximately
$141 million for new programs
and enhancements, notably $28
million to modestly decrease class
sizes in K through three; $24 million
for teacher raises (a minimum of
2.1 percent); $6 million for early
childhood education; $5.5 million Booth meets with representatives of the Washington Education
Association. Leon Horne, left, of Tacoma, played a key role in the WEA.
for dropout prevention and $50
Gardner family album.
million in block grants to school
districts. There was also seed money for “Schools for the 21 st Century,” Gardner’s pilot
program to allow 21 schools the freedom to experiment with innovation.
The Washington Education Association asserted that “The Education Governor” had
been exposed as a wimp. It decried the “paltry” raises and Booth’s failure to produce more
new teachers and a higher beginning salary. Harris says the teachers’ frustration blinded
them to a major truth: Booth Gardner was not their enemy. Dan Grimm, the House Ways &
Means chairman, who won many new admirers during the session with a maturing blend
of idealism and pragmatism, said the WEA’s intransigence undermined the governor’s
attempts to form a pro-education coalition. Grimm called the WEA the most ineffective
lobby in Olympia. The teachers would not be moved, asking, “Would you compromise on
your children’s future?”
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