booth gardner - Washington Secretary of State

Baarsma was an activist Democrat with a strong social conscience. He told Booth that
the satisfaction he derived from his work with the kids in the Central Area and Tacoma’s
Metropolitan Development Council, which administered federal anti-poverty programs,
was his heart telling his head which party to join. Jean Gardner suggested Booth talk with
the chairmen of both parties “and find out what their philosophies are.”
C. Montgomery “Gummie” Johnson, a legendary Republican strategist, “was just
‘caveat emptor’ all the way,” Booth remembers. “His political philosophy was, ‘If Jones
can’t get a job, that’s his problem. There are plenty of jobs out there and if he’d keep his
act together he’d get a job.’ ” R.R. “Bob” Greive, the indomitable Democratic majority
leader of the State Senate, said, “We’re here to help those who can’t help themselves. We
make mistakes, probably too many. But better to err on the side of serving somebody than
not serving them until you’re sure where you stand.”
Booth went home that night and told Jean they were – voilà – newly-minted
Democrats. When he broke the news to his stepfather, he says there was surprise tinged
with incredulity but no anger. “Norton would have been happier had I been a Republican,”
Booth allows, smiling at the understatement. When the smoke cleared, Clapp seemed
quietly pleased that Booth was exercising independence. The philanthropist in him had
always been proud of his stepson’s altruism, yet he must have worried whether he was
tough enough to make it on his own. Toughness was a trait Clapp admired. Whenever
he faced heartache – the loss of his mother, two wives, three sons, a stepdaughter and a
brother – Clapp immersed himself in his work and outside activities. Never willing to be
lonely, he married four times.
Some say the imposing stepfather and the seemingly mild-mannered stepson had
some heated confrontations in the years to come. Booth says they rarely talked politics.
What’s clear is that even when Clapp’s Republican friends were grousing that his stepson
was a traitor to his class, he told them to pony up.
After surviving Harvard, Booth had come to “enormously admire” Clapp’s intellect
and self-discipline. A few years later, when he temporarily abandoned politics to head the
family business, he came to see just how smart his stepfather was. One thing is for certain,
Booth says: “He’s the reason I was governor. I don’t think I could have made it on my own. I
just wasn’t in the loop. I had done nothing politically.”
The first step was a seat in the State Senate.
* * *
Tall and handsome, 34-year-old Larry Faulk was a “Dan Evans Republican.” He also
appeared Kennedyesque. In fact, he’d met JFK in 1960 while a student at Seattle University.
Faulk had taken a two-month leave from the Boeing Co. in 1964 to serve as deputy director
of the Evans gubernatorial campaign in Pierce County. Two years later, in a flawlessly
planned campaign that featured more than a hundred clean-cut doorbellers, Faulk upset
two-term Democrat Jack Petrich to become the youngest member of the State Senate.
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