booth gardner - Washington Secretary of State

In agency after agency, I’ve seen the hard work and dedication to the common good that
I expected. I want you to know that I have faith and confidence in you. Our challenge,
working together, is to make the people of this state proud of their government.” Echoing
Dan Evans’ often-recounted declaration in his own 1965 inaugural address that he’d “rather
cross the aisle than cross the people,” Gardner said he couldn’t solve the state’s myriad
problems without the help and support of the Legislature. “In each house there is an aisle
which separates the two political parties. Between the two houses there is a corridor which
separates them. One floor in this building separates the executive from the legislative branch
of government. …Never has it been more essential for state government to be united.”
Noting that the state’s centennial was just four years away, Gardner said “the Age
of the Pacific” was already here, with the world’s focus turning toward the nations and
states of the Pacific Rim. “In a spirit of rediscovery, rededication and renewal,” he said, “we
should spend the next four years actively preparing for our second century.”
Fans hailed it as an uplifting “breath of fresh air.” Critics said it was long on vision
and short on specifics. One observed
that it sounded a lot like John Spellman.
That night, the Triscuits and
salami ran short as 4,000 cheering
revelers crowded under the Capitol
dome. They prodded the tuxedoed
governor into taking a few dance steps
with the First Lady, who was stunning
in a sequined pink and rose sheath
as he twirled her. The toast featured
California champagne because the
Inaugural Committee couldn’t find
any in-state bubbly within its budget.
Tomorrow, the governor said, barely audible in the din bouncing off all that towering
marble, it would be time to get to work.
* * *
Beginning on a bipartisan note that drew praise from political friends and foes,
Gardner decided to retain Karen Rahm as secretary of the labyrinthian Department of
Social & Health Services and Amos Reed, a 69-year-old veteran of prison management in
several states, as secretary of the Department of Corrections. Eight other less influential
Spellman appointees were also reappointed. The back story was that Booth wanted
everyone vetted so carefully that he ran out of time on some appointments and resolved to
go with the flow for a while to see who was and wasn’t up to snuff; if holdovers generated
some political capital at the outset, so much the better. “Nobody is permanent,” Orin Smith
emphasized. Rahm didn’t last long and Reed was gone by the next summer.
The governor gives the First Lady a twirl at the Inaugural Ball. Jerry Buck
©The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) 1985 Reprinted with permission.
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