The Gortons and Slades - Washington Secretary of State

A man of action and a man
who doesn’t waste words.”
Gorton was “The Lawyer
with a Cause”—“Young,
tough, with a mind like a
steel trap and a deep concern
for making Washington
safe and sane. . . . In the
Legislature they call him
‘The Leader Who Sits in
the Crowd.’ Why? Because
he likes results, not headlines.
And he never walks
away from the tough ones.
Courage is a rare commodity,
but Slade Gorton has it.
Lots of it.”
Kramer was “The Get-
Things-Done Guy” . . . “a
rare breed of no-nonsense
public servant” who had
been “where the action is”
ever since he was elected
secretary of state four years
earlier. For lieutenant governor,
Fletcher was “The
geneRAL goRton 83
“The Action Team” in one of the full page
ads from the 1968 campaign. From left, Art
Fletcher, Dan Evans, Gorton and Lud Kramer.
Washington State Archives
Man With a Plan”—“tall, fluent, with a grasp of problems as broad as his
hands”—an ex-pro football player with two college degrees who could
“transform the office of lieutenant governor just as he transformed the
ghetto of Pasco” where he was a city councilman. 8
The Gorton campaign blanketed the state with a four-page brochure
that featured photos of Slade and Sally leaving for church with their three
cute kids, Tod, 9, Sarah, 8, and 6–year-old Becky; Slade in uniform as a
major in the Air Force Reserve and at the Capitol conferring with the governor.
“Washington is no longer a quiet, secluded state with quiet, secluded
problems,” the candidate said. “It is growing, urbanizing, changing. The
new demands on justice are heavy, reflecting the problems that occur
with the influx of people.” His platform included legislative reforms to
bolster the criminal code, “progressive actions to ensure equal justice,
and aggressive steps to protect consumers.” Gorton also called for the