R. Frank Atwood: an Oral History
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R Frank Atwood R Frank R Frank Atwood An Oral History WSOHP Being in the eye of the hurricane is where you want to be There is no substitute for being in the leadership There just isnt You have much more ability to act and have influence on what you want to do When you are sitting on the sidelines in the rear ranksbeing in the rear ranks is not fun, unless you dont careif you just want the glory My first two years I was in the back seat, the total back seat You couldnt get any further back unless you were downstairs The next two years I was the whip! Now, I was starting to climb The next two years, I went to the floor leadership, and then I was floor leader for four years Then I went to the top gun, but once you get up there in the top three, its fun; its a lot better An Oral History Washington State Oral History Program Office of the Secretary of State R. Frank Atwood An Oral History Interviewed and Edited by Sharon Boswell Washington State Oral History Program Offi ce of the Secretary of State Sam Reed, Secretary of State Published 2003 Washington State Oral History Program All rights Reserved ISBN 1-889320-16-1 Library of Congress Subject Headings 1. Atwood, R. Frank, 1926-present 2. Legislators—Washington—biography 3. Washington—politics and government Washington State Oral History Program Offi ce of Secretary of State PO Box 40243 Olympia, WA 98504-0243 Telephone: (360) 704-7141 Dedicated to Marie and the kids, who were long-suffering through my eighteen years in public service. Surrounding Frank and daughter Suzanne, who are seated at his desk on the Senate fl oor, are the rest of the family: Roy, mother-in-law Lulu Matson, who helped care for the children during the session, Marie, and Deborah. CONTENTS Forewords Richard G. Marquardt James A. Andersen Preface Acknowledgements Refl ections Sharon Boswell Biographical Highlights Interviews 1. Coming of Age: The Road to Bellingham .............................1 2. City Politics..............................................................................19 3. First Legislative Campaign ....................................................33 4. First Leadership Role. ...........................................................59 5. Leadership and Budgets ........................................................79 6. Media Coverage and the Power of the Executive................97 7. Budgets, Law Enforcement, and Military Service...............113 8. The Toughest Race and a Paper Storm................................128 9. The Environment and Minority Politics...............................148 10. Ethics, Budgets and the Continuing Session Concept.........159 11. Bills for All Seasons: 1973 ...................................................181 12. The Last Session ...................................................................201 13. Life after the Legislature .....................................................212 14. A Legislative Career in Perspective: Some Refl ections......232 CONTENTS Appendix: Photographs, Articles and Correspondence Index FOREWORD The three most important positions of leadership in the state Senate are the whip, the floor leader and the caucus chairman Frank Atwood held each of these positions during his twelve years in the Washington State Senate and performed these duties with dedication It should be pointed out that these positions are elective Your peers in the state Senatethose who know you bestselect you because you have the leadership abilities needed by the entire caucus and that is why Frank Atwood was chosen Frank knew almost instinctively the role and objectives required and earned the respect of the entire Senateboth Democrats and Republicansfor his stewardship and performance in these coveted and powerful positions I can recall, when a freshman senator, I leaned on leadership for advice and direction and Frank was always there, explaining the pros and cons of every issue, but leaving the decision making to the individual senator Frank Atwooda great leader in our state Senate DICK MARQUARDT Former State Senator Former Insurance Commissioner FOREWORD Frank Atwood is an outstanding example of a generation of courage, integrity, and principle He grew up in the Depression, served his country in the Armed Forces during World War II, returned after the war to continue school and established himself in his chosen profession He went on to serve his city as a councilman and, later, his legislative district as Senator This was in the critical period of the states history when we started growing from one million plus in population toward the five million plus we are now It was the era of the true citizen legislaturewhere you served your fellow citizens because you believed that public service was the highest calling and this despite the job paying peanuts at the time The fundamental act of governance is budgeting, choosing how much and on what to spend limited state moneys As Senator Atwood, he was respected and trusted implicitly by his Republican colleagues to represent them on the budget-writing Free Conference Committee There he did an exceptional job due to his budget expertise and the universal respect in which he was held by both his Democratic and Republican colleagues It was the peoples loss when the Legislature became virtually full-time, and he was forced to choose between legislative service and his law profession JAMES A ANDERSEN Former State Representative and Senator Chief Justice (ret) State of Washington Supreme Court PREFACE The Washington State Oral History Program was established in 1991 by the Washington State Legislature It is located in the Office of the Secretary of State and guided by the Oral History Advisory Committee The purpose of the program is to document the formation of public policy in Washington State by interviewing persons closely involved with state politics and publishing their edited transcripts Each oral history is a valuable record of an individuals contributions and convictions, their interpretation of events and their relationships with other participants in the civic life of the state Read as a series, these oral histories reveal the complex interweaving of the personal and political, and the formal and informal processes that are the makings of public policy The Oral History Advisory Committee chooses candidates for oral histories Extensive research is conducted about the life and activities of the prospective interviewee, using legislative journals, newspaper accounts, personal papers and other sources Then a series of taped interviews is conducted, focusing on the interviewees political career and contributions Political values, ideas about public service, interpretation of events and reflections about relationships and the political process are explored When the interviews have been completed, a verbatim transcript is prepared These transcripts are edited by program staff to ensure readability and accuracy and then reviewed by the interviewer and interviewee Finally, the transcript is published and distributed to libraries, archives and interested individuals An electronic version of the text is also available on the Secretary of State Web site (wwwsecstatewagov) Oral history recording, while assisted by careful research, is based on individual memory and perspective Although great effort is expended to insure accuracy, recollection and interpretation of events vary among participants Oral history documents present uncensored accounts of relationships, actions and events; readers are encouraged to analyze and weigh this primary material as they would other historical evidence It is the hope of the Oral History Program that this work will help the citizens of Washington better understand their political legacy and the persons who have contributed years of service to the political life of our state WASHINGTON STATE ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Washington State Oral History Program wishes to thank all of those individuals who contributed to this project Senator Atwood gave freely of his time to record the interviews and then to proofread and provide answers to endless questions about the text He was unfailingly good-humored and accommodating, and we owe him a huge debt of gratitude for the time and care he has lavished on this project His wife, Marie Atwood, was also exceedingly helpful in searching for photographs and providing other needed information, and we appreciate her willingness to assist us in so many ways People in various archives and libraries around the state located research materials and answered informational requests Special thanks go to Terry Badger of the Washington State Archives for going above and beyond the call of duty in looking for photographs and providing us with scans for this publication In Bellingham, James Copher of the Northwest Branch of the State Archives and Elizabeth Joffrion of the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies at Western Washington University also helped us to locate Atwood materials Another invaluable resource was the Washington State Library, and we are always grateful for the professionalism and invaluable suggestions of the library staff The Oral History Advisory Committee, created by statute in 1991 to guide and advise the program, recommended Senator Atwood as a candidate for an oral history We would like to thank the present members of the committee for their dedication and steadfast support for the program: Secretary of State Sam Reed, Secretary of the Senate Milt Doumit, Chief Clerk of the House Cindy Zehnder, Senators Don Carlson,