76 sLAde goRton: A hALf centuRy in poLitics
Tom Copeland was pissed. He dearly wanted to move up to speaker
and had campaigned for two months solid to elect Republicans to the
House. When a friend in Seattle told him what Gorton was up to, the
Walla Walla farmer sputtered, “You’re kidding me?”
Copeland was smart and tough. He’d been a lieutenant with a tank
destroyer unit in some of the bloodiest battles of World War II. But he’d
ruffled too many feathers in the caucus by trying to usurp Slade’s role as
lead man on redistricting. Being an east sider didn’t help either.
After narrowly winning the speakership, Eldridge, ever the diplomat,
enlisted Gorton’s support to name Copeland speaker pro tem. They also
expanded the job’s responsibilities. Copeland unquestionably was an op-
erations and facilities expert. He relished his new assignment. He and
John O’Brien teamed up to give legislators offices of their own for the first
time in state history. Copeland, in fact, became the architect of the mod-
ernization of the entire legislative process. While the disappointment of
losing the speakership never went away, he likely left a more indelible
mark on the institution of state government by falling short of his goal.
After all the turmoil of the previous two sessions, Eldridge and Gorton
held out another olive branch. They made it clear to the Democrats that
they would support the re-nomination of Sid Snyder, a popular straight-
shooter, as assistant chief clerk, hoping that henceforth the job would al-
ways go to a member of the minority party.
thepuLR e BicAns got down to business immediately, and any residue of
factional rancor was swept away by the excitement of being in the major-
ity. “The governor was feeding us an agenda that would normally choke a
horse,” Copeland recalled. “Not only were we empowered now, but there
was a lot to do. We were ready for the challenge.”^2
Evans’ “Blueprint for Progress” was one of the most ambitious guber-
natorial agendas in state history. The economy was good but revenues
inadequate to the task at hand. (Washington is one of the few states with-
out personal or corporate income taxes.) Schools were bursting at the
seams with Baby Boomers. Higher education was antiquated. Besides
advocating a limited income tax, the young governor was worried about
urban sprawl and highways that were growing more crowded by the day.
Evans called for a new Department of Transportation, proposed environ-
ment initiatives and lobbied for more effective delivery of social and health
services.
Instead of seating himself at front row center, where the majority
leader usually operated, Gorton borrowed an idea from Greive and placed