384 sLAde goRton: A hALf centuRy in poLitics
have to send Bill down
to Oregon to cam paign
for a sales tax.” The
audience laughed, and
Gates had to chuckle,
too.^ Initiative 1098 went
down in a landslide.^19
A2011 dned, s Aw the Re -
publican caucus in the
state Senate appointed
Gorton to the biparti-
san Redistricting Com-
mission created by con-
stitutional amendment
in 1983. House Demo-
crats chose Dean Foster,
Bob Greive’s aide when
the wily majority leader
and Gorton fought their landmark battles over apportionment a half cen-
tury earlier.
Sitting side by side on the five-member panel, Gorton and Foster helped
hash out a timeline to achieve consensus on a plan to present to the Legis-
lature by Jan. 1, 2012. “There are two good and valid reasons for beating the
Dec. 31 deadline,” Gorton observed. “We need to be sure everyone is heard
and we need to give aspiring candidates more time to start working on
campaigns... .We can’t cheat each other on a partisan basis. That’s the ge-
nius of this commission. There are only four votes. Let’s see if we can do it
as early as possible.” In the audience, multiple representatives of several
members of congress nodded approvingly—doubtless some aspirants as
well. The 2010 Census had granted Washington a tenth seat in Congress.
During a break, Gorton’s biographer mused that Greive’s bow-tied ghost
would be hovering nervously when they started crunching numbers, this
time with computers instead of adding machines and Shell Oil roadmaps.
“He’s here somewhere,” Foster joked. Gorton grinned and nodded.
That afternoon one of his former Senate aides called to say she had the
perfect title for this book: “Slade Gorton: The first 80 years.”
Dean Foster and Gorton, who sparred over redis-
tricting in the 1960s, reminisce after a hearing
conducted by the 2011 Washington State Redis-
tricting Commission. Foster represents the
House Democratic Caucus, Gorton the Senate
Republican Caucus on the five-member com-
mission. John C. Hughes/The Legacy Project