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| King County Councilmembers and Executive Constantine honored former WA Governor and U.S. Senator Dan Evans, alongside his wife, Nancy, at a ceremony at the King County Courthouse. |
On the day after his 98th birthday, the King County Council recognized former Senator and Governor Dan Evans for his many years of outstanding service to the State of Washington, both at home and in the other Washington.
"Today we live in an era of division at all levels of government, but when Dan served, he was a master of reaching across the aisle, working with two Democratic senators when he was governor and with a Democratic governor when he was a senator.
“Dan was also a groundbreaking legislator when it came to the environment,” said Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer, who co-sponsored the Recognition.
“In the early 1970s, when most politicians weren’t focused on the environment, Dan made Washington state a frontrunner in environmental protection.
"From establishing the first, state-level ecology department in the United States and co-founding the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, to helping pass the 1984 Washington Wilderness Act and the 1988 Washington Park Wilderness Act when he was a United States Senator, Dan built an environmental ethos that still runs through our state today.
"Dan took risks for the issues he believed in, even when they weren’t popular, and our state is eternally grateful he did.”
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| Dan Evans with Councilmember Rod Dembowski |
After serving in the Navy during the Korean War, Dan was elected to the Washington State legislature, where he was a state representative until running for governor in 1964.
Dan served as Washington State Governor for three terms, from 1965 to 1977, and went on to serve as a U.S. Senator representing Washington state until 1988.
Outside of his political career, Dan was active in education, presiding as President of the Evergreen State College, and serving 12 years as a regent at the University of Washington, which named its School of Public Affairs after him.
“There’s not been much of consequence that Dan Evans didn’t work on during his time in public office and in other work,” said co-sponsor of the Recognition Jeanne Kohl-Welles.
“To me, he is a legend, a hero. A one of a kind who I can’t imagine being replaced. I was privileged to get to know him as a new legislator, in particular in sharing a love for and high priority for ensuring access to affordable, equitable, quality higher education.”
Fun Fact: Nancy Bell Evans used to teach music at the now gone Paramount Park Elementary.
ReplyDeleteWe need more leadership of the kind the Dan Evans exhibited, as a Republican of his era.
ReplyDeleteDan is an amazing individual who we have been so fortunate to have as Governor, U.S. Senator, and other offices. I recall when I was attending the University of Washington (now called) Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, Dan came to give a presentation at the school. He had been out of Congress for about 10 years at the time, the late 1990s, but yet he was so incredibly articulate and knowledgeable about what was going on in "the other Washington" unlike nobody else I had ever seen before or since.
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