Former governor and senator modernized state government, promoted higher education, advocated for the environment and defined what it means to be a Republican
OLYMPIA – Dan Evans left such a deep stamp on the state of Washington that people today might have trouble believing one man could accomplish so much, said Senate Republican Caucus Chair Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake.
From higher education to environmental protection, social services and the advancement of minority groups, Evans led reforms that brought Washington state into the 1960s and laid the foundation for the state government of today. Evans served eight years in the state House, 12 years as governor, six years as president of The Evergreen State College, five-and-a-half years as a U.S. Senator, and he remained an elder statesman of his party until his death Friday at the age of 98.
“Dan Evans lived long enough to become a legend,” said Warnick, speaking for the Senate Republican Caucus. “We see his time as governor as a ‘golden age’ for Olympia, when state government rose to meet its challenges, wisdom prevailed and Washington made significant progress. The accomplishments of the Evans Administration remain impressive nearly 50 years after he left office. We wonder, did one man really do all this?
“Evans showed us what political leadership is all about. He led the efforts that created our community college system and the first state-level agency devoted to environmental protection, the state Department of Ecology. He reorganized state government around the principles of professional management and customer service. He turned a chaotic jumble of social service programs into the Department of Social and Health Services and he brought coordination to a bureaucracy that needed it. And when other states turned their backs on refugees who had backed our side in Vietnam, Evans put out the welcome mat and said ‘come here.’
“For all this, Evans always maintained he was a believer in limited government and conservative principles. I know at the time many scoffed. But I think it is easier to see what he meant now that so much time has passed. These weren’t half-baked schemes to remake our economy and society to suit political ideologies. These were necessary responses to the needs of a growing state at a time when government was becoming increasingly complex, and our political system needed to accommodate new voices and interests. This was a classic Republican approach to reform that preserved our system, kept intrusion to a minimum and laid the groundwork for today.
“In the Legislature today we work in Dan Evans’ shadow. We write budgets using procedures that began in the Evans Administration, we work with the agencies he created, and we finance programs he championed, especially public land acquisition for parks and other purposes under the Washington Recreation and Wildlife Coalition. We employ graduates of the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington, which was inspired by his moderate and thoughtful approach to public policy. Those of us in Olympia who had the honor to know him respected his advice and counsel, and we know what an opportunity the nation missed when he was passed over for nomination as vice president in 1968 and 1976.
“I always found it amusing when Dan said his goal was merely to leave the state better than he found it. He did so much more than that. His administration was the high-water mark for Washington state government, and he showed us what elected officials can accomplish when they put good governance ahead of politics.”