Reagan left his mark on the county

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, June 5, 2004

Ronald Reagan left a deep and abiding impression on the politics, economy and people of Snohomish County and throughout the state of Washington.

Nearly every Republican office-holder, candidate and activist invokes Reagan’s name as a personal inspiration and shaper of their political ideology.

Check the ledgers of corporate Washington and it becomes apparent that the thaw in the Cold War that began in Reagan’s tenure paid, and continues to pay, dividends for the Port of Everett, Boeing and dozens of other businesses.

Many, such as Jerry Miller of Mill Creek, said seeing and meeting President Reagan rejuvenated their spirits and their optimism for a nation recovering from the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal.

“He was human, poignant and really struck at the heart of reality,” said Miller, a former Snohomish County Republican Committee chairman and host of the weekly “Republican Radio” show on KTTH (770 AM).

Miller first heard Reagan speak in 1964 at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco. “He almost upstaged (Barry) Goldwater. We were just mesmerized. His vision for America just blew us away.”

In 1980, Reagan upended incumbent President Carter, and his coattails stretched long into Washington state, aiding Republican John Spellman’s victory as governor. The Republicans have not held that office since then.

Republican Ralph Munro narrowly won the secretary of state’s race. “I was one of those people who would probably have gotten whipped without the Reagan landslide,” he said. Munro went on to serve four terms.

Snohomish County Councilman John Koster never met Reagan, but said he entered politics in 1990 because of him.

“He’s one of my political heroes,” he said. “The belief and the vision Reagan had in America motivated a lot of people to get into politics.”

Reagan’s political impact is “underrated,” said Lou Cannon, a Washington Post reporter and author of five books on Reagan’s career.

“This guy had a pull and a tug that carried his party into parity and beyond,” said Cannon, who lives in Santa Barbara, Calif. “It is impossible to conceive of a Republican majority in Congress without Reagan.”

Another trait often overlooked is Reagan’s practice of politics. “He set a civil tone that is very often absent today,” Cannon said. “He was not mean-spirited, not vindictive.”

Reagan is credited with coming up with the party’s “11th Commandment,” which aims to keep Republicans from blasting one another during campaigns.

Washington’s Republican Party required candidates to sign a pledge not to violate the commandment to speak no ill of a fellow Republican or face a fine. When U.S. Senate candidate Reed Davis refused to sign the pledge, party leaders barred him from speaking at the recent state convention, concerned that he would criticize his primary opponent for U.S. Senate, Rep. George Nethercutt.

But Reagan never shied away from a fight with Democrats who criticized his economic policies for widening the gap between rich and poor citizens and held him responsible for the Iran-Contra affair. Reagan’s popularity was higher when he left office than when he entered.

And he’s still a lightning rod for partisans.

Edmonds resident Ric Oslin, 44, said his father was a big Reagan fan, but, “I didn’t care for him as a president. I thought he was a good man and he was well-intentioned. I just didn’t like his intentions.”

Reagan stirred debate this year among Snohomish County Council members.

On Feb. 6, Reagan’s 93rd birthday, Koster and the council’s two other Republicans, Jeff Sax and Gary Nelson, passed a resolution proclaiming President Ronald Reagan Day in Snohomish County. Democrats Kirke Sievers and Dave Gossett dissented.

Economically, the county and the state benefited from the Cold War thaw and Reagan’s free-trade philosophy.

While it took time, Reagan’s meetings with Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev paid dividends in 1993 when the first Russian cargo ship arrived in the Port of Everett to pick up a load of food, according to Carl Wollebek, director of marine terminals for the port.

Over the following two years, 35,000 tons of Washington produce, including apples, potatoes, cabbage and flour, made their way to the former communist republic.

For many, the greatest impact Reagan had on them was personal. Through his career in radio, movies, television and politics, and as his celebrity grew, he left a lasting impression on those he met.

Edmonds police and fire chaplain Ken Gaydos said he looks for integrity in determining leadership, and Reagan had that quality. And that made him a great leader, he said.

A former radio newsman in California, Gaydos, 65, met the former president when he was stumping to become governor of that state. He’d shake people’s hands, look them in the eye and remember their names, Gaydos recalled.

What impressed Gaydos the most was the way Reagan consoled families of crew members of the ill-fated Challenger space shuttle following the explosion. No priest or minister could have offered more comfort, he said.

“He was a tremendous example” for the young people growing up during his presidency, he said.

At the Darrington Public Library, Margie Goodwin told of meeting Reagan in 1947 when he was a well-known actor. He came to Virgil High School in Los Angeles, where Goodwin was a student, to present an award for an essay contest. The girls at the school mobbed him adoringly.

“They practically half-undressed him in the parking lot,” she said. “I was kind of upset. I thought they were pretty ill-mannered.”

She wrote Reagan, thanked him and received a handwritten reply. Years later, Goodwin absentmindedly threw out the letter with other trash.

“I burned a piece of history, and I didn’t know it,” she said. “When I told my sister, she cried.”

You can reach Reporter Jerry Cornfield at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.

Reporters Jim Haley, Scott Morris and Lukas Velush contributed to this story.