Bruce Craswell returning to political stage

A political veteran is adding his voice to Washington’s newest chorus of social conservatives.

Bruce Craswell, husband of the late Ellen Craswell, is signing on with the

Washington Values Alliance. The Arlington-based group is led by Larry Stickney, a longtime friend of the Craswells and former executive director of the Family Policy Institute.

Bruce Craswell was chief of staff to King County Executive Ron Dunlap and ran for Congress in 1998. Ellen Craswell was a Republican state lawmaker who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1996.

Separately and together the Craswells made an indelible mark on the state’s political landscape in the 1980s and ‘90s. The staunch fiscal and social conservatives inspired and mentored a small fleet of individuals many of whom remain involved in politics today including Stickney.

Over time the couple broke with the Republican Party. Doing so diminished their political influence significantly but not the loyalty among the ranks of principled conservatives.

Here’s the press release from the Washington Values Alliance:

The Washington Values Alliance (WAVA) announced today that Dr. Bruce Craswell will help lead the newly formed political organization. “A veteran of countless campaigns and political battles over the years, Bruce Craswell brings to our organization his steady hand, political savvy, and impeccable character”, said Larry Stickney, President of WAVA. “I’m ecstatic to have him on our team as an advisor and our Treasurer.”

Well known and respected in the Pacific Northwest as a gifted “behind-the-scenes” political mover and shaker, Dr. Craswell was chief of staff to King County Executive Ron Dunlap in the early 1980s and ran for Congress in 1998. A long-time Kitsap County resident, Craswell was married to the late and much beloved Senator Ellen Craswell, the 1996 Republican candidate for Governor.
“Bruce and Ellen were often considered each others ideological and philosophical alter egos”, said Stickney. “Bruce has spent many of the past 40 years promoting or defending the principles our organization is founded on. I believe that conservatives everywhere are looking for the real thing, and that is what you get with Bruce. On the critical issues of our day, there’s no one I’d rather stand with on the political battlefield than Dr. Craswell.”
The mission of the Washington Values Alliance is to promote and reinforce the fundamental American principles of individual liberty, personal responsibility, free enterprise and limited government; to encourage respect for the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Washington; and to vigorously defend human life, the institution of marriage, religious freedom, and Judeo-Christian values.

For 2009, the Washington Values Alliance is focused on building a statewide grassroots network and their priority number one is to counter the homosexual lobby’s efforts to redefine marriage.