Former Washington Gov. Dan Evans crossing a creek in the Cascades. (Courtesy of Gary Smith)
The last vestiges of the golden age of governors passed with the death of former Washington Gov. Dan Evans . He died on Sept. 20 just four weeks shy of his 99th birthday.
Evans was the last living member of what the press called the “Three Musketeers” – Govs. Cecil Andrus of Idaho, Tom McCall of Oregon and Evans of Washington.
I call that period when their terms overlapped “the golden age of governors” because all three men are considered by many as the greatest governors of their respective states. In fact, in 1983 the National Governors Association named Evans one of the 10 most outstanding governors of the 20th century.
What is most significant about the “Musketeers” is that all three achieved their remarkable success by collaborating with the lawmakers of the opposite party – Republicans McCall and Evans reached across the aisle to Democratic legislators and Democrat Andrus with Republican lawmakers. Andrus’ friendship with Republican Gov. Phil Batt is something of a legend in Idaho.