John Spellman

John Dennis Spellman (December 29, 1926 – January 16, 2018) was an American politician who served as the first King County executive from 1969 to 1981 and the 18th governor of Washington from 1981 to 1985.

Spellman was elected governor in 1980 amid large gains for Republicans across the country. During his tenure, the Washington State economy suffered due to the early 1980s recession. Spellman was defeated in his reelection campaign in 1984. As of 2025, he is the last Republican to have held the office of Governor of Washington.<ref name="Seattle"/>

Early life and education

Spellman was born in Seattle, to insurance executive Sterling Bartholomew "Bart" Spellman<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Times-Bart">Template:Cite news</ref> and teacher Lela A. Spellman (née Cushman).<ref name="Times-Lela">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He was of Irish and English Puritan descent.<ref name="SOS"/> His paternal grandfather, Dennis Bartholomew "Denny" Spellman, arrived in Seattle from Ireland just before the great fire of 1889 and became a successful plumbing contractor.<ref name="SOS"/> His maternal grandmother was one of the first white children born in Oregon Territory and settled in the town of Brownsville.<ref name="Times-Lela"/> His father, Bart, was a standout guard for the University of Oregon in its 1917 Rose Bowl victory over the heavily favored University of Pennsylvania and later was an assistant coach at both Oregon and the University of Washington.<ref name="Times-Bart"/><ref name="SOS">Template:Cite web</ref>

Spellman was raised in the Eastside suburbs of Hunts Point, Washington and Bellevue, Washington with his sister Mary;<ref name="Times-Lela"/> his older half-brother David Bartholomew was killed during the Korean War.<ref name="Times-Bart"/><ref name="HistoryLink">Template:Cite web</ref> He completed his high school education at Seattle Preparatory School, graduating in 1944.<ref name="SOS1"/> The same year, he left high school midway through his senior year studies to enroll in the Merchant Marine cadet program during World War II and served in the United States Navy.<ref name="SOS1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="SOS"/> Under the G.I. Bill, he was a 1949 BBS graduate of Seattle University in history and political science,<ref name="SOS1"/> and a 1953 graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center.<ref name="Seattle"/> Spellman met his wife Lois Elizabeth Murphy (1927–2018), who was from Havre, Montana, in a Spanish class while attending Seattle University;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the two were married in 1954 and had six children together, Margo, Bart, David, Jeffrey, Teresa and Kat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="SOS"/>

Early political career

Spellman entered politics after joining a group of progressive Republicans who sought to reform the party.<ref name="HistoryLink"/> He became a member of the Municipal Civic Service Commission while practicing as an attorney in the early 1960s.<ref name="Times-1964Evans">Template:Cite news</ref> Spellman ran for mayor of Seattle in 1964, but did not advance past the primary.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He campaigned for Daniel J. Evans in his successful bid to become governor later that year.<ref name="Times-1964Evans"/> Spellman was elected to the three-member King County Commission in 1967.<ref name="Fox">Template:Cite web</ref> Following a voter-approved plan to implement a new Home Rule Charter in 1968, the office of County Executive was established and Spellman was elected the county's first chief executive over former governor Albert Rosellini in 1969.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref name="Fox"/>

Spellman played the lead role in establishing the county's new governmental structure under the Charter.<ref name="Fox"/> He consolidated previously independent departments and replaced the old patronage system with a merit system.<ref name="Tribune"/> Spellman supervised the controversial process of siting and building the Kingdome, the domed stadium that provided the first home for the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Mariners, and initiated early efforts to deal with uncontrolled growth.<ref name="OPB"/> He was twice re-elected to the office in 1973 and 1977.<ref name="Seattle"/>

Governor of Washington (1981–1985)

Spellman first ran for governor in 1976 and was the top Republican in the state's blanket primary, but lost the general election to Democrat Dixy Lee Ray.<ref name="OPB">Template:Cite news</ref> Spellman again ran for governor in 1980, narrowly defeating representative Duane Berentson in the primary.<ref name="Tribune"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Jim McDermott was the Democratic nominee, having defeated Ray in the primary, but was defeated by Spellman by a lopsided margin in the general election in a year Republicans made big political gains across the country.<ref name="OPB"/>

During Spellman's four-year term of office, Washington's economy suffered a serious recession marked by rising unemployment and disappointing tax revenues.<ref name="Tribune"/> The State Legislature was deeply divided over how to address an alarming revenue shortfall, but did agree to an increase in Washington's statewide sales tax rate from 5.5% to 6.5%.<ref name="Tribune"/><ref name="Seattle"/> Despite campaign promises to oppose new taxes, Spellman pushed for $2.5 billion in new taxes to address funding shortfalls.<ref name="Times-1983Jan">Template:Cite news</ref>

One of Spellman's memorable policy stands was his strong commitment to environmental protection.<ref name="Tribune">Template:Cite news</ref> Against pressure from business groups and many legislators, he vetoed a bill permitting for an environmentally-risky development project by Chicago Bridge & Iron in a sensitive shoreline area of Whatcom County. The veto was overridden by a vote of the state senate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He successfully blocked a proposed oil pipeline that would have crossed under the Puget Sound over potential endangerment of the waterway's ecology and refused to back down amidst public support of the project.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In September 1983, upon the death of United States Senate member Henry M. Jackson, Spellman appointed former Republican governor, Daniel J. Evans, who was the second president of Evergreen State College, to fill the vacant seat.<ref name="Tribune"/> While the Democratic party protested the appointment of a Republican to fill the seat vacated by a Democrat, Spellman's appointment was considered lawful under the then-current statutes.<ref name="Tribune"/> As state law required an immediate primary and general election for the remaining U.S. Senate seat term, a primary election was held just three weeks after Evans' interim appointment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1984, Spellman ran for a second term of office. After a Democratic primary between then-State Senator Jim McDermott, former state Representative John Jovanovich, and then-Pierce County Executive Booth Gardner, Spellman faced a difficult battle in the general election against Democratic nominee Gardner.<ref name="Seattle"/> In the November 1984 general election, Spellman was defeated by Booth Gardner, and no Republican has served as governor of Washington since.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Post-governorship career

After leaving office in January 1985, Spellman returned to private law practice.<ref name="Seattle"/> In 1990 he ran for election as a justice of the Washington Supreme Court against Richard P. Guy, but was not elected.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Spellman was a partner at the Seattle-based law firm, Carney Badley Spellman.<ref name="Seattle"/>

Spellman was awarded the James R. Ellis Regional Leadership Award from the Municipal League of King County in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

Spellman suffered a fall on December 27, 2017, which resulted in a broken hip.<ref name="COD"/> He was admitted to Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle for treatment and died of pneumonia on the morning of January 16, 2018, at the age of 91.<ref name="Seattle">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="COD">Template:Cite news</ref>

References

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