Buttons - State Campaign - 1968

Governor John O'Connell, Democrat

In 1968 three term Washington State Attorney General John J. O'Connell made an attempt to unseat incumbent Gov. Dan Evans. I like the way the designer of this button used the now outdated voter lever in place of an apostrophe.

Although Dan Evans enjoyed the nickname "Straight Arrow" in his 12 years as Governor of Washington State, I must say I recall all three of his gubernatorial campaigns, 1964-1972, as being quite nasty. In fact, in his last campaign he employed serial killer Ted Bundy.

Buttons - State Campaign - 1968

Dan Evans

I found this button on the ground when Washington State Gov. Evans was running for his second term in 1968.

Comic art historians might be interested to know Gov. Evans, along with State Sen. Gordon Sandison, was an important figure in the creation of The Evergreen State College. TESC is now known as a hotbed of cartoonists. When Gov. Evans stepped down after serving an unprecedented consecutive three terms as Governor, he became the President of Evergreen and it was viewed as a very controversial move at the time.  

The editor of the school paper, The Cooper Point Journal, during this turmoil was none other than Matt Groening. And here's a bit of Matt trivia. He's not only a great cartoonist, he's also a great journalist. He could've been an amazing investigative reporter, but as it happened his talents were used to better advantage.

Here's yet another bit of trivia. The Evans administration actually employed me ca. 1976 to conduct phone polling. I got paid per each completed survey. It was a night job conducted by college students mostly. This gig was very educational for me in that I heard the vox populi unfiltered.

Phone photo 1713

Redwood named after Dan Evans in Centennial Park, Olympia, Washington

Bezango: Ted Bundy-- Elected Official?

Olympia Power & Light # 39 (July 27-August 9, 2011).

Ted Bundy was not only politically active in Olympia, he was a rising star in the Washington State Republican Party. It is chilling to consider the potential of how far he could've gone in government policymaking if his campaign shenanigans had not been uncovered.