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| Affiliation | Republican |
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| Name | Joel Pritchard |
| Address |
Seattle, Washington , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
May 05, 1925 |
| Died |
October 09, 1997
(72 years) |
| Contributor | Ralphie |
| Last Modifed | RBH
May 25, 2016 05:31pm |
| Tags |
Caucasian - Divorced - Married - Cancer - Army - Presbyterian -
|
| Info | Joel McFee Pritchard was born in Seattle, Washington, on May 5, 1925. He was the second son of Frank and Jean Pritchard. He and his brother, Frank, attended Queen Anne-area schools and were avid members of the local YMCA. Joel attended Camp Orkila on Orcas Island for many years as both a camper and a counselor, a significant influence on his life and outlook. Close family relationships and deep roots in the community characterized Joel's upbringing.
Joel served in the American Division in the Philippines, and Bougainville, and in the occupation forces in Japan during World War II. He returned home to continue his college education, choosing to attend Marietta College in Ohio. Upon marriage to Joan Sutton, Joel left college and returned to Seattle to begin family life and his career with the North Pacific Bank Note Company as a salesman. He worked with that company and its affiliate company, Griffin Envelope Company, for twenty-five years, retiring as president of Griffin. Joel and Joan had four children.
Upon Joel's return to Seattle in 1948, he became involved in political activities locally and on the national level in his support for President Eisenhower. He was a founding member of the Evergreen Republican Club and the Republican Discussion Club. Along with his father and brother, Joel was an Eisenhower delegate at the state Republican convention of 1952. He later attended the national Republican conference in 1956. He became the Republican district leader for the 44th district in 1954. He, with his brother, worked on many campaigns, including George Kinnear's bid for the US Senate in 1950, Bill Devin's campaign for mayor two years later, the successful attempt to replace State Senator Kimball with Ted Peterson, Congressman Tom Pelly's re-election campaign of 1954, Gordon Clinton's surprising win of the Seattle mayoralty race in 1956, and the statewide campaign of Phil Evans for Congressman-at-large in 1956. The Pritchard brothers were considered to be "organizational marvels" with their energetic and innovative campaign tactics.
After a decade of working on campaigns, Joel ran successfully for state representative for the 36th district in 1958. He entered the Legislature during a period of Republican minorities and worked closely with fellow legislators Dan Evans, Slade Gorton, Charles Moriarty and others to build a new team of dynamic and moderate Republicans. Each campaign season saw the success of more of the "new breed" until Dan Evans became Republican leader in 1960 and eventually governor in 1964 after an arduous campaign, ably assisted by Joel and Frank Pritchard. Joel became one of the new governor's most able lieutenants in the House of Representatives and in the Senate after 1967, steering executive legislation and other measures through the process. As a state senator, Joel was the chief architect of the liberalization of the state's abortion law. He was a noted supporter of civil rights, environmental legislation, anti-gambling measures, and other reforms.
In 1970, Joel made his first bid for Congress, against longtime incumbent Tom Pelly. Although unsuccessful, the vote count was closer than expected, which made him the front runner in 1972. Narrowly defeating the Democratic candidate, Joel became the representative for the First Congressional District, an office he held until 1984.
He entered Congress at a time when the country was increasingly riven over the Vietnam War and then the effects of Watergate. He weathered the energy crisis and economic problems during the Ford and Carter years, worked for creative solutions to urban problems on the Neighborhood Commission, and battled special interests both inside and outside Congress. He twice bucked his colleagues when he helped prevent Congress from taking over facilities designed for the Library of Congress and opposed a proposed expansion of the Capitol building for office space. Joel was especially proud of his fight against the Tennessee-Tombigby Canal and against subsidies for tobacco growers.
Joel chaired the Wednesday Group, a Republican discussion group known for their leadership and moderate pragmatism. He worked closely with the Washington State delegation on the conservation of wilderness areas such as Alpine Lakes and what became the W.O. Douglas Wilderness area. His love of history spurred the creation of the first national park that spanned more than one state, the Klondike Gold Rush Park. Joel worked behind the scenes to keep oil tankers out of Puget Sound and to save the Merchant Marine hospital in Seattle. He served on the international Law of the Sea conference and as a US delegate to the United Nations in 1983. As a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Joel traveled extensively throughout the world. His concern for the plight of refugees brought him into contact with the victims of the Vietnam War and of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Palestinians in the Middle East. As a board member of the Rural Development Institute, he had a deep appreciation of the needs and tribulations of the landless poor of many nations.
When first elected to Congress, Joel had pledged he would stay in office no more than twelve years. Despite his own inclination and the support of many friends and colleagues, Joel kept that promise. He worked briefly as a government relations person for the firm of Bogle and Gates in 1985. Joel also served as a US representative to the Panama Canal Consultative Commission. During 1986-87, Joel was a news and affairs commentator for KIRO-TV. He soon came permanently home to Washington State to pursue a dream that he had cherished for some time, the office of lieutenant governor.
After a successful campaign, Joel assumed his new duties as lieutenant governor in 1989. Besides his duties of presiding over the Senate, chairing the state Senate Rules Committee and being a member of several state boards and commissions, Joel was executive chairman of the Partnership for Learning, a statewide organization that worked for education reform. He also worked closely with Washington Literacy, a group dedicated to the promotion of adult literacy programs. On a more personal level, Joel tutored children at Beacon Hill School in Seattle.
Joel served as lieutenant governor for eight years, retiring in 1997. Despite undergoing treatments for a reoccurrence of cancer, he remained active in many areas. He was an active board member of TVW, Washington's statewide public affairs television channel.
As co-chair of the Washington State Concord Coalition, with former Congressman Don Bonker, he had a ready-made forum for expressing his deep concern about the national budget deficit. Another avenue for expression was his involvement with the Discovery Institute, a Seattle policy group founded by a longtime friend, Bruce Chapman. Returning to his love of history and Congress, Joel instigated an extensive project to research past office locations of former members of Congress, a project still underway.
Right to the end of his life, Joel remained fascinated by public affairs and the issues of the day. He worked tirelessly on initiatives concerning gun control, campaign finance reform, and against the spread of gambling. Still, he found time to play and promote Pickle Ball, the game he invented with friends that has spread around the world. Although his second marriage to Demaris Brightman did not weather the return home, Joel found rich enjoyment in sports, friends and family, and that most of human activities, politics.
Joel Pritchard died October 9, 1997.
[Link] , pages 15-17. |
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