King County celebrates 98th birthday of former Washington Gov. Dan Evans

KING COUNTY, Wash. — King County Council took a few minutes of its meeting on Tuesday to honor former Washington state governor and senator Dan Evans’ 98th birthday.

County councilmembers Pete von Reichbauer and Jeanne Kohl-Welles acted as emcees of the event.

Evans’ birthday fell on Monday, but he was honored by the council at its regular session. Von Reichbauer said they’re not recognizing Evans’ 98 years, but rather, “what he did in those 98 years.”

Both von Reichbauer and Kohl-Welles were state senators, and recalled how the three-term Republican governor brought both Democrats and Republicans legislators together.

King County executive Dow Constantine spoke about how Evans -- who served as governor from 1965-1977 -- was “the governor for most of my youth.”

Constantine said that Evans “set a high standard, a high bar,” for anyone seeking elective office and public service.

A proclamation read before the council highlighted Evans’ career – from being the youngest Washington state governor at age 39, to being the first to establish and fund a state-level ecology department. 

After his stint as governor, he served as president of the Evergreen College in Olympia. Then, as a senator from Washington, Evans helped pass the Washington Wilderness Act in 1984 and the 1988 Washington Park Wilderness Act.

Von Reichbauer ended the proclamation reading with a quote from Evans – that he would “rather cross the aisle, than cross the people.”

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