Longtime Legislator Ellen Craswell Dies at 75 [Champion of conservative values]

Ellen Craswell, longtime politician and North Kitsap resident, passed away Saturday evening in the rehabilitation wing of Martha & Mary Health Care Center in Poulsbo, after losing her third battle with cancer.

Best-known for her strong presence in the state Legislature, Craswell served two terms in the House of Representatives before moving to the Senate, where she stayed for 12 years until her retirement in 1992.

In 1987 she was the first woman in state history to be named president pro tem of the Senate.

In 1996 Craswell ran for governor against Democrat Gary Locke. A born-again Christian, she centered her campaign around moral issues, often stating her beliefs of what she felt was God's plan for government.

"Ellen Craswell had an attribute that was rare among politicians and politicians' wives, and she had been both," friend Adele Ferguson said in a written statement Sunday. "She represented Kitsap County with dignity and dedication for 16 years and we all are the better for it."

Shortly after losing the gubernatorial election, Craswell was diagnosed for a second time with cancer. Her first diagnosis came in 1982 while in office, when she was told she had ovarian cancer.

She received treatment for her second bout with cancer, sarcoma in her leg, and was declared in remission until her most recent diagnosis in November 2007.

Always an active woman, during her retirement Craswell spent her time with her husband Bruce, who also ran for Congress.

Ellen and Bruce were active in their church, Breidablik Baptist Church in Poulsbo, where Ellen Craswell taught Sunday school to the fourth- through sixth-grade class.

Craswell also enjoyed visiting with friends, spending time with family and writing poetry, a hobby she learned as a young girl from her grandmother.

While under public scrutiny as an elected official — she was named "Senator No" because of her staunch opposition to increasing taxes — her life outside of the political arena was often just as hectic.

An avid mountain climber — she conquered Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier and Mount Baker to name a few — Craswell loved the outdoors. Even while at Harrison Medical Center for treatment, she requested her bed be turned to face the Olympic Mountains so she could enjoy their beauty.

Referring to their upbringing as the "classic American, traditional family," Jim Craswell said his mother always scheduled life around her four children and husband. Once her children grew up, she focused her attention on her grandchildren — all 14 of them.

For the last 10 years, Ellen Craswell held weekly tea parties with her grandchildren. The group would be treated to tea and cake and use the time with Grandma as regular prayer meetings.

"It was a great experience for all of the kids," Jim Craswell said. "It was something her grandma did with her when she was young."

Since his mother's diagnosis last fall, where doctors found a tumor wrapped around the carotid artery in her shoulder, Jim Craswell and his family watched as Ellen tried to fight the unidentified cancer.

In February her health took a turn for the worse and she was admitted to the hospital and then Northwoods Lodge for rehabilitation. After another medical emergency and a monthlong stay in the hospital, Craswell was admitted to Martha & Mary.

"We're just happy that she wasn't in a lot of pain over the last few days," Jim Craswell said. "We know she's celebrating up in Heaven right now."

The family is in the process of planning a celebration of life memorial to be held soon.

Ellen Craswell, a born-again Christian and conservative Republican stalwart...served in both houses of the Washington Legislature and ran for governor...an avid mountain climber who scaled Mounts Rainier, Baker and St. Helens...She earned the nickname "Senator No" because of her steadfast opposition to increasing taxes.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/358111_craswell08.html
Photos: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/photography2004332830
Former lawmaker Ellen Craswell dies at 75
The Bothell native, a staunch conservative, challenged Gary Locke for governor in 1996.
By Jerry Cornfield
Herald Writer
OLYMPIA -- Republican Ellen Craswell brought the force of grace and religious conviction to her party, the state Legislature and nearly the governor's mansion...Craswell, a born-again Christian, helped fortify the ranks of the state Republican Party with social and religious conservatives inspired by her principled and unyielding political stances.
"I'll remember her for her political courage," Snohomish County Councilman John Koster said Monday. "She fought for the things she believed in."
State Sen. Val Stevens, R-Arlington, is one of Craswell's recruits. "She was a mentor to me," Stevens said, noting Craswell encouraged her to seek office. "She'd say you do the right thing and it doesn't matter if you're the only one standing."
Craswell stood alone often in a legislative career that began in 1976 in the state House of Representatives. She served two terms then moved on to the Senate for three terms and in 1987 became the first female Senate president pro tem.
She earned a reputation for speaking out against taxes and excess spending.
After the first of what would be three bouts with cancer, she had a transformation that led to her focus on moral and social issues.
"She migrated from being a Reagan Republican into a Pat Robertson Republican," said John Carlson, a political commentator on radio and former GOP candidate for governor. "All along she had impeccable manners, civility and infectious good cheer."
In 1996, four years out of office, she tried to unseat incumbent Democratic Gov. Gary Locke.
"She introduced to the governor's race a style and a class that we have not seen since," said Paul Elvig of Everett, a former Snohomish County Republican Party chairman. "She stood firmly for what she believed in, and compromise was not part of her vocabulary."
Her outspoken ideas on uniting biblical teachings with governmental practice proved beyond what many people were willing to support statewide.
Linda Smith's defeat two years later to Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray made it clear the electorate was shying away from the GOP's overtly conservative torchbearers.
Eric Earling of Lynnwood, a Republican blogger on the conservative Web site Sound Politics, called Craswell's campaign a tipping point in suburbs "where independent voters began to take a reflexively negative view of Republican candidates running for statewide office."
Todd Donovan, political science professor at Western Washington University, said social conservatives Craswell helped recruit had gained power in the party in the 1990s but had not shown a commitment to running electable candidates.
It proved "damaging to the statewide prospects of the party and obviated the need to create a mainstream face for the party," he said. The effort to reclaim the mainstream continues today.
Larry Stickney, a close friend and executive director of the Lynnwood-based Family Policy Institute, said Craswell's run for governor was a triumph for grass-roots activism and very winnable.
He said Craswell felt "greatly betrayed" by the party and "deeply hurt" by the outcome. He said party moderates and business interests that help bankroll GOP candidates abandoned her.
Craswell and her husband, Bruce, would later leave the Republican Party for the American Heritage Party.
"When they left, the Republican Party lost its heart and soul and many of their hardest workers followed," he said.
Despite the outcome, the 1996 race drew people into politics who had not been involved before, said Leslie McMillan, the campaign's director.
"She was so open about her faith. People were drawn to that straightforwardness," she said.
The campaign's theme was "Faith, Family, Freedom."
"It wasn't a strategic maneuver without substance," McMillan said. "It really was the essence of her character as a political leader."

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