Albert Dean Rosellini (January 21, 1910 – October 10, 2011) was an American politician who served as the 15th governor of Washington from 1957 to 1965 and was both the first

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

governor elected west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. During a political career that spanned 40 years, Rosellini was an activist leader who worked to reform the state's prisons and mental health facilities, expand the state highway system, create the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

and

dental schools Dental may refer to: * Dental consonant, in phonetics * Dental Records, an independent UK record label * Dentistry, oral medicine * Teeth See also * * Dental care (disambiguation) * Dentist (disambiguation) * Tooth (disambiguation) A tooth (plu ...

, and build the second floating bridge across

Lake Washington Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It borders the cities of Seattle on the west, ...

. Rosellini holds the record as the longest-lived U.S. state governor in American history, having reached the age of .

Early life and education

Born in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

, Rosellini was the only son of Italian immigrants, Annunziata (Pagni) and Giovanni Rosellini, a saloon operator. He worked his way through college and

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

at the

, graduating in 1933 with his classmate Hugh J. Rosellini (no relation), a childhood friend and later state Supreme Court justice.

Career

Washington Senate

At the age of 29, Rosellini was elected to the

state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

as its youngest member, representing the 33rd district in south Seattle, the home of many Italian immigrants. A

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

Democrat, Rosellini served from 1939 to 1957, and rose to the rank of majority leader. He was elected governor in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

Governorship

Washington SR-520 bridge under construction - 1962

As governor, Rosellini coupled personal charm with decades of political know-how, developing a reputation for decisiveness and ability to move ahead on long-stalled projects. Don Hannula, longtime political columnist for ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

'', wrote in 1996, "He was not a man of empty rhetoric. He got things done. His legacy is everywhere." In his 1997 biography, ''Rosellini, Immigrant's Son and Progressive Governor'', author Payton Smith wrote: "He was attracted to issues where progress could be made and measured . . . Budget reform, economic development, transportation, higher education and institutions were the core matters to which he devoted his talent and governmental know-how." Rosellini was narrowly re-elected in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

, beating Republican

Lloyd J. Andrews Lloyd Joel Andrews Sr. (August 26, 1920 – October 7, 2014) was an American educator, businessman, and politician. Born in Dutton, Montana, Andrews moved with his parents to a farm in Green Bluff, Washington. He graduated from Mead High Sc ...

by a margin of 1.4 percent. In order to promote economic development, Rosellini established a state department of commerce and championed the

Seattle World's Fair The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, United States.floating bridge in the world, the original

Evergreen Point Floating Bridge The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, also known as the 520 Bridge and officially the Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge, carries Washington State Route 520 across Lake Washington from Seattle to its eastern suburbs. The floating span is the ...

, which opened in 1963 and carried State Route 520 over

from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

. After 53 years of service, it was replaced by a new floating bridge at the same site in 2016. The original bridge was later named after him, and its replacement also bears his name. In addition, he was a tireless supporter of higher education, strengthening the state university system and developing a system of junior colleges. During his time in office, Rosellini also reformed the state budget process and balanced the budget.

1964 gubernatorial election

Rosellini was defeated in his bid for a third term in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

by Republican

Daniel J. Evans Daniel Jackson Evans (born October 16, 1925) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Washington, 16th governor of Washington from 1965 to 1977, and as United States Senator, United States senator representing Washington S ...

, a

state legislator A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Stat ...

and

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

. Rosellini entered the primary unopposed by his ostensive rivals for the Democratic nomination, Lieutenant Governor

John Cherberg John Andrew Cherberg (October 17, 1910 – April 8, 1992) was an American politician, football coach, teacher and television executive. He served as the 13th Lieutenant Governor of Washington from 1957 to 1989, a longer tenure than any other lie ...

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

John J. O'Connell, but did encounter opposition from several unknown candidates who collectively garnered close to 50,000 votes. The general election campaign was marked by bruising attacks on the candidate's integrity from both the Republican and Democratic camps. Governor Rosellini attempted to portray Evans as a supporter of

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...

and his record as antithetical to the interests of labor, welfare, and education. Evans in turn charged Rosellini with financial impropriety and cronyism, alleging that the Governor solicited campaign funds from businesses under contract with the state government. Only one televised debate was agreed between the two candidates. The

coattails The coattail effect or down-ballot effect is the tendency for a popular political party leader to attract votes for other candidates of the same party in an election. For example, in the United States, the party of a victorious presidential cand ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

did not extend to this race, as the 39-year-old Evans won by double digits.

1972 attempted comeback

Rosellini made a comeback bid eight years later in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

; he captured the Democratic nomination, but was again defeated by Evans. Starting with a lead in the polls, Rosellini saw his support fall when he disparagingly referred to Governor Evans as "Danny Boy" and being accused of intervening on behalf of his friend Frank Colacurcio to obtain a club license in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

while in office. A minority of Evans' supporters also began to sport bumper stickers on the back of their cars stating "We Don't Need A Godfather," described by his daughter Lynn Rosellini as extremely hurtful to her father given his pride over his Italian ancestry. (The popular

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

-winning film ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...

'' was released earlier that year.)

Consultant and elder statesman

After leaving office in 1965, Rosellini returned to the practice of law, and also became a political consultant, specializing in matters of the liquor and entertainment industries. Over the years, Rossellini served as an elder statesman of the state Democratic Party, mentoring political figures including Washington governors

Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again ...

and

Gary Locke Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician and diplomat serving as the interim president of Bellevue College, the largest of the institutions that make up the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system. Locke serv ...

. In 2003, Rosellini was back in the news briefly when he was reported to have delivered campaign contributions to

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-lar ...

members on behalf of strip-club owners, one of whom was a convicted racketeer. Rosellini was never charged in the scandal that became known as "Strippergate." Until his death, Rosellini attended fundraisers for candidates and helped raise money for charities, particularly the Washington State Olympics Committee, which he chaired for many years. Danny Westneat, columnist for ''

'', wrote in 2005, "His record makes most governors after him look like

slacker A slacker is someone who habitually avoids work or lacks work ethic. Origin According to different sources, the term ''slacker'' dates back to about 1790 or 1898. "Slacker" gained some recognition during the British Gezira Scheme in the early t ...

s."

Personal life

Rosellini and his wife Ethel (1922–2002), whom he married in 1937, had five children. Ethel died in 2002, after 64 years of marriage. Albert and Ethel had a close, affectionate, and happy marriage, and the two were known for their devotion to each other. Rosellini was a practicing Catholic.

Later years and death

Rosellini celebrated his 100th birthday in January 2010, becoming one of the few

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

governors ever to reach the age of 100. He died of complications related to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

in Seattle on October 10, 2011 at the age of 101. Rosellini's funeral was at St. James Cathedral in Seattle, and he was buried at Calvary Cemetery, alongside his wife.

References

External links

''Seattle Times'' obituary
* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosellini, Albert 1910 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American politicians American centenarians American politicians of Italian descent Men centenarians Deaths from pneumonia in Washington (state) Democratic Party governors of Washington (state) Politicians from Tacoma, Washington Candidates in the 1960 United States presidential election University of Washington School of Law alumni Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators Catholics from Washington (state)