Mainstream Republicans honor Dan Evans, Slade Gorton and Joel Pritchard, spotlighting bipartisanship and mentorship

Mainstream Republicans of Washington opened a tribute dinner with archival videos and panel conversations celebrating the public careers of Gov. Dan Evans and his longtime colleagues Slade Gorton and Joel Pritchard. The event framed the three as pragmatic leaders who built coalitions, mentored newcomers and delivered policy results across education, environment and civic institutions.

"They believed in fundamental democratic values — equality, justice and the rule of law — and in active engagement by citizens in their government," the moderator said in introducing the evening and the videos honoring the three leaders. Speakers repeatedly returned to two themes: coalition-building across party lines, and steady mentorship that helped emerging candidates win in challenging districts.

JT Wilcox, reflecting on Evans’ career, urged Republicans to prepare for the moment when a leader and circumstances align. "It's not enough to be the right person. You also have to be the right person at the right time," he said, adding that Evans' example validated "politicians who are willing to be brave enough to be themselves and stand up for their values." (JT Wilcox was introduced in the program as a recent House minority leader.)

Former state and federal officeholders who participated described concrete accomplishments. Rob McKenna highlighted Slade Gorton’s record as an appellate advocate and recounted episodes in which Gorton played a decisive role in regional matters, from litigation to stadium financing. McKenna also noted Joel Pritchard’s work on early abortion-related legislation, saying Pritchard introduced a measure that reached voters as Referendum 20 in 1970. Panelists credited all three leaders with helping expand higher-education access, notably the development and expansion of community colleges and the creation of Evergreen State College.

Environmental stewardship and constituent service also featured in the remarks. Panelists described Evans and his colleagues as leaders who combined policy focus with attention to individual constituents, and whose biographies included a mix of policy accomplishments and lighter cultural contributions — one speaker noted Joel Pritchard among the inventors of the sport pickleball as a humanizing anecdote.

Speakers urged contemporary party members to pursue the same combination of pragmatic outreach and principled conservatism. Sam Reed, who described working on Evans’ campaigns and later serving statewide, emphasized moderation, bipartisanship and civility as durable strengths of the trio’s approach.

The program closed with a short video from a younger conservative environmental organizer and an announcement that additional videos and materials would be posted to the Mainstream Republicans of Washington website. Organizers framed the evening as both remembrance and a call to renew the coalition-building practices that attendees said produced lasting policy accomplishments.

The event was a privately organized tribute and did not include formal legislative action.