Gordon Walgren, lawyer and former lawmaker, dies at 85

BREMERTON — Gordon Walgren — a lawyer and lawmaker who rose to the highest ranks of the Legislature, fell in scandal and then fought his way back into politics as a lobbyist and port attorney — died Tuesday at his home. He was 85. 

Walgren, a lifelong Bremerton resident, never stopped working. He represented the Port of Bremerton as its attorney for almost three decades. His ability to navigate political circles, first as a Democratic lawmaker and later as lobbyist, was unparalleled, said retired Congressman Norm Dicks.  

"He got things done, he was very smart and he knew how to work with people," said Dicks, who represented Washington's 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 2013. "Gordon was a very good friend and someone who served our area very well."

Dicks called Walgren "the predominant Democratic figure in Kitsap County" of his era.

No one could draw a crowd like Walgren, said Dicks, who felt the former state Senate majority leader could've become governor or a U.S. senator were it not for a scandal in 1980.

That controversy, known as Gamscam, ended in prison and a criminal conviction after a sting that found three men, including Walgren, favored legalizing gambling in exchange for a share of the profits. Walgren later said in his 2013 autobiography, “Close to the Flame,” that he’d made mistakes, but he disputed that he’d committed any crime. 

Though the scandal destroyed his reputation, Walgren ultimately got back his license to practice law, began representing the port and returned to Olympia as a lobbyist. He possessed an unwavering dedication to political pragmatism. 

“The deal-making, the intrigue, the sit-down of ‘what do you want, what do I want, what can we do, how can we achieve that,’ that kind of thing. I love it,” he said in an interview with the Kitsap Sun in 2013.

The son of school teachers, Walgren grew up in West Bremerton, graduating from high school here in 1951. A lifelong lover of the outdoors, he worked in several area national parks as a teen. Walgren got his law degree at the University of Washington and remained a devout Huskies fan all his life. 

At just 25, he was elected Kitsap County prosecutor, though he had no previous trial experience. He founded the firm that is now known as Ryan, Montgomery & Armstrong, now more than four decades old. And he was elected to a seat in the state House’s 23rd District in 1966, moving to the Senate two years later. “With his ambition, penchant for Chivas Regal and cigars, and his ability to work a deal, he became majority leader in just seven years,” Kitsap Sun reporter Rachel Pritchett wrote of Walgren in 2013. 

His rising star was quashed, however, following a conviction for racketeering. House co-speaker John Bagnariol and lobbyist Pat Gallagher were also implicated in "Gamscam." Walgren felt the controversy had been concocted by political opponents who used law enforcement to fish for crimes. 

Walgren, who ultimately served two years at a federal prison camp in Lompoc, California, fought to clear his name. In 1989, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned his convictions for racketeering and mail fraud. That left only one for telephone fraud, but a federal judge in 1991 denied Walgren a new trial. 

He felt that, in the years since, he’d restored his reputation. He got his license to practice law back in 1986. 

Larry Stokes, president of the Port of Bremerton commission, called the decision to hire Walgren as its attorney “the best decision I ever made” in the job. Former commissioner Bill Mahan recalled Walgren’s ability to make “a single phone call” could bring together politicians of all levels quickly and led to millions of dollars in federal and state grants for port projects.  

Walgren's brother, Bill, praised his devotion to not only those he represented in politics but in personal life.

"What epitomizes Gordon more than anything was his loyalty to the state of Washington, to Kitsap County and Bremerton," he said. "And, especially, his friends and his family." 

Walgren was married 54 years to his wife, Sue, who died two years ago. The couple had two daughters, Kathy and Tracey, and four grandchildren.

A celebration of Walgren's life will be held at 1 p.m. April 8 at the Kitsap Golf and Country Club.