Rosellini's parents were both from Italy. They had three daughters and a son -- Albert, born in Tacoma on Jan. 21, 1910.

His father, Giovanni Rosellini, ran a saloon. One of young Rosellini's earliest memories is of visiting his family's Italian hometown of Chiesina Uzzanese when he was 12. He later visited again when he was governor.

While in school he worked at a Tacoma pharmacy, making deliveries. He was considering a career as a druggist, but studied law instead.

Rosellini graduated from the University of Washington with a law degree in 1933 when he was 23. But it was the thick of the Depression and he couldn't get a full-time job. He put his name on the call list of temporary public defenders who were hired as needed and paid by the day.

At that time, Albert met Warren Magnuson, the eventual powerhouse U.S. senator who became a lifelong friend and political mentor, who encouraged Rosellini to run for the State Senate where he served from 1938 to 1957.

Rosellini was governor of Washington from 1957 to 1965. From the 1940s through the 1960s he was among the most powerful Democrats in the country.

Penny ante infractions like failing to report lunches were turned into "scandals",
and questions and innuendos, later proven empty were "elevated", and cost him several elections most believe, because of the "natural" suspicion from Rosellini's Italian name.

Rosellini said he is proud of what he accomplished. "There are lots of material things I could point to, but the thing I am proudest of is breaking the racial barrier when I started running for governor," he said. "I was an Italian Catholic, and you would be surprised by the prejudice that there was against us..."

AT 95, THE GOV LOOKS BACK
The man who used charm, power and pals stays busy

Seattle Post-Intelligencer
By Kathy Mulady
Saturday, January 22, 2005

To many, Albert D. Rosellini will always be "The Gov."

Even now, the former Washington state governor, who turned 95 yesterday and is celebrating with a party tonight, shows little sign of slowing down or tearing himself away from the political life he loves.

At 95, Albert Rosellini still works at his Georgetown office each day. "He has great observations on things," says Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr.

He goes to work every day at his office in Georgetown, where he puts in full days as a legal and political consultant.

His office walls are covered with pictures of himself chatting, laughing and dining with some of the most famous people of the last century -- President Kennedy, Queen Elizabeth, Elvis Presley. He was once one of the nation's most prominent Democrats.

But for all the highs, his career has also been shadowed by questions about his personal integrity that dog him even now. His friends say they reflect bigotry stoked by his Italian heritage...

Rosellini is a tall and vigorous figure, with a quick step, warm smile and natural charm that comes as easily as ever. On most days he dresses in a suit and argyle socks for the office, lunches with friends and doesn't mind a martini or two now and then.

He still offers silk roses to new acquaintances, just as he did while campaigning. It was a catchy way to remind voters how to pronounce his name.

His warehouse office, where he operated a beer distributorship in the 1970s, is a sharp contrast to the swanky Smith Tower address Rosellini had as a young attorney in the late 1930s.

In the reception hall outside the office, his secretary answers the phone: "Governor Rosellini's office."

Friends say some of Rosellini's difficulties come from a deep loyalty to friends, even to the point of his own detriment.

"Rosellini is a very kind person," said King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng. "Friends mean a lot to him, many go back to boyhood days." ... I never questioned his personal integrity."

Rosellini was governor of Washington from 1957 to 1965. From the 1940s through the 1960s he was among the most powerful Democrats in the country, working with icons like Kennedy, President Johnson and New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, to name a few. With charm, influence, power and pals, he quickly accomplished projects stuck in limbo.

"Not just in business, but in life, it is about decisiveness," Rosellini said. "There are always two or a dozen sides to anything; someone has to make a decision."

He was a champion of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair and helped choose the placement of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (or "the 520 bridge"), which opened in August 1963. It has been officially named the Governor Albert Rosellini Bridge. Rosellini just calls it "My bridge."

After two terms, he was defeated by Dan Evans.

Evans, once a bitter political opponent, said he last saw Rosellini when the two sat together at a Husky football game a couple of months ago.

"I admire him greatly. I hope I'm as active at 95," he said.

Rosellini still lunches with politicians and political hopefuls, dishing out advice based on decades of experience and close attention to current issues. Although he has outlived many of his contemporaries, he has a long list of devoted friends and fans, some half his age. They include Maleng and Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr.

Rosellini took an interest in Carr's run for city attorney and swore him into office three years ago after he was elected.

"It was a kick. If you grew up here, Governor Rosellini is an icon," Carr said. "We talk politics all the time. He keeps up on current events, maybe better than I do. He has great observations on things and is incredibly sharp..."

Those who know him just call him The Gov. And it seems everyone knows him.

"It is surprising how many people want to come down here," he said recently.
"I don't have enough time in the day."

Humble beginnings

Rosellini's parents were both from Italy. They had three daughters and a son -- Albert, born in Tacoma on Jan. 21, 1910.

His father, Giovanni Rosellini, ran a saloon. One of young Rosellini's earliest memories is of visiting his family's Italian hometown of Chiesina Uzzanese when he was 12. He later visited again when he was governor.

He graduated from Stadium High School in Tacoma in 1927. While in school he worked at a Tacoma pharmacy, making deliveries. He was considering a career as a druggist, but studied law instead.

Payton Smith, author of "Rosellini: Immigrant's Son and Progressive Governor,"says.. Rosellini graduated from the University of Washington with a law degree in 1933 when he was 23. But it was the thick of the Depression and he couldn't get a full-time job. He put his name on the call list of temporary public defenders who were hired as needed and paid by the day.

One case made headlines for weeks in 1934, and his star witness eventually became his wife.

At the time, Ethel McNeil, who would become Ethel Rosellini, was the secretary for literary agent James Ashe. He was accused of defrauding some of the city's leading society ladies, apparently telling them they had great writing talent and he could sell their work, for an advance fee.

"It was front-page news for two weeks, didn't win," Rosellini said. " But, I got some tremendous publicity, and I met my wife."

He was paid a total of $180 for his work, according to court records.

The Rosellinis had five children, which led to 15 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Ethel Rosellini died in 2002 after a long illness.

Back in 1934, Rosellini was an ambitious attorney. Prohibition had just ended, but laws on drinking and saloons were still being sorted out by local government. Biographer Smith wrote that friends and family in the Italian community who owned businesses that sold alcohol would come to the young lawyer with their legal problems.

At the same time, Warren Magnuson, the eventual powerhouse U.S. senator who became a lifelong friend and political mentor, encouraged Rosellini to run for the Legislature. The young attorney lived with his family on Queen Anne, but supporters thought he would have a better chance of winning if he represented the South End, home to a large number of Italians.

He lost to "Tiger Jim" Murphy, who had long represented the district. Four years later, when he was 28, Rosellini ran again and won.

Bridge was a top priority

In the state Senate, Rosellini built a reputation for getting things done and tackling sensitive issues. In 1945 he introduced a bill establishing the University of Washington medical and dental schools. He chaired a committee to study the juvenile justice system and juvenile detention centers. He also urged investigations of the state's prisons and mental health hospitals.

"I secretly got a gal friend of mine to go take pictures of the deplorable conditions," Rosellini said. "We went back four years later and showed the improvements."
He kept his law practice going as well...

Rosellini was elected governor on his second try, in 1956.

"I enjoyed the state Senate as much as being governor, but there is more power in the governor's office, and so many things that needed to be done," Rosellini said.

One of the first projects he tackled was building the bridge that had been on hold for 10 years while debates roiled over where it should be located. Rosellini was convinced that the Evergreen Point-Montlake location -- where it ended up -- was right.

"The first day in office, before the inaugural ball, I started working on it," he recalls.

Rosellini was governor when the 1962 World's Fair was proposed for Seattle. "Despite the naysayers, it was a huge success," he said.

The popularity of the monorail at the World's Fair also fueled his interests in an expanded system for the city -- an issue that would captivate the city 35 years later.

"We thought we would try it, and if it worked at the World's Fair, we would carry it out. But the idea wasn't carried through," said Rosellini. "It could have been built at very little expense."

Facing a budget shortfall near the end of his first term, Rosellini called for an increase in the sales tax to balance the state budget. His political foes started calling him "Taxe-llini," a tag that almost cost him the election. That election was difficult, but the next, for a third term in 1964, turned out to be impossible. His opponent, Evans, was a young, polished speaker and state representative. After two terms as governor, Rosellini's popularity was slipping. Evans' team attacked, raising issues of impropriety, liquor-board questions and favoritism and the young politician was able to defeat Rosellini.

But by 1972, Rosellini was ready for another run against his Republican nemesis. Looking back, both men say it was a vicious fight...Evans won.

Then, the result of an off-duty investigation by Keith Dysart from Attorney General Slade Gorton's office made morning headlines in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer...

The article raised questions about Rosellini's integrity and honesty...Rosellini said hequickly responded the next day, saying he was the target of innuendo, and bigotry.

It was later revealed that Dysart was also working with a private investigator hired by Evans' re-election committee.

"When Rosellini ran for re-election against Dan Evans, many people in Seattle's Italian community supported the Italian-American Rosellini and refused to believe he had trucked with (shady) characters...

Name comes up in scandal

Several council members were fined by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Office after failing to report lunches with Rosellini where he encouraged them to support rezoning of some property that a (friend) owned for additional parking...

Carr said he thinks some of the suspicion surrounding Rosellini comes from his Italian name.

"I think it is unfair," Carr said. "I did organized crime work in New York ... and to suggest that Gov. Rosellini has anything to do with that, well, I would be the most surprised person on the planet."...

Old days were friendlier

With memories perhaps gilded by time, Rosellini says he misses the old days of politics, when it was all a bit friendlier. "Adversaries would argue the issues during the day, then go out to dinner in the evening," he said. "Some of my best friends have been Republicans."

On the rare days he isn't in his office, he spends time at the family vacation home on Vashon Island where he swims in Puget Sound every day, no matter what the weather, according to his daughter, Janey Campbell.

The entire family and a few close friends are planning to gather tonight to celebrate the governor's birthday.

"Dad is so cute. He said to keep the party small, and save the big one until he turns 100," said Campbell.

Looking back over his long life, Rosellini said he is proud of what he accomplished.

"There are lots of material things I could point to, but the thing I am proudest of is breaking the racial barrier when I started running for governor," he said. "I was an Italian Catholic, and you would be surprised by the prejudice that there was against us..."

Rosellini has few regrets. "I'm glad that I got into politics, I never thought I would," he said. "I enjoyed it all."

DID YOU KNOW?

The Evergreen Point Bridge's official name is the Gov. Albert D. Rosellini Bridge. Rosellini helped determine where the bridge, on state Route 520, was going to cross Lake Washington.The bridge opened in 1963 after three years of construction and a decade of studies. He refers to it as "my bridge."

At 95, The Gov looks back
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