Gorton, Slade (1928-2020), was a member of the United States Senate from 1981 to 2001, except for a two-year gap in 1987 and 1988. Gorton, a Republican, represented the state of Washington. He served on the Senate committees on Appropriations; Budget; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Energy and Natural Resources; and Indian Affairs.
As a senator, Gorton was especially concerned with safety issues. In 1991, the Senate approved an amendment he wrote that would require air bags in all new cars and trucks. In 1994, the Senate passed another safety measure that Gorton wrote. It required (1) warning labels on packages of toys small enough that young children might choke on them, and (2) the development of safety standards by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for bicycle helmets. Gorton opposed limits on the timber industry that would affect his home state.
Gorton was born into a wealthy family in Chicago. His full name is Thomas Slade Gorton III. In 1946 and 1947, he served in the U.S. Army. Gorton received a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in 1950. He earned a law degree from Columbia University in 1953 and then began working as a lawyer in Seattle. Gorton served in the U.S. Air Force from 1953 to 1956.
From 1959 to 1969, Gorton served in the Washington state House of Representatives and spent the final two years of that time as majority leader. He was Washington state attorney general from 1969 to 1981.
Gorton was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980 and served from 1981 to 1987. He ran for reelection in 1986 but lost. Gorton ran for the Senate again in 1988 and won. He was reelected in 1994. In 2000, however, he lost to his Democratic opponent, Maria Cantwell, in an extremely close race. Gorton died on Aug. 19, 2020.
