Washington (State). Governor (1925-1933 : Hartley)

Roland H. Hartley was born in New Brunswick, Canada, in 1864. When he was a small child his family moved to Minnesota where he attended public school and the Minneapolis Academy. In 1878 he became the secretary to the mayor of Brainerd, Minn., then, after a short period in the lumber business, he was appointed secretary to Gov. David Clough of Minnesota. During this period he married Nina Clough, the governor's daughter. In 1902 Hartley moved to Everett, Wash., where he entered the lumber business. His family came out the next year. In 1916 and 1920 Hartley ran for governor but failed to win the Republican nomination in the primaries. Finally, in 1924 he won the nomination and was elected governor in the general election. He was the first governor of Washington State to serve two full terms and the first to seek a third term.

In his message to the legislature in 1925, Governor Hartley expressed his belief that the state was "too much governed" and declared that the chief aim of his administration would be to reduce the costs of government and lighten the burden of taxation. After the legislature had been in session for several weeks, Hartley made the unprecedented request that the members adjourn until fall so that he might have time to make a proper study of the needs of the state. The legislature acceded to his request. Throughout his two terms he maintained his position as champion of the taxpayers. Hartley's administration was marked by conflict with other leaders of the Republican Party. In particular, he took issues with the way in which public lands were being managed and sold by the state Land Commission. Several of his messages to the legislature were full of invective towards the elected officials that he could not control, and showed bitterness towards the lumber and education lobbies which were in favor of public lands being sold quickly and cheaply. The strife between the Hartley and anti-Hartley groups grew to the point that a petition was begun to recall him, but it failed to get sufficient support. In spite of controversy, Hartley was reelected in 1928, largely because the voters saw him as a man who had the courage of his convictions.

During the last two years of Hartley's administration the Depression began to be strongly felt in Washington. The 1932 legislature sought new sources of revenue which could be used to stimulate the economy and help the unemployed and destitute. Accordingly, the legislature passed both a graduated income tax and a corporate income tax, both of which were vetoed by Hartley. The following year an initiative measure calling for an income tax was approved by a large majority of voters, but was declared unconstitutional by the State Supreme Court. In 1932 Hartley was again a candidate for governor but was eliminated in the primaries by an electorate which believed that he was not doing enough to help the state cope with the Depression. Undaunted, he ran again in 1936 and made it through the primary, but was defeated in the general election. He returned to Everett to retire, and died in Sept. 1952.