| Notes |
He was unable to get many of the tax increases he sought, laying the groundwork for the fiscal crisis his successor inherited. While he established a high-level commission to study education reform, lawmakers rejected his proposed tax increases to finance a public school improvement plan.
In retrospect, others have given his time in office a B grade – an assessment he agreed with, according to Hughes.
“This will sound strange,” Gardner says in the biography, “but I didn’t think it was worth the price to go for an A.”
After Gardner ruled out a run for a third term, President Bill Clinton appointed him a deputy U.S. trade representative. He served as the U.S. ambassador to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade – the precursor to the World Trade Organization – in Geneva.
In 2001, Gardner and his wife, Jean, divorced. He then married Cynthia Perkins, a Texas resident Gardner had met in Geneva. The two later divorced.
Aside from applying for superintendent of the Eatonville School District (a move that perplexed many and a position for which he was not ultimately chosen), Gardner kept a relatively low profile after leaving state office. That is, until he announced in 2006 that he would head up an “assisted death” initiative in Washington state. |