Brock Adams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator fromWashington | |
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Slade Gorton |
| Succeeded by | Patty Murray |
| 5th United States Secretary of Transportation | |
| In office January 23, 1977 – July 20, 1979 | |
| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Neil Goldschmidt |
| Chair of theHouse Budget Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Al Ullman |
| Succeeded by | Robert Giaimo |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWashington's7th district | |
| In office January 3, 1965 – January 22, 1977 | |
| Preceded by | K. William Stinson |
| Succeeded by | Jack Cunningham |
| United States Attorney for theWestern District of Washington | |
| In office 1961–1964 | |
| President | John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | Charles Moriarty |
| Succeeded by | William Goodwin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Brockman Adams (1927-01-13)January 13, 1927 |
| Died | September 10, 2004(2004-09-10) (aged 77) Stevensville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Mary Adams |
| Education | University of Washington, Seattle (BA) Harvard University (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1944–1946 |
Brockman Adams (January 13, 1927 – September 10, 2004) was an American lawyer and politician. ADemocratic Party member from the state ofWashington, Adams served as United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington for U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1964, a member of theUnited States House of Representatives representing Washington's 7th congressional district from 1965 to 1977, the 5thUnited States Secretary of Transportation from 1977 to 1979, and a member of theUnited States Senate. He was forced to retire in January 1993 due to public and widespreadsexual harassment,sexual assault andrape allegations.[1]
Adams was born inAtlanta,Georgia, and attended public schools inPortland, Oregon, and Seattle, graduating in 1944 fromBroadway High School in Seattle.[2] He attended theUniversity of Washington where, in 1948, he was elected president of the student government (ASUW) and was the first student to both serve in that post and receive the President's Medal of Excellence as the university's top scholar.[3] In 1949,Mary Maxwell served as secretary to ASUW president Adams.[4] Later that year, Adams introduced Maxwell to his friend and her future husband,Bill Gates.[5] He graduated in 1949 and was admitted toHarvard Law School, where he earned hisJuris Doctor in 1952.
Adams was also a member ofPhi Beta Kappa society.
Adams served in theUnited States Navy from 1944 to 1946, and was admitted to the Washington state bar in 1952, opening a private practice in Seattle. He was a member of theAmerican Bar Association.
Adams taught law at theAmerican Bankers Association from 1954 to 1960, and served asUnited States Attorney for the Western District of Washington from 1961 to 1964.[6]
Adams was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives and served six terms beginning January 3, 1965. He was thechair of the newly createdUnited States House Committee on the Budget during the94th United States Congress, and was considered a strong candidate forSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives.
On January 22, 1977, Adams resigned to become the fifthSecretary of Transportation following his appointment byPresidentJimmy Carter and confirmation by theUnited States Senate.
Adams's willingness to plunge into controversial issues during his time as Transportation Secretary was evident in the contrasting assessments of his tenure and accomplishments during a tumultuous period in transportation.The Wall Street Journal in 1979 called him the "biggest disappointment" in the Carter cabinet, whilePublic Citizen PresidentJoan Claybrook, who led theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration under Adams, called him "absolutely one of the best transportation secretaries we've ever had".[7]
After resigning hisCabinet post on July 20, 1979, Adams resumed law practice, this time inWashington, D.C., where he was alobbyist forCSX Corporation and other railroad carriers.[citation needed]
Adams was elected to the U.S. Senate in1986, narrowly defeating incumbent RepublicanSlade Gorton with 50.66% of the vote.[8] Serving one term, he compiled a liberal record and was strongly supportive of his party's leadership.
Kari Tupper, the daughter of a longtime friend, accused Adams of drugging and assaulting her in 1987.[9][10]
In 1992 eight women made statements toThe Seattle Times alleging that Adams had committed various acts of sexual misconduct, includingsexual assault,sexual abuse andrape.[11] Multiple women said they were drugged after being served suspicious drinks and either assaulted or raped.[12]
In the exposé, an unnamed source said, "Adams had long been known by his staff and associates for aggressively kissing and handling women within his reach."
A former Democratic Party activist alleged that in the early 1970s, when Adams was serving in the House of Representatives, he invited her to a Seattle bar, where he drugged her with what he called "Vitamin C", after she recalled suffering from a cold. The woman said Adams followed her home, pushed her onto a couch and raped her.[13]
A young woman in her thirties toldWashingtonian that while she was seated to Adams's right at a formal luncheon shortly after she had taken a new job on Capitol Hill, he slid his hand under her skirt to the upper part of her thigh, whereupon she tried to move her leg away from him. Failing that, she said she tried to remove his hand, but Adams dug his fingers into her skin.[14]
Adams denied the allegations in a press conference. But already under the spotlight due to previously aired allegations that he drugged and molested a young female aide in 1987, a highly publicized matter in which no charges were brought, Adams was forced to drop out of his reelection campaign.[15][16]
In retirement, Adams lived inStevensville,Maryland. He died of complications fromParkinson's disease there on September 10, 2004 at age 77.[17]
In light of the 2017#MeToo Movement, some see Adams's legacy as a powerful politician who systematically abused his power over young women as emblematic of the culture of harassment in the government.[18]
In 2020, an extensivePBS exposé concerning the workplace for women in the 1990s inWashington, D.C., described the climate of "sexual harassment and sexual entitlement [that] existed in some offices in theUnited States Senate", driven by some male senators whose behavior was well known onCapitol Hill. There was a list of senators and representatives whom young women were told to keep away from, which included Adams,John Conyers,Ted Kennedy,Bob Packwood,Mel Reynolds,Gus Savage, andStrom Thurmond.[19]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWashington's 7th congressional district 1965–1977 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Budget Committee 1975–1977 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of Transportation 1977–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromWashington (Class 3) 1986 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Washington 1987–1993 Served alongside:Daniel J. Evans,Slade Gorton | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
 | ||
Chairs of theUnited States House Committee on the Budget | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
