Victor A. Meyers | |
|---|---|
 Meyers in 1951 | |
| 10th Secretary of State of Washington | |
| In office January 16, 1957 – January 13, 1965 | |
| Governor | Albert Rosellini |
| Preceded by | Earl Coe |
| Succeeded by | Lud Kramer |
| 11th Lieutenant Governor of Washington | |
| In office January 11, 1933 – January 14, 1953 | |
| Governor | Clarence D. Martin Arthur B. Langlie Monrad Wallgren |
| Preceded by | John Arthur Gellatly |
| Succeeded by | Emmett T. Anderson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Victor Aloysius Meyers (1897-09-07)September 7, 1897 Little Falls, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | May 28, 1991(1991-05-28) (aged 93) Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Occupation | Politician, musician |
Victor Aloysius Meyers (September 7, 1897 – May 28, 1991)[1] was an American politician andjazz bandleader. He served for 20 years as the 11thLieutenant Governor of Washington and an additional eight years as the tenthSecretary of State of Washington.[2][3] He was the firstDemocratic Lieutenant Governor of Washington.
Born inLittle Falls,Minnesota, Meyers was the fifteenth of 16 children. His mother was a pianist; his fatherMorrison County treasurer. Meyers became a multi-instrumental musician, with drums as his first instrument.[2] His family moved toOregon. In his teens, Meyers played drums professionally at aSeaside, Oregon hotel.[4]
At age 21, he put together a 10-piece band. In 1919 Meyers was given a two-year contract to lead the house band at the Rose Room in Seattle'sHotel Butler. The band enjoyed local success, and Butler's contract continued to be renewed. In 1923,Brunswick Records chose the group to record during the record company's West Coast field trip, the first records billed as "Vic Meyers Hotel Butler Orchestra". The band made further series of recordings for Brunswick the following year, and toured nationally before settling in Seattle, where he played on the radio. In 1927 his band first got a residency at theTrianon Ballroom in theBelltown/Denny Regrade area north of downtown[2] Seattle's leading dance venue of the time, well known for its flouting ofProhibition.[4] the same year the band made the first of a series of recordings forColumbia Records which would continue through 1929.Articles p4
Meyers' compositions as a musician included "Ada", composed withHarold Weeks and Danny Cann; "Isle of Dreams", composed with Weeks andOliver Wallace; and "I'm Happy Now That You're Gone", composed withAl Thompson andHarry Von Tilzer.[5]
By 1932, Meyers had left the Butler Hotel and was holding forth at his own Club Victor back up in the Regrade,[2] often nearly broke, and continuing to get in trouble with the authorities enforcing the Prohibition laws. Covered constantly by the local press, he was one of the city's best-known figures. That year was a local election year, and assistant city editor Doug Welch and some other newspapermen at theSeattle Times decided to urge Meyers to enter the city'snonpartisan spring 1932mayoral race against business candidate John F. Dore (a trial lawyer) and a field of "fatuous has-beens and never-wases".[6] Welch saw Meyers as a joke candidate he could use as an anchor forsatiric stories on the race.[6]
TheTimes trumpeted Meyers entry into the race with an eight-column page one headline, and gave him daily coverage. Meyers chose the meaningless campaign slogan "Watch 'er Click with Vic". He drove a beer wagon around town—this in the midst of Prohibition—with his band playing "Happy Days Are Here Again"; he started out campaigning in shirt sleeves, to prove he was not a representative of the vested interests; later he campaigned in atuxedo, silk scarf, top hat, velvet-lapeled overcoat, and kid gloves. His speeches were often parodies of Dore's. He came out in favor ofgraft. His answer to the problems of Seattle's ailing streetcar system was to add hostesses.[6] He appeared at aShriners' candidates' forum at theOlympic Hotel dressed asMahatma Gandhi, leading a goat, sipping goat's milk and munching raw carrots, and wearing gold-rimmed eyeglasses.[4][6]
In the mayoral election, Meyers finished sixth in a field of ten.[6]
After briefly going back to being a full-time bandleader, he decided to run for lieutenant governor in the fall 1932 election, this time without Welch and theTimes. Actually, he originally decided to run for governor, but didn't want to pony up the$60 filing fee; the filing fee for lieutenant governor was only $12. He continued to use humor (for example, repeating the Gandhi bit) and music (playingsaxophone at his own campaign appearances), but also campaigned more seriously. He appeared on anIndian reservation talking about how the Indians were not allowed to vote. He came out forpensions,child welfare, andunemployment compensation. He gained the Democratic nomination in the Septemberprimary, thereby becoming the running mate toClarence D. Martin; both went on to win in November in conjunction withFranklin D. Roosevelt's landslide victory in thepresidential election.[6] Meyers and his band played at the inaugural ball.[2]
Meyers first ran for lieutenant governor without even being clear on the duties of the office.[6] He became known as a leader of theleft wing of the state Democratic Party, often putting him at odds with the more centrist Governor Martin, but getting on well with rising starAlbert D. Rosellini. When, in the midst of theGreat Depression, the left-wing Unemployed Citizens' League marched toOlympia, Washington to confront Governor Martin, Meyers opened his home to the marchers.[2] He won five terms as Lt. Governor, which at the time made him the longest served occupant of that office. He lost a bid for a sixth term toEmmett T. Anderson in 1952, during theEisenhower landslide.
During that time, he twice again ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Seattle, losing toArthur B. Langlie in 1938 and to William F. Devin in 1946. He later ran successfully forSecretary of State of Washington in 1956, and again in 1960. He lost a third bid in 1964 due to being implicated in a scandal related to the mishandling of the petition for an anti-gamblinginitiative.[2] He entered the race to regain his position as secretary of state in 1976, but withdrew for health reasons.[1] Meyers' son Victor Aloysius Meyers, Jr. served two terms in the state legislature (elected from the 31st District in 1958 and 1960) and ran unsuccessfully for state secretary of state in 1980, before dying in 1981 at the age of 57.[7] Meyers, Sr. was the last Democrat in the state to hold this position untilSteve Hobbs was appointed (and later elected outright) to it in November 2021.[8]
While serving as Washington's Secretary of State, Meyers published a booklet entitledHistorical Highlights. The booklet is written from a political perspective as tied to events within local communities and populations. Meyers summarized events beginning with the Spanish Expeditions in 1543 to the first territorial governor,Isaac Stevens, in 1853, before adding in-depth state history from 1853 to 1959. Territorial and State Governors' influences and contributions during periods in office serve as the basis of historical documentation with details pertaining to legislation and the citizenry.
In the years afterWorld War II, Meyers also took a shot at theprefabricated housing business, partnering with his brother Joseph Meyers and State SenatorHoward Bargreen ofEverett, Washington in a venture selling "Honeymoon GI homes". Many of these still stand inTacoma, Washington.[1]
Late in life, he managed agolf course and apartment complex inKent, Washington. His last years were spent in a nursing home.[1]
In 1977, the Washington legislature designated thegolf course atSun Lakes State Park as the "Vic Meyers Golf Course" and renamed Rainbow Lake as "Vic Meyers Lake".[9] The park had been a pet project of his. Considered too out-of-the-way when Meyers first backed it, "Vic's Folly" is now one of the busiest parks in the state.[1]
Meyers is a member of the Northwest Music Association Hall of Fame.[1]
Media related toVictor Aloysius Meyers at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Washington 1933–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State of Washington 1957–1965 | Succeeded by |
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