Close to Home: A tribute to Don Clausen

I was already in Congress the day Don Clausen arrived in early 1963. Well, sort of. He was the newly elected congressman from Northern California. I was a 16-year-old Capitol page, assigned to the Republican cloakroom. We were all anxious to meet Mr. Clausen, as he was preceded by quite a bit of advance publicity. He lost his election to a dead man.

In 1962, Republicans chose Clausen to run against the popular Clem Miller, then in his second term. Clausen was put up as a sacrificial lamb, with little chance of winning. He was an insurance agent from Crescent City, just about as obscure as you could get. Miller was a superstar; had even written a book about Congress. A month before the election, Miller’s single-engine plane hit bad weather and went down in the mountainous territory east of Eureka along the Mad River. The congressman and two others were killed.

The public grief over Miller’s death resulted in him being elected posthumously and Clausen being defeated. This, of course, became a national curiosity. So, in the special election called to fill the vacancy, Clausen went from obscurity to relative popularity, and he was elected to the 88th Congress.

The Congress of that era was different than today’s. The day-to-day business was quieter, more orderly, congenial. The handshaking and backslapping across the aisle was well meant, less phony. Democrats frequently ventured into the Republican cloakroom for Louise’s thick roast beef sandwiches (55 cents). There was little posturing over social and moral issues. Indeed, there was little way to posture at all. The chamber had no television, no C-SPAN. The Congressional Record alone would carry the day’s remarks, and we pages daily carried thousands of records to the basement, never to be read.

Most of the members dressed simply. Members and pages alike got their haircuts in the House barber shop, down in the catacombs of the Capitol. Haircut 75 cents, tip 25 cents. Only later when TV arrived did the coiffed hair, fancy suits and silk ties permeate the chamber.

Clausen did well in this setting. His broad smile and big hand on the shoulder was what he needed in his relentless quest for benefits for his district. He had what it took to get things done. In fact, during some of his 10 elections back home, his slogan was “He gets things done.”

Clausen did so because he knew when it was necessary to go along to get along. When a big appropriations bill was coming through, he would go to the subcommittee chairman and see that his projects were written into it. Then, he voted for the bill. No shutdowns of the government for him. This simple formula dredged the Eureka harbor many times, repaired Highway101 after the ’64 flood, added a new post office here and there and built the Warm Springs Dam.

He set aside the magnificent Lady Bird Johnson Grove of old growth redwoods (three past, present and future presidents attended the dedication). Year after year, Clausen got things done. It was what his sprawling North Coast district needed - a provider.

Twice, Clausen ran against a fellow from Ukiah named Oscar Klee. He carried a cow hide with him on the campaign trail with an inscription etched into it: “Fifty dollar reward for anyone who can find a single bill Don Clausen got signed into law.” He dubbed him “Do Nothing Don.”

Though no one claimed the prize, the voters didn’t care. They knew Clausen didn’t have to have his name on every bill that went through Congress. He just had to have his projects in the bill.

Twenty years after I first met Clausen in the House cloakroom, I narrowly won an election that ended his career. Soon after, we sat near each other at the dedication of the Warm Springs Dam.

I knew it was a bittersweet occasion for him. I told him no one that day could imagine the prosperity and well-being his hard work would produce for generations to come. Today, as we face another year of drought, can anyone doubt that Don Clausen provided the very lifeblood without which our lives would be much diminished?

Up and down the North Coast are many similar monuments to a man whose hard work and friendly way made our home a much better place to live. Thank you, Don Clausen. You got things done.

Doug Bosco, a former North Coast representative in the state Assembly and the U.S. House of Representatives, is a partner in Sonoma Media Investments, owners of The Press Democrat.