With the recent passing of former House Speaker Frank Chopp, we lost one of the finest and most effective leaders ever to have served the people of Washington State. His contributions are all around us: they are evident in the lives of thousands of families and individuals who have decent and affordable housing because of his tireless advocacy and inventiveness; the millions of children and adults who receive high quality health care through Apple Health; the students who can afford a college education because of the programs he helped to put in place.
The list of major policies that became law during his time as Speaker is stunning: paid family leave; marriage equality; long-term care insurance; and many, many others. The full list of his accomplishments may never be compiled, because Frank’s name isn’t on them. He pushed others forward to lead key initiatives and stood back when it came time for taking credit.
Like countless other nonprofit organizations, the PHPDA was fortunate to have Frank Chopp as a close friend and supporter. Along with his wife, Nancy Long, Frank was among the first to imagine that Pacific Tower could be returned to its public mission as the home of Seattle Central College’s Health Education Center and numerous local nonprofits focused on health, education and human services. He secured most of the funding to convert the building to its new purpose and bring it up to “green building” standards. He was one of the key proponents of converting the north lot of the campus to family housing and helped secure the funding for Beacon Pacific Village, which will ultimately include more than 200 units of housing, a day health center for the elderly, and an early learning center for children. At the time of his passing, he was still working with the PHPDA and Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority on plans to convert the historic Quarters buildings into affordable housing for inter-generational families and students.
Along with several of his fellow legislators, Frank maintained a district office on the eighth floor of Pacific Tower. From there he would often lead visitors into the Panoramic Center, with its 180-degree view of the city, to point out housing developments and other projects he was working on, and some he was only beginning to imagine.
Now he has left it to us to imagine them, and then to build them.
Doris Koo, Governing Council; and Tom Byers, Friend of PHPDA
**********************************************************
The members of the Governing Council and staff of the PHPDA convey our sincere condolences to Frank’s wife Nancy and daughter Ellie who have been members of the PHPDA family and important community leaders in their own right: Nancy as a key administrator of the PHPDA/Pacific Medical Center during its early years, and more recently as Executive Director of 501 Commons, and Ellie as a member of the staff of the PHPDA for several years and now as a member of the staff at SEIU local 775 representing healthcare workers. We will be thinking about them and Frank’s entire family during these difficult times and look forward to the time when we can celebrate his life and legacy together.
