No Regrets For Trying Spokane County Democratic Chairwoman, Sally Jackson Has Taken On Life, Political And Personal, With Gusto
Sally Jackson always has loved competition.
That’s what the Spokane County Democratic Chairwoman loves about politics. That’s what she loves about sports.
The losses, such as her three failed attempts to gain a state House seat representing the traditionally conservative 4th district, haven’t kept her down.
“I’m an athlete. You love the competition,” said Jackson, 62, a Spokane Valley resident for most of her life. “Losing makes you analyze why you lost.”
But there’s one struggle Jackson admits she doesn’t know how to overcome: the allegations of racism that have plagued the county’s Democratic party for nearly two years.
And she can’t understand why.
“I’m probably the least prejudiced person you’ll ever see,” Jackson said.
Because of her inability to lead the local party to a resolution on that issue and her desire to spend more time with family and on volunteer work, Jackson will leave her position as chairwoman in January.
“The fact that I can’t heal this and make it go away bothers me. I’m stymied,” said Jackson, who became chairwoman in 1988. “I haven’t been able to build a team where everybody’s working together.”
Two Spokane party officials have been accused of using a racial slur to refer to the Hong Kong owners of the Davenport Hotel in November 1992. A state party official from Spokane later apologized for using a racially insensitive gesture in a dispute with an Asian-American activist.
The Asian-American community called for the ouster of the officials and for the state and county party to apologize.
Jackson refused to apologize, saying the party wasn’t racist and hasn’t done anything that warranted an apology. She has said she wouldn’t push for resignations because she didn’t know who used the slur.
As a result, the state party moved its convention from Spokane earlier this year, an action which made Jackson furious.
Larry Marshall, vice chairman of the county Democratic party, who sometimes dated Jackson when they were teenagers, said those who know her think of Jackson as a kind and considerate person.
“When these allegations are made that we’re racist, it really hurts,” Marshall said. “I know it’s created a lot of stress on Sally because of her bad heart and blood pressure.”
Jackson graduated from West Valley High School and Eastern Washington University. She said she got involved in the Democratic Party after she became opposed to the Vietnam war.
When Jackson’s term as party chairwoman ends, she will spend more time with her six children, 11 grandchildren and as many other children as she can find.
“I like the politics but it’s impersonal because I don’t always see the people I help,” Jackson said.People who know Jackson always mention her dedication to family, and to bringing others into her family.
“She has the biggest heart of anybody I know,” said Barbara Lakewold, coordinator of the county’s juvenile court guardian program. “She accepts people for who and what they are.
”Jackson has volunteered as a child advocate in abuse and neglect cases since 1984, often taking on more than one case at a time, which is unusual, Lakewold said.
She said Jackson loves working with teenagers, which also is unusual. Her relationships with teenagers often continue after the cases are resolved.
“The thing that’s always impressed me is that after the court action is done, the teenagers seek her out,” Lakewold said. “They know she cares.”
Sally and husband Ron Jackson, a former professional baseball player, have raised many foster children in addition to their own six children.
She was working as a teacher in Yakima in 1953 when she met her husband, who was a baseball player for a Victoria, British Columbia, team. They will be married 40 years in October.
She’s believed to be the first woman in the state to coach boys pee-wee baseball. She started the Spokane Valley Girls Softball League.
In the summers, Jackson teaches swimming lessons in the pool she helped to build at her home.
“That thing’s never leaked,” she said.
Jackson also was a member of the Valley business community before selling the Jackson Hole Tavern two months ago.
Rep. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, said Jackson used her role as a tavern owner in the 1982 campaign.
During a campaign forum, he remembers her telling a group of contractors: “Times are tough economically. The real reason I know is because you’re not coming into the tavern like you used to.
”Then, Padden said she pointed to a man in the crowd and said he was a prime example.
“He finally raised his imaginary beer glass to her,” Padden said.
Padden, who twice beat Jackson during the 1980s for the state House seat, admires her fighting spirit although the two disagree strongly on issues.
“She’s just competitive by nature,” he said. “I certainly admire her for getting into the fray.
”Despite her competitive spirit, Jackson has never won a bid for public office.
She lost her last attempt for a state House seat in 1988 to Charles Wolfe after the defeats in 1982 and 1986 by Padden.
In the late 1970s, Jackson ran for Valley fire commissioner and the Central Valley school board, losing each race by less than 1 percent of the vote.
She doesn’t regret trying.
“It sounds corny but I don’t think you’re put on earth to fill space,” she said.
Jackson believes the key to everything, including an interest in politics, is a strong family.
The children she teaches to swim even call her “Grandma Sal.”
She thinks that helps them trust her.
Karen Martin said since her daughters began taking swim lessons from the Jacksons last year, her 9-year-old daughter, Karly, has begun talking about becoming a lifeguard.
“They couldn’t wait to return this year,” she said.
One of Jackson’s biggest concerns about young people today is that they aren’t active in political causes.
“When we were young kids, families talked about politics,” she said. “I think the thing is that families don’t sit around and talk.
“I talk to civics classes and say I should be in a rocking chair, not fighting the battles.”