John C. Hughes and former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton sign copies of the book that Hughes recently wrote about the longtime statesman.

Former state Attorney General and U.S. Senator Slade Gorton was the featured guest at a forum and book signing Thursday in the Legislative Building’s State Reception Room.

More than 50 attendees heard Gorton speak about his enduring and prominent career in state and national politics.  Gorton is the subject of a recent biography entitled “Slade Gorton A Half-Century in Politics.” The book is written by John C. Hughes, chief historian with our office’s Legacy Project and former editor and publisher of the Aberdeen Daily World.

Gorton answered questions from a panel and audience members about his more than 50 years of public service, which includes membership on the 9/11 Commission and the 2011 State Redistricting Commission, which recently finished redrawing Washington’s congressional and legislative district boundaries.

The forum panel included Hughes; David Ammons, communications director for Secretary of State Sam Reed and former Olympia bureau reporter for The Associated Press; and Austin Jenkins, Public Radio Northwest Network’s Olympia correspondent.

The book costs $37.50 (including shipping and handling) through the Secretary of State’s Online Store at http://www.sos.wa.gov/store/ . Proceeds from the sale of the Gorton book support the publication of Legacy Project books. No state funds are used to publish Legacy Project books.

All Legacy Project books are available to read free online at http://www.sos.wa.gov/heritage/LegacyProject/default.aspx and are available for Kindle and e-readers at Amazon.com.

The forum was hosted by the Office of Secretary of State and the Washington State Heritage Center.  TVW covered the event, which will be shown on the channel in the coming days. The forum’s air times can be found at www.tvw.org.