Mark Hatfield: The man, the film
It was a brisk evening, as late summer nights in Welches, near the base of Mt. Hood, usually are. After taking in a football game at a bar, Rick Dancer and I decided to hit the hot tub at the resort where his family owns a vacation home. Early the next morning, we’d be flying cross-country to Washington, D.C., as part of the Hatfield Documentary Project.
A casual conversation with several others in the hot tub circled around to Dancer and myself.
“What brings you to Mt. Hood?” a man in his late 30’s asked.
Kevin Curry (left) and Rick Dancer prepare the shot for interviews in the Senate Appropriations Committee room at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Dancer, a producer on the film, had been hired by Portland-based Lyon Films to interview family, friends and former colleagues of Senator Mark Hatfield for a feature-length documentary on the man who served Oregon as a member of the state legislature, as Secretary of State, Governor and, ultimately, 30 years as Senator. His name is on buildings at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) and the Federal Courthouse in downtown Portland, among others. I was invited along to document the behind-the-scenes process and act as a research assistant.
“You’re kidding,” the man responded. “I’m Robert Hatfield. … Mark is my cousin.”
As you travel around the state of Oregon and talk to people, you’ll inevitably find someone who’s been touched by Mark Hatfield. That’s why Kevin Curry and Devon Lyon decided to create a film about the Senator, who is now 88.
“We want to make him more than a name on a building,” Dancer said. “We want people to hear the stories of those closest to him … the lives that he touched.”
The next morning we met up with Curry, Lyon and Ryan Walters, the cameraman for the documentary, at Portland International Airport. This would be the crew’s first trip outside the state.
“We’ve interviewed most of the people we’re going to get here in Oregon; those who worked with Hatfield at the state level,” Curry said while we waited to board the plane. “Now, we’ll be meeting with those who worked for him in the Senate.”
Rick Dancer (left) interviews Senator John Warner.
While traveling regularly from one end of the country to the other, it’s a wonder that Hatfield, in his time as Senator, was able to get any work done. It’s a near day-long process that Hatfield, by instruction of his long-time chief of staff, Gerry Frank, did every three weeks or so, to keep in touch with the people and issues of Oregon.
After a long day of travel and a late dinner in Georgetown, where a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir was on the menu, we decided to go see the capitol at night.
“It’s pretty amazing, the five of us being here,” Lyon said to me while walking back to the car after we’d viewed the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Wall, World War II Memorial, Washington Memorial and the south lawn of the White House. “We’ve got a group of guys really committed to this project who can also take a step back and appreciate where we are.”
The Lincoln Memorial at night on the first day of the Hatfield Documentary Project trip to Washington, D.C.
For all the negative things that can be said about our country, and especially what specifically goes on in D.C., there’s something magical about our nation’s capitol. The bright white stone of the monuments against a black night sky are stunning. It is a place full of idealism, mixed with strong doses of realism. A memorial to Lincoln not only represents the ideals of a nation, but also, a nation divided.
Like the Lincoln Memorial, Hatfield represented contrasting ideas.
In World War II, Hatfield saw first-hand the tragedy of war. As a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, he was a landing craft officer during the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. And he was among the first to witness the effects, on the ground, of the atom bomb in Hiroshima.
“He was a pro-life Republican,” Dancer said, “but he took being pro-life all the way. He was also anti-war and against capital punishment.”
This mentality was in stark contrast to traditional Republican ideology, and could likely be traced back to the war.
Rick Dancer (foreground) interviews Jim Towey, former legal counsel to Sen. Hatfield.
“He was a man of such character and integrity,” said Jim Towey, who worked with Hatfield as a legislative aide and legal counsel, before going on to serve Mother Teresa of Calcutta as U.S. legal counsel.
“(Hatfield) wasn’t a conservative Republican. He wasn’t an ultra anything,” said Sen. Pete Domenici, who himself served as a Republican Senator from New Mexico for 36 years. “On the big issues of the day, he was a very independent Senator.”
“It’s hard for a U.S. Senator to go against the popular will, yet he was willing to do that, and often, was right,” Towey said.
As the first day of interviews was beginning to wrap up, the theme of the day — and ultimately the trip — was that Hatfield was an independent man who wasn’t interested in playing political games or partisanship. He sometimes took a stance against the agendas of those who voted him into office, but at the end of the day, they would vote him back in because he was a man with integrity.
“It was not the ballot box, but Judgment Day that guided Mark Hatfield’s life,” Towey said.
“Would a politician like Hatfield be voted into office today? Would they be able to keep their job?” Dancer asked interviewee after interviewee.
Probably not, most responded.
Account after account told of a Hatfield who was never interested in fundraising or campaigning. His only true campaign in 30 years as a Senator was in 1990, his final election, against Democrat challenger Harry Longsdale. Hatfield raised $1 million in a single month late in the campaign in order to sway the public in his favor, ultimately winning re-election with 53 percent of the vote.
Politics had changed, and several staffers acknowledged that they felt Hatfield had grown tired of it, and he knew an independent mind couldn’t survive a partisan congress.
“We were lucky Oregon sent him (to the Senate),” Domenici said.
As our week of interviews in D.C. continued, Hatfield’s legacy was confirmed again and again. By Senators Daniel Inouye and Thad Cochran from the Senate appropriations committee room at the Capitol building, the committee Hatfield chaired for eight years. By former staffers Jenna Dorn, Mark Van de Water, Martin B. Gold, Sen. John Warner, Sen. Gordon Smith and others.
“Mark Hatfield knew exactly who he was, and exactly what he needed to do for Oregon,” said Keith Kennedy, another former Hatfield staffer. “There’s a rich story here and it needs to be told.”
Thanks to Lyon, Curry, Dancer and Walters, it will be.
The Hatfield Documentary crew takes a quick lunch break in a car full of people and gear. (From front to back, left to right): Rick Dancer, Kevin Curry, Devon Lyon, Ryan Walters, Joshua Kagi.
Oregon Public Broadcasting has shown interest in broadcasting a version of the film. Upon its completion, the feature-length documentary will be placed in high schools and universities across the state.
When taking off from Reagan National Airport just across the Potomic River from D.C., our plane flew over the Lincoln Memorial, giving us a bird’s-eye view of the National Mall all the way to the Capitol. It was a sunny day, giving us a romanticized, postcard-like view of a city.
As our plane descended into Portland, flying low under the rain clouds during the first winter-like storm in the mountains, I thought, “our political climate is much more like these dark clouds, rain and turbulence than the sunshine and romantic views of D.C.”
Hatfield’s former colleagues and staffers were nearly unanimous in thinking a man like him could not succeed in today’s political climate.
They’re probably right.
But worry not — Oregon was lucky to have him once, and with this documentary film, maybe another man or woman will be inspired to be the next Mark Hatfield.
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The Hatfield Film Project released this short series of interviews prior to the D.C. trip. For updates on the film’s progress, visit HatfieldFilm.com, follow them on twitter or visit their page on Facebook.
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