From 1957 through 1962, John E. Goldmark, an Okanogan-born state representative, spent three terms in the Washington State House of Representatives. He advanced to positions of leadership within the Democratic Party and was regarded as one of the most significant figures in the liberal movement. 
However, a number of right-wing political rivals launched an effort to portray Goldmark and his wife, Sally Goldmark, as communists or sympathizers, and as a result he was soundly defeated in the 1962 primary election. The Goldmarks filed a libel lawsuit and prevailed in a widely publicized trial, receiving a $40,000 award. Following a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case involving related concerns, the judgment was later overturned. John Goldmark left his position in government and returned to his ranch in the Okanagan. He passed away from cancer in Seattle in 1979.
Many thought the Goldmark story to be done by this point in time, but Right-wing fanatic David Lewis Rice viciously murdered civil rights lawyer Charles Goldmark, his wife Annie Goldmark, and their two boys, Colin, 10, and Derek, 12, in their Madrona home on Christmas Eve of 1985. Rice incorrectly thought that Goldmark was both Jewish and a high ranking member of the Communist Party.
Rice later pleaded guilty and was to receive the death penalty. In 1997, his conviction was reversed, and he received a life sentence without the chance for parole.
Listen now to learn more about this political intrigue of the Evergreen State and its tragic ending.

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