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Chapter 24: Good Guys with Guns
- Oregon State University Press
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358 chapter twenty-four Good Guys with Guns There are several questions I was asked hundreds of times about being governor: 1. Did you like living in the governor’s mansion? 2. Did you get paid a lot of money for being the governor? (This is the question that children in the classroom always ask!) 3. What was it like to have bodyguards? Asked by both children and adults, this final question is, by far, the most interesting to answer. So let me start with semantics. The group of state police officers who provided security for me for four years while I was Governor is correctly called a “dignitary protection unit.” Not only are they top-of-the-line state police officers with an outstanding record on the force, but they also receive special training from the FBI for this duty. Six officers were assigned to the team and began their duties on the morning of election day 1990, awaiting the outcome of the governor’s race later that night. For the next four years a total of ten members of the state police protection unit were a continuous part of my life, professional and personal. Sergeant Rick Geistwhite was the officer in charge of the unit. Rick was in some ways, a stereotypical cop … macho, military leaning, sometimes stern, and usually serious. He expected his security colleagues to be well groomed, always prompt, prepared in every detail of my day, and alert to my safety at all times. When we first met, Rick was a little macho for my taste. My God … John Wayne was his hero! But over four years I discovered a committed man with respect for family, quiet warmth, a willingness to expand his thinking, and a dry “aw-shucks” sense of humor. The first time Rick and I met together, he explained clearly the role he and his officers played. Their job was to protect the constitutionally chosen governor of the state, to respect the choice the voters had dictated. Their job was not to protect Barbara Roberts. Their job was to keep the Governor safe. It was a very important distinction. I determined very early that my job was not to make their job more challenging. My cooperation with and respect for the professional work these officers did not only kept me safer but helped keep these Good Guys with Guns 359 dedicated officers out of harm’s way. Many governors who have constant security protection find it stifling and intrusive. I made up my mind that I would avoid this frustration. I would do my job. They would do theirs. I would never think of them as “in my way.” For me, that turned out to be a wise decision. I was rewarded with mutual respect, friendship, enlightening “war” stories, and hundreds of hours of great conversation as we drove throughout the state and traveled internationally. Very soon, I felt privileged to have their protection plus their companionship. However, you can’t spend four years in close connection with any group without collecting some stories worth telling, and my dignitary protection guys were no exception to that rule. First of all, there was only one woman, Pam Pederson, in the unit. Pam was strong and determined and was a member of the class of the first ten female sworn officers in the Oregon State Police. However, quite realistically, with only one woman in my protection unit, most times I was accompanied by only male officers. For years I had been active in women’s rights work. That commitment didn’t end when I became governor. So my officers sat through events for the Oregon Women’s Political Caucus, the League of Women Voters, and Planned Parenthood. Often they were the only men in the room. It was a little difficult to “blend in.” Believe me, the women in attendance didn’t miss the humor of those situations. I also had years of involvement in the disability community and would sometimes be recognized in public by someone from that community. The first few times an excited disabled citizen came runningtowardme,armsflailing,voiceshrieking,theirawkwardgait making them appear out of control, my officers were immediately on guard. But as time passed, my security crew grew accustomed to my diverse assortment of fans. One of my other longtime areas of political and civil rights work was focused in the gay community. I attended dinners, made speeches, and received awards from the gay and lesbian community throughout my...