R.R. "Bob" Greive, 84, jumped into political life early

R.R. "Bob" Greive, a tireless, forceful politician who once employed as many as three full-time administrative assistants, was skilled at campaign fund-raising and led the state Senate's Democratic Party in the 1960s, died yesterday in the same West Seattle office where he first worked almost 50 years ago.

Mr. Greive, who was suffering from complications of Parkinson's disease, was 84.

"That's where he wanted to be, that's where he was happiest," said his ex-wife, Barbara Shea, referring to Mr. Greive's law office at 4444 California Ave S.W.

In fact, in the second half of his political career, while serving as a King County Council member for a dozen years (until being toppled in 1987 by then-upstart Greg Nickels, now Seattle's mayor), Mr. Greive also worked full time as a personal-injury lawyer.

He never retired, and he would have been working yesterday if he could have, family members said.

Born Oct. 6, 1919, and reared in West Seattle, he attended Holy Rosary Grade School. He would go to Mass at Holy Rosary Church almost every morning of his adult life. He never smoked or drank, family members said.

After attending both O'Dea and West Seattle high schools, Mr. Greive trained at a local design school, then enlisted in the Coast Guard. After his discharge, he worked as a commercial artist, then attended the University of Washington Law School. He finished his law education at the University of Miami. There, he married.

Mr. Greive talked politics early. His mother was a local Democratic precinct committee member. In 1946 Mr. Greive won a state Senate seat with a "youth and vigor" platform.

At the beginning, Mr. Greive, who always wore a bow tie, annoyed and amused his colleagues with his precise recollections of parliamentary rules. But he quickly gained the support of labor committees and climbed the ranks to Senate Democratic Party leader in 1956. One newspaper story at the time described him as a "free-wheeling idea factory."

Sid Snyder, a veteran legislator who also served as secretary of the Senate for more than 20 years, said Mr. Greive was among the first of "the new breed," who doorbelled, sent out strategic mailings and raised money for the party, distributing it personally to other Democratic senators' campaigns.

The latter tactic especially, referred to as "The Greive Fund," was controversial at the time. Critics said his contributions to other Senate campaigns gave him undue influence with those senators. The amounts he raised were well above anything other politicians were bringing in at the time, Snyder said.

"Speechmaking on the floor isn't the thing. The die is cast long before that," Mr. Greive said in a Feb. 23, 1969, Associated Press story. "The skill is in the vote-counting, and I think I'm the best."

Richard Larsen, a former Seattle Times political reporter, wrote in Nov. 19, 1972, "Almost every politician dreams of moving onward and upward to some new, higher position. ... The oddity in that group-behavioral phenomenon is R.R. 'Bob' Greive. He aspires only to be just what he is today: majority leader of the state Senate."

He has "courted that job, prized it, savored it, nurtured it," Larsen wrote. "With his abundant energy, he has campaigned for it year after year, helping elect Democrats to the Senate."

The next day, Nov. 20, Mr. Greive was voted out as Senate majority leader by his own party and replaced by August Mardesich. Critics said Mr. Greive had become too resistant to change.

Mr. Greive retaliated, accusing Mardesich of taking $10,000 from garbage collectors in exchange for supporting legislation they favored. The accusation became a charge. Mardesich was acquitted but he soon resigned his leadership post.

Mr. Greive was defeated in the 1974 Senate race. The next year, he was elected to the King County Council.

As a councilman, he focused mainly on West Seattle. He used his clout to fix potholes, establish or move bus stops and obtain $10 million for the West Seattle Bridge project.

During his career, Mr. Greive was known as an advocate for the underdog, pushing for affordable housing and opportunities for the poor. In the mid-1980s, he supported air-pollution-control laws when that was viewed as an attack on business, rather than a way to protect the environment.

In addition to his ex-wife, Mr. Greive is survived by his sister, Alberta Ward of Idyllwild, Calif.; children Bernadette Lucas of Los Angeles, Mary Long of Tacoma, Kathleen Deakins of Des Moines, Raymond Greive of West Seattle, J.J. Greive of Burien and Tom Greive of West Seattle; and eight grandchildren.

A vigil is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Holy Rosary, 4139 42nd Ave S.W. A funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Holy Rosary.

Michael Ko: 206-515-5653 or mko@seattletimes.com