Paper: Idaho Statesman, The (Boise, ID)
Title: 'Senator Emeritus' John Corlett dies at 90
Date: November 30, 1999
Ex-political editor knew the players, events, history. By: Dan Popkey

John Corlett, who covered Idaho politics longer and better than anybody, died Sunday. He was 90.
Deeply grounded in Idaho, Corlett reported on 11 governors, every national presidential convention from 1948 to 1972 and every session of the Idaho Legislature from 1937 until his retirement as political editor of The Idaho Statesman in 1975.
Then, he wrote a weekly column on politics until 1990, when failing eyesight forced him to silence his Underwood typewriter.
Monday, former governors, legislators and journalists mourned the passing of a man who set the standard for fair, thorough and constructive reporting on politics.
Corlett was a gigantic figure, a sort we don't produce in an era of distrust of government, ever-falling voter turnout and corporate journalism.
"He was a man of prodigious influence," former Gov. Bob Smylie said. "He had connections that nobody else had. He was a great friend, and I valued his approval."
Corlett's reporting, while straight down the middle, helped Smylie in two of his most vital victories: ending casino gaming and re-enacting the sales tax.
Former Govs. Cecil Andrus, John Evans and Phil Batt also saluted Corlett.
"He peeled the hide off me a few times," Andrus said, "but I probably deserved it. John was a great journalist from the Old School. He had heart, and he was loyal to Idaho."
"He was an institution," Evans said. "We all went to him for counsel and advice, and he willingly gave it his best shot."
Corlett could spot talent. In 1965, he named Batt as a promising freshman lawmaker, helping him win a trip to a Rutgers University seminar. "I don't know how he knew that, because all I was was obnoxious all the time," Batt said. "But he was a constructive guy. He wanted to build."
By the time Batt and Dean Summers of Boise got to the state Senate in 1967, Corlett was accorded extraordinary respect. "They called him 'The senator from the fourth floor,' " Summers said, referring to the old press room. "I thought that was a little odd, but he was a dapper guy in a bow tie, and he'd been there a long time. He was a very decent guy, a class act."
He also liked a sip of scotch after deadline. His brand often was delivered in a paper bag by lobbyists and lawmakers. "Sometimes you'd pay a little homage to him," Summers said. "It wasn't required, but it didn't hurt."
When he retired in 1975, the Senate passed a resolution recognizing Corlett as "Senator Emeritus."
Corlett was awed by fellow reporters, said Bill Hall, now editorial page editor at the Lewiston Tribune. Hall met Corlett in 1959 while covering his first session of the Legislature. "It was like playing with the Yankees next to Babe Ruth. Everybody who had something to leak in Idaho politics would get it to Corlett."
Sal Celeski, who started Channel 7's "Viewpoint" in 1966, credits Corlett with making what now is the state's longest-running public affairs program a success. "I knew I had to have John," Celeski said. "He was the dean, he was the guy, he made the show."
Journalist Perry Swisher said Corlett's Idaho roots - he graduated from Boise High School and the University of Idaho - helped him develop a sophisticated understanding of how things worked. Smartly, he cultivated powerbrokers like Lloyd Adams, Tom Boise and Bill Eberle.
"He used them to know what was happening before it happened," Swisher said.
Bob Fick, Associated Press correspondent in Idaho since 1983, relied on Corlett's memory, even after his retirement. "Anybody who didn't call John Corlett was stupid," Fick said, "because he knew what they didn't know."
"He knew the actors, he knew the events, he knew the history of this state," said Bethine Church, whose husband, the late Sen. Frank Church, hired Corlett's son, Cleve, as his press secretary.
Marc Johnson, who served as a top aide to Andrus, is writing an article on Corlett for the Spring issue of Boise Magazine. Having reviewed Corlett's work, Johnson said his integrity won politicians' trust. "He was a singularly careful practitioner of the craft. They knew they were dealing with a real pro - somebody who knew the business of politics as well as they did."
But Corlett was so modest he declined repeated suggestions that he write a memoir, said Judy Austin, editor of Idaho Yesterdays and a friend for 30 years. "He genuinely didn't feel he had anything to contribute, which, of course, was outrageously wrong."
Perhaps Corlett's rarest gift was his unwavering belief in the beauty and genius of democracy. Despite 50 years of writing about Idaho politics, he never got stale or jaded.
"He never burned out on the Legislature," Hall said. "He always saw the novelty and the fun and the importance."
Aptly, Corlett's memorial will be at St. Michael's Episcopal Cathedral, across the street from the Capitol. The service will be at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Call Dan at 377-6438 or e-mail [email protected]
Mug: John Corlett
Statesman file photo: John Corlett: Editor was a "prodigious influence," "an institution" and "loyal to Idaho."

Lewiston Morning Tribune (ID) November 30, 1999
Section: Local/Regional Page: 8A
Topics:
Index Terms: Obituary
John Corlett, longtime Idaho political reporter, dies in Boise
Author: Associated Press
Article Text:
BOISE -- John Corlett, one of the most respected Idaho political reporters of the century, has died at a Boise care center. Corlett, who had been in declining health for the past several months, was 90.
Corlett, whose career spanned five decades and 11 different governors, suffered a stroke in late summer that was followed by other health problems. He died Sunday.
After beginning his career with the old Boise Capital News in 1935 as a sports reporter, Corlett joined The Idaho Statesman in 1940 to cover politics.
He worked for United Press from 1942 to 1948, when he rejoined The Statesman as political editor.
In his career, Corlett covered every legislative session from 1937 until he retired in 1975. He was the Idaho correspondent for a number of national publications including The New York Times and covered the national presidential nominating conventions from 1948 through 1972.
His incisiveness, and a memory that served as the historic reservoir of Idaho politics for many, earned him the status of Senator Emeritus by formal resolution of the Idaho State Senate on his retirement. A year later, his alma mater, the University of Idaho, conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
After retiring, he compiled the Idaho Almanac, a nearly two-year project that produced a detailed history of the state and those responsible for its political, social and economic development.
Corlett, whose sight was failing for the past decade, was appointed to the Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired by former Democratic Gov. Cecil Andrus in 1993 and reappointed by former Republican Gov. Phil Batt in 1998. After working for expansion of audio services for the blind, he resigned last September because of his health.
He was also a trustee and chairman of the Idaho State Historical Society and a director of the Idaho Medical and Biology Foundation.
Born in Ruth, Nev., Corlett lived briefly in Wyoming before moving to Boise with his parents in 1921.
His wife of 57 years, Bertha, died in 1993. He is survived by his son, Cleve, and his daughter, Carolyn.
Copyright (c) 1999, 2002 Lewiston Morning Tribune
Record Number: 0F3D93B4138D7955
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