Trail had no qualms about crossing the aisle

Tom Trail, who died Nov. 2 at the age of 88, was a man of many talents but known mostly for his ability to work with people of all stripes for the common good.

“Tom Trail was a dear friend of mine,” said Gary Schroeder, of Moscow, who served alongside Trail in the Idaho Legislature from 1992 to 2010. Both were Republicans.

“What was unique about Tom, he worked readily and willingly with members of both parties to get good legislation passed,” Schroeder said. “Tom was a problem solver; not an idealogue to support stuff that was ridiculous just because the party said he was supposed to. He thought for himself.”

Trail was a Moscow native who spent his career as a Washington State University professor, an Idaho state representative, a 4-H leader, a member of the Rotary Club, a Sunday School teacher and president of the Idaho American Association of Retired Persons.

Trail also was a world traveler and visited and lived in more than 100 countries around the world. He was passionate about international culture and invested much of his professional life overseeing programs such as the Peace Corps, Heifer Project, international 4-H Youth Exchange and American Field Service.

He was first elected to the Idaho Legislature in 1996.

In January 1999, Trail suffered a mild heart attack two days before the 55th Idaho Legislature opened its session. He returned to work a couple of weeks later vowing to make some changes, including losing weight, eating less, exercising more and going to rehabilitation three times a week.

In an interview with the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Trail said he realized how fortunate he had been.

“When I woke up, the first thought that came to mind was that I was lucky, because I was within 3 miles of a good hospital,” Trail said. “I was also lucky that (former Rep. Maynard) Miller was ready to go.”

Miller, a fellow Republican from Moscow, filled in shortly after losing his District 5B seat to Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow.

When Trail returned to work, he championed lowering the age of eligibility for state employees for retirement benefits from 90 to 85.

He also worked on raising teachers’ salaries, state funding for the Head Start program, providing civil remedies for victims of identity theft and reducing the supermajority for school bonds to 60%.

“What Tom really stood out on was, he spent a lot of time doing constituent work and being an interface with the government,” Schroeder said. “He worked to solve problems that people have with various agencies, as did I. … Today’s legislators don’t do that. They don’t consider that part of their job. They go to Boise and sit in the seat, vote and go home.

“Tom was different. He spent a lot of time working with constituents — I did, too — on situations that need their attention.”

Schroeder lamented that the GOP “is a different party now, under the influence of Wayne Hoffman (and the Idaho Freedom Foundation). Hoffman really has an effect on a lot of legislators today. They don’t represent their constituents. They represent Wayne Hoffman and all they care about is getting a good rating from him.”

Former State Senator Carl Crabtree, of Grangeville, said he did not know Trail well, but worked with him a couple of times and attested to Trail’s good character.

“He was a very respected man and a politician of the old school, which was to find common ground,” Crabtree said. “He was a solution finder and had a great reputation for that.”

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.