Ford was Democratic Floor Leader of the House of Representatives; Chairman of the House Highways Committee; and instrumental in the creation of the Agate Pass Bridge between Bainbridge Island and the Olympic Peninsula.
[3] Ford was born in New Rochelle, New York in 1911; graduated from high school in Glendale, California and earned degrees in economics and political science from the University of Washington in Seattle.
[1] He served in the United States Navy during World War II on minesweepers in Iceland and at the landing at Salerno.
[1] He married Nancy Elizabeth McFate of South Colby, Washington; they had a daughter and a son.
[1] He is known to history as a fellow sailor and close friend of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.