Maria Cantwell
United States Senator from Washington
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2001 Serving with Patty Murray
Preceded by	Slade Gorton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 1st district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	John Miller
Succeeded by	Rick White
Personal details
Born	Maria E. Cantwell (1958-10-13) October 13, 1958 (age 53) Indianapolis, Indiana
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	None
Residence	Edmonds, Washington
Alma mater	Miami University (B.A.)
Occupation	software executive
Religion	Roman Catholic[1]
Website	www.cantwell.senate.gov

Maria E. Cantwell (born October 13, 1958) is the junior United States Senator from the state of Washington and a member of the Democratic Party.

She previously served in the Washington House of Representatives, and then in the United States House of Representatives from Washington's 1st congressional district from 1993 to 1995, after which she worked as an executive for RealNetworks. She is Washington's second female senator, after Patty Murray.

Early life[link]

Cantwell was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was raised in a predominantly Irish-American neighborhood on the south side of Indianapolis. Her father, Paul F. Cantwell,^[2] served as county commissioner, city councilman, state legislator, and Chief of Staff for U.S. Representative Andrew Jacobs, Jr. Her mother, Rose M., was an administrative assistant. Her ancestry includes Irish and German.^[2]

She attended Emmerich Manual High School and was inducted into the Indianapolis Public School Hall of Fame in 2006.^[3] After high school, Cantwell went to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration. She moved to Seattle, Washington in 1983 to campaign for Alan Cranston in his unsuccessful bid for the 1984 Democratic Presidential nomination. She then moved to the Seattle suburb of Mountlake Terrace because it reminded her of Indianapolis, and led a successful campaign to build a new library there.

Early political career[link]

In 1986, Cantwell was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives at the age of 28. In her campaign, she embarked on an extensive door-knocking effort in her district.^[4] As a state representative, she helped write Washington's Growth Management Act of 1990, which required cities to develop comprehensive growth plans, and she negotiated its passage. She also worked on legislation regulating nursing homes. In 1992, Cantwell became the first Democrat elected to the United States House of Representatives from Washington's first congressional district in 40 years. During her only term, she helped convince the Clinton administration to drop its support of the Clipper chip, voted in support of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and supported President Clinton's 1993 budget. Republican Rick White used that vote to narrowly defeat her in the Republican landslide of 1994.

In the private sector[link]

After her defeat, Cantwell vowed to leave politics. Political ally Rob Glaser offered her a job as vice president of marketing for RealNetworks. Among her accomplishments was the live internet streaming broadcast of a Mariners-Yankees baseball game in 1995. (Cantwell is an avid Mariners fan.)

In 1998, the company faced heavy criticism because privacy groups alleged that the RealJukebox software program incorporated spyware to track unsuspecting users' listening patterns and download history. In response, RealNetworks amended its privacy policy to fully disclose its privacy practices regarding user listening patterns. Subsequently, RealNetworks submitted to independent outside audits of its privacy practices. Several lawsuits regarding the alleged privacy violations were settled out of court. This incident has in part formed her views on privacy and thus her opposition to the Bush administration's post-9/11 policies.^[5]

Cantwell became a multimillionaire with the stock options from RealNetworks. In August 2000, during her Senate campaign, Cantwell sold about 110,000 shares of RealNetworks stock at around $44/share.

2000 campaign[link]

At the urging of party activists and officials, Cantwell formed an exploratory committee in October 1999 to consider a run for United States Senate against Democrat Deborah Senn and incumbent Republican Slade Gorton. She committed to run for the position on January 19, 2000.

Primary[link]

Cantwell entered the campaign a year after Senn; she quickly lost the endorsements by the Washington State Labor Council and NARAL to Senn. Early on, privacy became an issue. Senn cited her record protecting medical privacy as insurance commissioner. Cantwell promoted internet privacy and cited her opposition to the Clipper chip.

In her television advertisement late in the campaign, Senn accused Cantwell of avoiding debates. Cantwell had agreed to two debates; Senn preferred more. They ended up having three debates, during which the candidates harshly attacked each other. Senn attacked RealNetworks and Cantwell's role in the company. Cantwell accused Senn of wanting to run against RealNetworks and said that Senn was uninformed on internet issues.

Cantwell secured the endorsements of the Seattle Times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Spokesman-Review, and the News Tribune. She easily won her party's nomination, defeating Senn 3–1 in the primary. Although he won renomination, Slade Gorton got fewer votes than Cantwell and Senn's combined total. Cantwell cited this result as evidence that Washington was ready for a change.

General election[link]

Social security, prescription drugs, dams, and campaign finance reform were among the most important issues in Cantwell's race against Gorton. Cantwell also adopted the slogan, "your voice for a change," a veiled reference to Gorton's campaign theme in 1980, challenging incumbent Warren Magnuson's age. She claimed Gorton supported "19th century solutions to 21st century problems."

Cantwell won the endorsements of The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the state's two biggest newspapers. Gorton won the endorsements of the smaller Tri-City Herald and the News Tribune.

At times the campaign was accused of pettiness. After a Cantwell campaign worker deep-linked to a humorous photo on the Gorton website, Gorton accused Cantwell's campaign of hacking his website, and Senn accused Cantwell of hypocrisy. "Fiddling with people's websites and calling it good fun ... adds a very childish and unworthy character to the race," said Senn's campaign spokeswoman Barbara Stenson.^[6]

The election results were extremely close. Early on, Cantwell enjoyed a lead, and TV networks projected a Cantwell victory. As absentee ballots streamed in, Gorton overtook Cantwell and achieved a lead of 15,000 votes. When the heavily Democratic Puget Sound region finished counting ballots and the county totals were certified on November 23, Cantwell had regained the lead; she was ahead by 1,953 votes out of 2.5 million cast, about 0.08%. A mandatory recount increased her lead to 2,229 votes, or 0.09%.

In 2000, Maria Cantwell and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan became the first women to defeat incumbent senators.

Campaign finance[link]

Cantwell spent over $10 million of her own money on her campaign, pledging not to accept money from PACs. When RealNetworks stock declined at the end of 2000, she spent time raising funds for debt retirement, although she kept her pledge not to accept PAC money, as documented by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.^[7]

In the waning weeks of the 2000 campaign, the Federal Election Commission ruled that Cantwell violated federal campaign finance law by securing $3.8 million in bank loans for her campaign and failing to properly disclose the loans until January 30, 2001.^[8] The complaint alleged that Cantwell had received a $600,000 line of credit without sufficient collateral and another $1,000,000, all at a preferential interest rate. After review, the Federal Election Commission sent a letter of admonishment, saying that the loans were "made on a basis that assures repayment and that each loan bore the usual and customary interest rate."^[9]

2006 re-election campaign[link]

The close 2004 gubernatorial race between Democrat Christine Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi suggested to many that the 2006 contest might go either way.^[10] Both Cantwell and her opponent Republican Mike McGavick dominated their primaries; initial speculation favored a Republican victory.^[11] "At one point," wrote analyst Larry Sabato, "all the talk in this race concerned Cantwell's cool relations with anti-war Democratic elements and McGavick's relatively united base. But Democrats appear to have closed ranks behind their junior senator."^[12] Cantwell ended up winning re-election by a 16 point margin, even winning several traditionally Republican counties in Eastern Washington including Spokane County.^[13][14]

During the 2006 campaign, Cantwell received heavy criticism for declining most of the invitations she received to debate McGavick in public forums. Media outlets across the state, including The Olympian and the Yakima Herald-Republic, rebuked Cantwell, claiming that she is afraid to confront McGavick, calling it "unacceptable"^[15] and "simply not fair." Cantwell agreed to a total of two debates with her opponent in Seattle and Spokane, lasting 60 and 30 minutes, respectively. However, when Cantwell ran as a challenger for the Senate against the incumbent Slade Gorton in 2000, Gorton only agreed to two debates of a similar format. In another comparison, when Washington's Senior Senator Patty Murray ran for re-election in 2004, she only agreed to two debates with George Nethercutt, although both debates lasted one hour.^[16]

Cantwell was a key proponent of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill of 2002 and cosponsored the Clean Money, Clean Elections Act of 2001.^[17][18] In 2005 she wrote a letter in support of the Perkins Loan program,^[19] and told the Seattle Times in July 2006 that she is opposed to Social Security privatization.^[20] Cantwell cosponsored the "Pension Fairness and Full Disclosure Act of 2005".^[21]

Cantwell earned the endorsement of the League of Conservation Voters^[22] and other environmental groups^[23][24] for opposing oil drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and by cosponsoring the Roadless Area Conservation Act, legislation aimed at preserving Washington's forests from logging and the building of paved roads. She has also worked to invest in alternative energy and to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, by sponsoring the Clean EDGE Act of 2006.^[25]

US Senate career[link]

Committee assignments[link]

Sen. Cantwell currently serves on these Committees and Subcommittees in the 112th United States Congress:

• Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security (Chairwoman)
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
  • Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
• Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy (Chairwoman)
  • Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power
• Committee on Finance
  • Subcommittee on Health Care
  • Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
• Committee on Indian Affairs
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Caucus Memberships[link]

• Senate Oceans Caucus

Approval ratings[link]

Political Positions[link]

Cantwell with other female Senators of the 110th Congress

Cantwell serves on the Finance Committee, the Indian Affairs Committee, the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. She also served on the Judiciary Committee during her first two years (2001–2002).

While she scores high on a progressive chart from ProgressivePunch.org,^[26] Cantwell has cast several controversial votes during her time in the Senate that have created friction between her and other members of the Democratic Party.

On the issue of the Iraq war, on October 11, 2002 Cantwell voted in favor of the Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq. Her October 10, 2002, press release, however, quotes her as stating on the floor of the U.S. Senate, "... Mr. President, my vote for this resolution does not mean that I am convinced of the Administration has answered all the questions. I believe the following issues must be addressed before the U.N. or the U.S. move forward with military action." Cantwell detailed six specific areas in which her questions and concerns had yet to be satisfactorily addressed at the time of her vote to authorize war: "First: Continued Multilateral Approach ... Second: Successful Military Strategy ... Third: A Postwar Commitment Strategy ... Fourth: Fighting the Broader War on Terrorism ... Fifth: Maintaining Middle East Stability ... Sixth: Protecting Iraqi Civilians."

In 2006 Cantwell voted against the Kerry-Feingold Amendment to S.2766, which would have set a timetable for withdrawal,^[27] but she voted in favor of the Levin-Reed Amendment,^[28] which would encourage beginning a phased withdrawal by the end of the year, with no timetable for completion.

On the issue of abortion, Cantwell calls herself "100% pro-choice", and she consistently supports the positions of the pro-choice movement. She was one of 34 senators to vote against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which passed and was signed into law by President Bush on November 5, 2003, and has been ruled against by multiple federal courts before finally being upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. She also voted against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which made it an additional crime to kill or harm a fetus during a criminal assault upon the mother. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 61–38, and was signed into law by President Bush on April 1, 2004.

Cantwell is the chair of the Senate Democrats 20/20 Energy Independence campaign and is a co-chair of the Apollo Alliance.^[29] One of Cantwell's main accomplishments was the passage of an amendment "To prevent energy market manipulation," which passed 57–40 in the Senate; a previous effort was defeated by a vote of 50–48.^[30]

In the summer of 2005, Cantwell voted for the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which angered many who opposed free trade agreements. Others argued that due to the state's unique economy, any senator from Washington almost had to vote for free trade pacts. Her votes on CAFTA, the PATRIOT Act, and Iraq prompted a 2006 Democratic primary challenge from Hong Tran, a Seattle legal aid attorney, and a third party challenge from Aaron Dixon, the former captain of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party.

Citing his potential views on abortion and the environment, Cantwell was one of 22 senators to vote against United States Supreme Court nominee John Roberts.

In December 2005, Cantwell scored what many perceived as one of the strongest victories of her first term when she blocked Alaska senator Ted Stevens' efforts to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Stevens attached the measure to a bill that provided money for defense spending and Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. Cantwell managed to round up the votes of 41 Democrats and 2 Republicans, enough to block a final vote.^[31] Stevens removed the ANWR drilling measure from the larger bill, but promised to bring the matter up at a later date.

In January 2006, after publicly announcing her opposition to Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, Cantwell, along with 18 other Democrats and all 53 present Republicans, voted for the cloture motion.^[32] The success of this motion ended an unlikely attempt to filibuster the confirmation of Judge Alito that was being led by Senator John Kerry and Senator Ted Kennedy.^[33] Alito was confirmed the next day by a vote of 58–42, with most Democrats, including Cantwell, voting against the confirmation.

In May 2006, Cantwell, along with 38 of 44 Senate Democrats, voted in favor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611).^[34] This controversial legislation includes provisions to improve border security, increases fines and other punishments for employers of illegal immigrants, creation of a guest worker program (which includes an almost doubling of the number of H1-B visas),^[35] and creates a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country.^[36] The bill, with support from Republican Party leadership, passed 62–36.

Cantwell speaks during the second day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

On December 31, 2007, Cantwell became the 10th senator to endorse Hillary Clinton's candidacy to become the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.^[37] Cantwell supported Clinton through the duration of the primary season,^[38] but she had vowed to vote for the winner of the pledged delegates.^[39] After Clinton's concession on June 7, Cantwell endorsed Obama.^[40] At the Washington State Democratic Convention on June 15, Cantwell added: "I do want to see a strong Democratic woman in the White House ... That's why I'm so glad Michelle Obama will be the next first lady."^[41]

Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the DREAM Act[link]

Cantwell voted in September 2010 to invoke cloture to begin debate on the don't ask, don't tell policy in the military. Debate would have also commenced on the DREAM Act, though this was halted due to a Republican filibuster.^[42]

Health care reform[link]

Cantwell supports health care reform in the United States and was a co-sponsor of Senator Ron Wyden's (D-OR) Healthy Americans Act. In her role as a member of the Finance Committee, she had an influential role in crafting health care reform legislation. On September 29, 2009, when the Finance Committee considered health care reform legislation, Cantwell supported amendments to establish a public health care option that would compete with private insurers.^[43]

In 2009, The Stranger ran an article on Cantwell's opposition to the inclusion of a public option in the health-care reform plan. They reported that: “Seattle congressman Jim McDermott supports it. Washington senator Patty Murray wants it. So does President Barack Obama. So does the often conservative Seattle Times editorial page. So do 72 percent of Americans, according to a recent poll. So what's going on with Washington's junior senator, Maria Cantwell? Why doesn't she want Congress to include a public option—a new government-run health-care plan that will be available to everyone and will compete with private insurance companies to bring down costs—in its health-care-reform package?”^[44] Cantwell cited her concerns with getting the bill through the United States Senate as the reason for her opposition.^[44]

Environmental views[link]

In addition to her opposition to drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, Cantwell has been one of the most vocal critics of the increase of oil and gasoline prices during 2008.^[45] Advocating increased regulation of futures markets and windfall taxes on oil profits, Cantwell has drawn scathing criticism from the Wall Street Journal.^[46]

Cantwell received the highest rating possible from the League of Conservation Voters for her environmental voting record. She is known for supporting alternative energy research and for protecting Washington's forests from logging and the construction of paved roads and has earned endorsement from various prominent environmental advocacy groups^[22] and other environmental groups.^[23][24] She has opposed drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on multiple occasions, has voted to reduce oil usage by 40% by 2025, and has opposed legislation to relax or terminate CAFE standards.^[47] The Seattle Times has described Cantwell's environmental record as "pristine",^[48] and the Wilderness Society has described Cantwell as an "environmental champion".^[49]

The Cantwell-Collins bill (S. 2877),^[50] also called the Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal (CLEAR) Act,^[51] directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program to regulate the entry of fossil carbon into commerce in the United States, to promote renewable-energy jobs and economic growth.^[52][53] The bill is bipartisan with Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine.

Contraceptives[link]

Cantwell has expressed support for the Plan B contraceptives to be available to young girls aged 16 and under.^[54] She received criticism from her Republican challenger, State Senator Michale Baumgartner. Baumgartner suggested that Cantwell was too extreme and too far to the left of most Washington voters to relate with this issue, citing concern with 11 year old girls getting these drugs without a prescription.^[55]

Support for fellow Democrats[link]

Cantwell is a major supporter of fellow Democrats running for office. In 2006, facing her own challenging race, Cantwell used ActBlue to raise $100,000 for Darcy Burner, Peter Goldmark, and Richard Wright, all of whom were facing tough House races in Washington State. In the 2008 cycle, Cantwell was particularly committed to supporting the re-election of Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

Criticism of Amanda Knox guilty verdict[link]

On 4 December 2009, the day that 22 year-old Washingtonian Amanda Knox was found guilty by an Italian court of the murder of Meredith Kercher, Cantwell released a statement expressing her dismay at the verdict, saying that she had "serious questions about the Italian justice system and whether anti-Americanism tainted [the] trial". She stated that evidence against Knox was insufficient, that Knox had been subjected to "harsh treatment" following her arrest and that there had been "negligence" in the handling of evidence. She also complained that jurors had not been sequestered, allowing them to view "negative news coverage" about Knox and that one of the prosecutors had a misconduct case pending in relation to another trial.^[56]

Cantwell said she would seek assistance from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. A spokesman for the State Department said in December 2009 that the Department had followed the case closely and would continue to do so. He added: "It is still in the early days but ... we haven't received any indications necessarily that Italian law was not followed".^[57]

Electoral history[link]

Personal[link]

In 2006, it emerged that court files concerning a loan made by Cantwell in 2001 to her former boyfriend, boss, and campaign manager, lobbyist Ron Dotzauer, which were to help Dotzauer through his divorce litigation, had been sealed. The reporter for Sound Politics had the file unsealed and discovered that Cantwell was identified in the divorce records “as the 'other woman.'”^[58]

The New York Post that D.C. insiders are buzzing that John Harwood, a CNBC Washington correspondent and political writer for the New York Times, had split with his wife and was dating Cantwell. The piece said that "According to well-placed sources, Harwood has kept it out of one DC paper by sobbing to a reporter until he agreed to kill the story.”^[59]

Owing to a sharp decrease in the value of her stock in RealNetworks, Cantwell's personal fortune has declined significantly in the past few years.^[60]

See also[link]

• Washington U.S. Senate election, 2006

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Maria Cantwell

• United States Senator Maria Cantwell official U.S. Senate site
• Maria Cantwell official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Profile at SourceWatch

v t e United States Senators from Washington Class 1 Allen Wilson Foster Piles Poindexter Dill Schwellenbach Wallgren Mitchell Cain Jackson Evans Gorton Cantwell Class 3 Squire Turner Ankeny Jones Grammer Bone Magnuson Gorton Adams Murray

Jay Inslee
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 1st district
In office January 3, 1999 – March 20, 2012
Preceded by	Rick White
Succeeded by	TBD
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 4th district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Sid Morrison
Succeeded by	Doc Hastings
Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 14th district
In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Jim Lewis
Succeeded by	Dave Lemmon
Personal details
Born	Jay Robert Inslee (1951-02-09) February 9, 1951 (age 61) Seattle, Washington (U.S. state)
Political party	Democratic Party (United States)
Spouse(s)	Trudi Inslee
Residence	Selah, Washington (1978-c.1996) Bainbridge Island, Washington (c. 1996-present)
Alma mater	University of Washington, Willamette University
Occupation	attorney
Religion	Non-denominational Protestant

Jay Robert Inslee (born February 9, 1951) is the former member of the United States House of Representatives for Washington's 1st congressional district, serving from 1999 until his resignation on March 20, 2012, in order to focus on his campaign for Governor of Washington. He is a member of the Democratic Party (United States). His former district includes many of Seattle's northern suburbs in King County, Washington, Snohomish County, Washington, and Kitsap County, Washington counties. Inslee announced his candidacy for Governor on June 27, 2011.

Early life, education, and law career[link]

Inslee was born in Seattle, the son of Adele A. (née Brown) and Frank E. Inslee.^[1] He graduated from Seattle's Ingraham High School, the University of Washington (Bachelor of Arts, Economics), and Willamette University College of Law.

Inslee has attributed his interest in the outdoors to the years his parents spent leading student groups on wilderness conservation trips in cooperation with the NPCA in Mount Rainier in the 1960s and 1970s.^[2] He practiced law for ten years in Selah, Washington, a city just north of Yakima.

Washington House of Representatives (1989-1993)[link]

Elections[link]

Congressman Jay Inslee

Inslee ran for the Washington House of Representatives in 1988 after incumbent Republican State Representative Jim Lewis resigned to become political commentator of a Yakima television station.^[3] He was inspired to run after the state legislature undermined a school bond that he had worked to pass after years of failure.^[4] In the blanket primary, Republican Lynn Carmichael ranked first with 43% and Inslee ranked second with 40%. Republican Glen Blomgren ranked third with 17%.^[5] In the general election, Inslee defeated Carmichael 52%-48%.^[6] In 1990, Inslee won re-election with 62% of the vote.^[7]

Tenure[link]

In the Washington state legislature, Inslee pursued a bill to provide initial funding to build five branch campuses of the Washington State University system. Although the bill failed, Inslee’s tenacity made an impression on House Speaker Joe King, who said, “He’s not afraid to incur the wrath of the speaker or the caucus.”^[8] In 1991, Inslee voted for the state energy policy which had the state devise a cost-effective energy strategy, and that state agencies and school districts pursue and maintain energy-efficient operation of their facilities.^[9]

Committee assignments[link]

He served on the Higher Education^[10] and Housing^[11] Committees.

U.S. House of Representatives (1993-1995)[link]

Jay Inslee and his wife Trudi Inslee meets with the Dalai Lama

Elections[link]

1992

In 1992, he ran for and was elected to the United States Congress representing Washington's 4th congressional district in the central part of the state, a rural, agricultural-based district anchored by Yakima and the Tri-Cities, Washington.

1994

He lost his bid for re-election in the Republican Revolution of 1994 in a rematch against his 1992 opponent, Doc Hastings. Inslee attributed his 1994 defeat in large part to his vote for the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.^[12]

Tenure[link]

Jay Inslee meets with Clarence Moriwaki

In Congress Inslee passed the Yakima River Enhancement Act,^[13] a bill long held up in Congress by brokering a breakthrough with irrigators and wildlife advocates. He also helped to open Japanese markets to American apples, and fund and oversee the nation's biggest nuclear waste site at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Washington.^[14]

Committee assignments[link]

Official 109th Congressional photo

In his first congressional tenure, he was placed on the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture to protect the district's rural areas and the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology to protect the Hanford Reservation.^[15]

Inter-congressional years (1995-1999)[link]

Inslee moved to Bainbridge Island, a suburb of Seattle, and briefly resumed the practice of law.

1996 gubernatorial election[link]

He ran for Governor of Washington in Washington gubernatorial election, 1996 and lost in the blanket primary. Democratic King County Executive and former State Representative Gary Locke ranked first with 24% of the vote. Democratic Mayor of Seattle Norm Rice ranked second with 18%, but didn't qualify for the general election. Republican State Senator Ellen Craswell ranked third with 15%, and became the Republican candidate to qualify for the general election. Republican State Senator and Senate Majority Leader Dale Foreman ranked fourth with 13%. Democrat one term U.S. Congressman Jay Inslee ranked fifth with 10%. No other candidate on the ballot received double digits.^[16]

Clinton administration[link]

After his failed 1996 bid for Governor of Washington, President of the United States Bill Clinton subsequently appointed him regional director for the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Inslee was once touted as a candidate for United States Secretary of the Interior and for United States Secretary of Energy in the Presidential transition of Barack Obama.^[17][18]

U.S. House of Representatives (1999-2012)[link]

Elections[link]

He ran again for Congress in 1998, this time in the 1st congressional district against two-term incumbent Rick White. His campaign attracted national attention when he became the first Democratic candidate to air television ads attacking his opponent and the Republican congressional leadership for the Lewinsky scandal.^[19] Inslee won with 49.8% of the vote to White's 44.1%; his success was aided by the conservative third political party candidacy of Bruce Craswell, husband of 1996 GOP gubernatorial nominee Ellen Craswell.

The 1st was a swing district for most of the 1990s; Inslee's win marked the third time the district had changed hands in four elections. However, the recent Democratic trend in the Seattle area has turned the 1st into a solidly Democratic district. Inslee defeated Washington Senate Minority Leader Dan McDonald in 2000, taking 54.6% of the vote. Inslee defeated former state representative Joe Marine in 2002, taking 55.6% of the vote after the district was made more Democratic in the 2000s round of redistricting.

In July 2003, after Gary Locke announced he would not seek a third term as Washington's governor, Inslee briefly flirted with a gubernatorial bid before deciding to remain in Congress.^[20]

Inslee was returned to the United States House of Representatives with over 60% of the vote in the next three elections. During the 2009-10 campaign cycle, Inslee raised $1,140,025. In data compiled for the period 2005 to 2007 and excluding individual contributions of less than $200, 64 percent of Inslee's donations were from outside the state of Washington and 86 percent came from outside his district (compared to 79 percent for the average House member). A total of 43 percent of Inslee's donations came from Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland. The largest interests funding Inslee's campaign were pharmaceutical and health related companies, lawyers and law firms, and high tech companies.^[21]

In 2010 he won by a 15-point margin, with 57.67% of the votes cast in his favor.^[22] His district went 62% to Barack Obama in 2008, an indication of how strongly the district now leans Democratic.

Tenure[link]

Though a member of the Bill Clinton New Democrat Coalition,^[23] Inslee has accumulated a liberal voting record and expertise on high-tech issues.^[24]

Inslee was awarded a "Friend of the National Parks" award by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) in 2001 for his support of legislation protecting the integrity and quality of the National Park System.^[25]

Inslee was the first public figure to propose an Apollo-like energy program with an op ed in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, on December 19, 2002,^[26] and in a series of similar pieces in other publications. Eventually Inslee co-authored Apollo's Fire: Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy, in which he argues that through improved Federal policies the United States can wean itself off of its dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuel, create millions of Green-collar worker jobs, and stop global warming. Along these lines, he has been a prominent supporter of the Apollo Alliance.^[27]

Inslee strongly believes the Environmental Protection Agency should remain authorized to regulate green house gas emissions. In a 2011 House hearing, Inslee said Republicans have "an allergy to science and scientists," during a discussion of whether the Regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act should remain in place following a controversial court finding on the issue.^[28]

He has been an outspoken critic of the George W. Bush administration's decision to 2003 invasion of Iraq. On July 31, 2007, Inslee introduced legislation that called for an inquiry to determine whether then United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should be impeached. Gonzales eventually resigned.^[29]

In 2011 Inslee voted in favor of authorizing the use of U.S. armed forces in the 2011 Libyan civil war and voted against limiting the use of funds to support NATO's 2011 military intervention in Libya.^[30]

On March 20, 2012, Inslee left Congress to focus on his campaign for Governor of Washington.^[31] His absence will cause a special election, costing upwards of $1 million dollars to taxpayers, to fill his vacant Congressional seat for one month. ^[32]

Committee assignments[link]

• United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • United States House Energy Subcommittee on Energy and Power

Caucus memberships[link]

• Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus
• Congressional Internet Caucus
• House Medicare and Medicaid Fairness Caucus
• House Oceans Caucus
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus
• Congressional Arts Caucus

2012 gubernatorial election[link]

On June 27, 2011, Inslee announced his entry into the Washington gubernatorial election, 2012.^[33]

Electoral history[link]

Personal life[link]

Inslee and his wife Trudi were high school sweethearts and have been married since August 27, 1972. They have three sons, Jack, Connor, and Joe, and live on Bainbridge Island.^[34]

Inslee is an avid basketball player and a member of "Hoopaholics",^[35] a charity group dedicated to "treatment of old guys addicted to basketball and who can no longer jump" as Inslee has often joked. In October 2009, he played basketball at the White House in a series of games featuring members of Congress on one team and members of the administration, including President Obama, on the other.^[36]

Works[link]

• Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendricks, Apollo's Fire: Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy, Island Press (October 1, 2007), ISBN 978-1-59726-175-3

References[link]