Jay Inslee

Jay Inslee
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 6, 1999
Preceded by	Rick White
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 4th district
In office January 5, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Sid Morrison
Succeeded by	Doc Hastings
Born	February 09 1951 (1951--) (age 56) Seattle, Washington
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Trudi Inslee
Religion	Non-denominational Protestant

Jay Robert Inslee (born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, currently serving as U.S. Representative from Washington's 1st congressional district (north of Seattle, including parts of King, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties). He is a Democrat. He lives on Bainbridge Island. He married his wife Trudi on August 27, 1972.

Born in Seattle, Washington, he graduated from Seattle's Ingraham High School and the University of Washington (B.A., Economics) and Willamette University College of Law. After a decade working as an attorney in Selah, Washington, Inslee was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1988, where he served until 1992, when he was elected to Congress representing Washington's 4th congressional district (central Washington). He lost his bid for re-election in the Republican Revolution of 1994 (to Doc Hastings), a defeat often attributed in large part to his vote in favor of a 1994 ban on semi-automatic firearms.

Inslee moved back to western Washington and briefly resumed the practice of law before running for governor in 1996 and losing in the Democratic primary to Gary Locke. President Bill Clinton subsequently appointed him regional director for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, a position he shortly left to again run 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 impeachment of President Clinton. He narrowly won, with 49.8% to White's 44.1%, aided by the presence of a religious right third party candidate, Bruce Craswell (the husband of 1996 GOP gubernatorial nominee Ellen Craswell).

Though Washington's first district is historically a swing district (changing hands twice in the 1990s), the growing Democratic trend west of the Cascades has enabled Inslee to strengthen his hold on the district. He was reelected in 2000 (54.6%), 2002 (55.6%), and 2004 (62.3%). In July 2003, after then-Governor Gary Locke announced his retirement, Inslee briefly flirted with a gubernatorial bid before deciding to remain in Congress. An anti-Inslee campaign slogan, "Inslee is Outslee" was used briefly in 2002, but it did not catch on with more mainstream voters.

A member of the Clintonian New Democrat Coalition,^[1] Inslee has accumulated a progressive voting record, and has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq. He sits on the Resources Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee. He has been a supporter of the Apollo Alliance.

On July 31, 2007, Inslee introduced legislation calling for an inquiry to determine whether United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should be impeached.^[2]

Elections

References

1. ^ New Democrat Coalition membership
2. ^ Associated Press, Bill calls for Gonzales impeachment inquiry, Los Angeles Times, August 1, 2007

External links

• U.S. Representative Jay Inslee official House site
• Jay Inslee at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Mr. Jay R Inslee campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Jay Inslee issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Jay Inslee campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Jay Inslee (WA) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Jay Inslee profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Jay Inslee voting record
• Jay Inslee for U.S. Congress official campaign site
• Apollo's Fire: Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy by Rep. Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendricks

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