Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party; the Democrats' dominant worldview was once social conservatism and economic liberalism, while populism was its leading characteristic in the rural South. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate in the Progressive Party, beginning a switch of political platforms between the Democratic and Republican Party over the coming decades, leading to Woodrow Wilson being elected as the first fiscally progressive Democrat. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has promoted a social liberal platform, supporting social justice. Well into the 20th century, the party had conservative pro-business and Southern conservative-populist anti-business wings.
The New Deal Coalition of 1932–1964 attracted strong support from voters of recent European extraction—many of whom were Catholics based in the cities. After Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal of the 1930s, the pro-business wing withered outside the South. After the racial turmoil of the 1960s, most Southern whites and many Northern Catholics moved into the Republican Party at the presidential level; the once-powerful labor union element became less supportive after the 1970s. White Evangelicals and Southerners became Republican at the state and local level since the 1990s. People living in metropolitan areas, women and gender minorities, college graduates, racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, such as Jewish Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans and African Americans, tend to support the Democratic Party much more than they support the rival Republican Party; the Democratic Party's philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic equality, along with the welfare state.
It seeks to provide government regulation in the economy. These interventions, such as the introduction of social programs, support for labor unions, affordable college tuitions, moves toward universal health care and equal opportunity, consumer protection and environmental protection form the core of the party's economic policy. Fifteen Democrats have served as President of the United States; the first was President Andrew Jackson, the seventh president and served from 1829 to 1837. The most recent was President Barack Obama, the 44th president and held office from 2009 to 2017. Following the 2018 midterm elections, the Democrats held a majority in the House of Representatives, "trifectas" in 14 states, the mayoralty of numerous major American cities, such as Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Portland and Washington, D. C. Twenty-three state governors were Democrats, the Party was the minority party in the Senate and in most state legislatures; as of March 2019, four of the nine Justices of the Supreme Court had been appointed by Democratic presidents.
Democratic Party officials trace its origins to the inspiration of the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and other influential opponents of the Federalists in 1792. That party inspired the Whigs and modern Republicans. Organizationally, the modern Democratic Party arose in the 1830s with the election of Andrew Jackson. Since the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, the party has positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic issues, they have been more liberal on civil rights issues since 1948. On foreign policy, both parties have changed position several times; the Democratic Party evolved from the Jeffersonian Republican or Democratic-Republican Party organized by Jefferson and Madison in opposition to the Federalist Party of Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. The party favored republicanism; the Democratic-Republican Party came to power in the election of 1800. After the War of 1812, the Federalists disappeared and the only national political party left was the Democratic-Republicans.
The era of one-party rule in the United States, known as the Era of Good Feelings, lasted from 1816 until the early 1830s, when the Whig Party became a national political group to rival the Democratic-Republicans. However, the Democratic-Republican Party still had its own internal factions, they split over the choice of a successor to President James Monroe and the party faction that supported many of the old Jeffersonian principles, led by Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, became the modern Democratic Party. As Norton explains the transformation in 1828: Jacksonians believed the people's will had prevailed. Through a lavishly financed coalition of state parties, political leaders, newspaper editors, a popular movement had elected the president; the Democrats became the nation's first well-organized national party and tight party organization became the hallmark of nineteenth-century American politics. Opposing factions led by Henry Clay helped form the Whig Party; the Democratic Party had a small yet decisive advantage over the Whigs until the 1850s, when the Whigs fell apart over the issue of slavery.
In 1854, angry with the Kansas–Nebraska Act, anti-slavery Dem
Christine Gregoire
Christine "Chris" O'Grady Gregoire is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 22nd Governor of the state of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Gregoire defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004 and again in 2008, she is the second female governor of Washington. She was the National Governors Association chair for the 2010–11 term. Gregoire served on the Governors' Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D. C. Gregoire was born in Michigan, she was raised in Auburn, Washington, by her mother, Sybil Grace Jacobs, who worked as a short-order cook to support the family. After graduating from Auburn Senior High School, she attended the University of Washington in Seattle, graduating in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and sociology. At UW, she became a member of the Sigma Iota chapter of the Kappa Delta sorority, she attended law school at Gonzaga University in Spokane, receiving her Juris Doctor in 1977. On May 5, 2012 after her keynote speech at Washington State University's commencement ceremony, Gregoire was awarded an honorary doctoral degree.
She went to work as an assistant attorney general in the office of state Attorney General Slade Gorton, a Republican. As an assistant attorney general, Gregoire concentrated on child-abuse cases, coordinating with social workers to get children removed from abusive family situations and placed with relatives or foster homes, was appointed Deputy Attorney General. In 1988, at the end of his first term as Governor of Washington, Booth Gardner appointed Gregoire as Director of the Washington Department of Ecology. During her tenure as Director, Gregoire worked with Gardner to reach an agreement with the federal government to clean up nuclear waste at the Hanford nuclear site. Elected to office as Attorney General in 1992, Gregoire's term included a scandal wherein her office failed to file a timely appeal on a $17.8M judgment against the state. The court determined "the Attorney General's Office lacked any reasonable procedure for calendaring hearings". Gregoire defeated Ron Sims and four other minor candidates in the primary election on September 14, 2004.
She had come under fire during the primary for her membership in Kappa Delta and for that sorority's nonwhite membership policy in the late 1960s. She clashed with Sims over her position at the sorority and Sims dropped the issue and dismissed any claims of racism. Sims campaigned on the institution of a statewide income tax. Gregoire won the primary with over 60% of the vote. During the general election against former state senator and real estate agent Dino Rossi, Gregoire proposed a major initiative in life sciences by increasing state funding for embryonic stem cell research. In debates, Gregoire tried to counter voter unease about the state government by saying she would "blow past the bureaucracy" and bring change herself. With a focus on change, but with little detail on specifics, many state Democratic leaders expressed concerns about the kind of leader Gregoire would be. Gregoire would win the backing of the Legislature within six months after pushing through a number of important measures on car emission standards and unemployment benefits.
The election was held on November 2, 2004, with the initial count showing Gregoire trailing Rossi by 261 votes. However, a mandated machine recount reduced that lead to only 42 votes a hand count, requested and funded by the state's Democratic Party gave Gregoire a 10-vote lead. Following a State Supreme Court ruling that allowed several hundred ballots from King County to be included, her lead was further increased to 130 votes, but when the vote was certified by the state's Secretary of State, Sam Reed, at the end of December, one vote, counted in Thurston County past the deadline was disqualified and her lead was reduced to 129 votes. Washington's Republican leadership filed suit, claiming that hundreds of votes, including votes by felons, deceased voters, double voters, were included in the canvass, but on June 6, 2005, Judge John E. Bridges ruled that the Republican party did not provide enough evidence that the disputed votes were ineligible—or for whom they were cast—to overturn the election.
On October 28, 2004, the Seattle Times reported that out-of-state donors were contributing to Gregoire's campaign coffers. More than $1,000,000 was given to the Democratic Governors Association from trial lawyers who had worked with Gregoire on the 1998 tobacco settlement. According to the Seattle Times' analysis, nearly half of Gregoire's 2004 campaign contributions came from out-of-state; the first legislative session ended with Gregoire brokering new bipartisan transportation legislation. The package included a 9.5-cent-a-gallon gas-tax increase to help repair many roads in Washington in the Seattle area, including the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Interstate 405, the Route 520 bridge. The bill was blocked by Republican leadership in the Legislature and when it came to a vote in the House on the morning of the last day of the 2005 session, it was blocked again in a procedural vote. After extensive lobbying from Gregoire, House Democratic and Republican leadership met and agreed to let the measure come up for a vote.
It cleared the House shortly thereafter and was swiftly passed by the state Senate and she signed it into law that week. The tax package was met with mixed reviews. While she was praised by Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate for her leadership skills regarding passing this deal, several state legislators disagreed with the merits of the tax because of the high
King County Executive
The King County Executive is the highest elected official representing the government of King County, Washington. The post was established with the implementation of the Home Rule Charter for King County on November 5, 1968; the powers of the county executive were vested in a three-member County Commission, which with the implementation of the Home Rule Charter in 1969 ceased to exist. The county executive is elected every four years and the post is nonpartisan; the first county executive was John Spellman, from 1969 to 1981. The current executive is Dow Constantine, elected to replace Ron Sims since he resigned to become Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Obama administration on May 8, 2009. Notes King County Executive
Central Washington University
Central Washington University is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President' Division and Financial Affairs and Academic and Student Life. Within ASL are four colleges: the College of Arts and Humanities, the College of Business, the College of Education and Professional Studies, College of the Sciences. CWU is about 110 miles east of Washington on Interstate 90 in the Kittitas Valley. CWU is considered an emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution with 15 percent Hispanic students. In 1890, the state Legislature established the Washington State Normal School in Ellensburg for "the training and education of teachers in the art of instructing and governing in the public schools of this state." WSNS opened on September 6, 1891, with classes held at the Washington Public School in Ellensburg. In 1893, the school's first building was constructed and named Barge Hall, in honor of the first WSNS principal, Benjamin Franklin Barge.
Barge Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In subsequent years, the university constructed additional campus buildings to accommodate a growing student body including: Kamola Hall. While Barge Hall's architecture reflected a Richardson Romanesque style, the designs of buildings incorporated elements of proto-Modernism along with Spanish Colonial Revival, Neo-Classical and Classical Revival styles. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, as academic programs expanded, CWU saw construction of the Science Building I. In 1937, the Washington Legislature authorized a name change to Central Washington College of Education. Reflecting the fact that the curriculum had expanded into areas of study in addition to teacher education, the school's name was changed to Central Washington State College in 1961, it became Central Washington University in 1977. The on-campus location is established by a small residence hall, surrounded by the Student Union and Recreation Center and humanity facilities.
The STEM and teaching facilities are located near the administrative buildings, which include Black Hall, Bouillon Hall, the Science Building near Dean Hall. Barge Hall and Mitchell Hall are. Admissions, Running Start, a Cashiers Office, the Registrar, financial aid are all located in this area; this region is bounded by living spaces Kamola Hall and Sue Lombard Hall. On April 26, 2006, the school opened the $58 million Student Recreation Center; the Student Union and Recreation Center is home to a full-sized rock-climbing wall equipped gymnasium, an outdoor recreation office that rents sports equipment. In addition to the residential campus in Ellensburg, Central Washington University has multiple locations around the state of Washington. CWU-Des Moines, located at Highline Community College CWU-Everett, located at Everett Community College CWU-Lynnwood, located at Edmonds Community College CWU-Pierce County, located at Pierce College CWU-Moses Lake, located at Big Bend Community College CWU-Sammamish, located at the city-owned facility at 120 228th Ave. N.
E. CWU-Wenatchee, located at Wenatchee Valley College CWU-Yakima, located at Yakima Valley Community College The Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array uses real-time GPS measurements to research and measure crustal deformation and mitigate natural hazards throughout the Pacific Northwest; these hazards arise from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and coastal sea-level encroachment. In addition, PANGA GPS measurements are used to monitor man-made structures such as Seattle's sagging Alaska Way Viaduct, 520 and I-90 floating bridges and power-generation / drinking-supply dams throughout the Cascadia subduction zone, including the mega-dams along the Columbia River. GPS data are telemetered in real-time back to CWU, where they are processed in real-time using both JPL's RTG software as well as Trimble's RTKNet Integrity Manager software to provide relative positioning of several mm resolution. Wine Quality Research Initiative has identified the nature of wine faults in some wines and how to prevent them.
The initiative is directed at detecting and preventing wine fraud, a lucrative and growing crime in the wine import/export business. The Science Honors Research Program offers undergraduate students an opportunity to conduct high level research on projects that they design and implement. CWU students and varsity athletes are known as the "Wildcats" and their colors are crimson and black. CWU is part of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Official website Central Washington Athletics website
Georgetown, Seattle
Georgetown is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is bounded on the north by the mainlines of the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad, beyond, the Industrial District. Despite being surrounded on all sides by industry and major transportation corridors, Georgetown retains a sizeable number of residences and businesses. Georgetown is arguably the oldest neighborhood of Seattle. Georgetown's first settlement was founded on September 27, 1851, when Luther Collins, Henry Van Asselt, the Maple family arrived with their household goods with the intention of farming the rich alluvial lands of the Duwamish delta. Although the Denny Party arrived at Alki Point two days prior to the Collins Party arrival, the Collins Party was able to complete permanent structures and build a successful farming community within a year; the Denny Party suffered in relative squalor in an unfinished cabin and encampment until their move in 1852 to the future downtown Seattle area. The Collins farm was located in the vicinity of the present-day First Avenue Bridge, running north to the vicinity of South Idaho Street, on the east bank of the Duwamish River.
Farms in the Duwamish Valley supplied the lumber-based settlement in Seattle. Wooden boat building occurred on the Duwamish estuary as land was cleared for farming. Before land transport links with Seattle were established, the economic hub of the Duwamish was a boat landing at the approximate location of the South Lucille Street/East Marginal Way junction. In 1869 a Seattle saloon and brothel keeper rented a portion of the Collins homestead from Luther's widow Diana Collins to run a horse track, making the area a destination for all sorts of manly fun. Developer Julius Horton, brother of Seattle banker Dexter Horton, purchased a portion of the Collins homestead in 1871 and began to plat the lots that would become the community of Georgetown; the Duwamish community's transition towards a rail-centered economy began on March 7, 1877, with the first run on a new rail line between Steele's Landing on the Duwamish and coal mines in Renton. In 1878 the line was extended on pilings to Seattle; that same year the line was extended to Newcastle and it was extended to other coal sites in south King County.
In 1884 the rail line got connected to the Northern Pacific line to the south, by 1889 transcontinental service came to Georgetown. With an abundance of flat land that Seattle lacked, Georgetown became the site of the rail yard servicing the new freight traffic; the freight hub in Georgetown fostered the development of industries capitalizing on its access to resources and rail-to-market, including breweries, lumber mills and foundries. Reconstruction of Seattle after the fire of 1889 and its rapid growth in the following decade boosted demand for building materials supplied by Georgetown. With fill provided by waste from an early regrade attempt on Beacon Hill, the industrial area grew northward across the former tideflats. With proximity to good hop-growing areas along the Duwamish and a large contingent of German immigrants, Georgetown became the sixth-largest beer producing district in the world. A Georgetown brewing company began operations in 1882 and in 1888 acquired the Seattle Brewery with its Rainier brand.
The holdings were incorporated as the Seattle Malting and Brewing Company in 1892. The old Seattle Brewery was expanded after Prohibition ended; the red brick brewery, home to artists and small businesses, dominates the commercial district along Airport Way S. The old Georgetown brewery was used as cold storage facility. Recent years have seen the opening of several microbreweries with pubs in Georgetown, in a nod to the neighborhood's roots fitting with its revival as an entertainment and cultural district; the unincorporated community was named Georgetown by Julius Horton, after his son, in 1890. In 1890 a County Poor Farm was established along the Duwamish in the southern part of Georgetown. In 1893 Seattle streetcar service came to Georgetown and the King County Hospital was built near the corner of Orcas Street and Corson Avenue, east of the Poor Farm. In 1898 Georgetown's first local school was established. In 1902 the Seattle-Tacoma interurban line came through Georgetown, which became the site of its car barns.
In 1906 the Georgetown Steam Plant brought electric power to Georgetown as well as providing power for Seattle streetcars and the Seattle-Tacoma interurban line. Georgetown existed as an independent city from 1904 to 1910. Georgetown incorporated in 1904 as a defense against the prospect that Seattle would adopt local Prohibition, which could impact Georgetown's ability to keep operating saloons and breweries as an unincorporated area adjoining a dry city. With Seattle cracking down on public sinfulness within its boundaries, Georgetown caught the windfall with its twenty-four 24 hour saloons, some of which advertised lodging arrangements, horse racing track. Once Seattle rejected local-option Prohibition, a movement for annexation gained widespread support. Following presentation of a petition for an annexation vote in 1909, a special election was held on March 29, 1910; the annexation proposition passed with 389 votes in favor and 238 opposed. The City of Georgetown, with its 4000 residents, was consolidated with Seattle on April 4, 1910.
The Old Georgetown City Hall is now on the National Register of Historic Places as is the Georgetown Steam Plant. Statewide Prohibition, enacted in 1914, closed Georgetown's brewing industry, but the district remained a growing ind
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, within the Seattle metropolitan area of the state of Washington. It is the fifth-largest airline in the United States when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, number of destinations served. Alaska, together with its regional partners, operates a large domestic route network focused on connecting cities on the West Coast of the United States to over one hundred destinations in the contiguous United States, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Mexico. Alaska Airlines is not a member of any of the three major airline alliances. However, it has codeshare agreements with 17 airlines, including member airlines of Oneworld, SkyTeam, Star Alliance, unaffiliated airlines. Regional service is operated by sister airline Horizon Air and independent carrier SkyWest Airlines; the company was founded in 1932 as McGee Airways, offering flights from Alaska. Today, most of the airline's revenue and traffic comes from locations outside of Alaska, but the airline plays a major role in air transportation in the state.
It operates many flights linking small towns to major transportation hubs and carries more passengers between Alaska and the contiguous United States than any other airline. The airline operates its largest hub at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, it operates hubs in Anchorage, Los Angeles, San Francisco and focus cities at San Diego and San Jose; as of 2018, the airline employs over 21,000 people and been ranked by J. D. Power and Associates as having the highest customer satisfaction of the traditional airlines for eleven consecutive years. Through the airline's parent company, Alaska Air Group, it is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ALK and is part of the Dow Jones Transportation Average and the S&P 500 Index; the airline traces its roots to McGee Airways, started by Linious "Mac" McGee in 1932. The airline flew its inaugural service between Anchorage and Bristol Bay with a Stinson single-engined, three-passenger aircraft. At the time, there were no scheduled flights.
It was the middle of the Great Depression and the airline was struggling financially. There were too many airlines in Anchorage at the time, not enough demand to support them. In the next few years the airline performed many mergers and acquisitions that produced changes in the name and saw business expand throughout Alaska; the first of these mergers was in 1934, when McGee sold his namesake airline for US$50,000 to Star Air Service, an airline located in Anchorage. This allowed McGee to enter the mining industry. With a fleet of fifteen aircraft, Star Air Service was a dominant airline in Alaska, but Star continued to struggle financially because of high maintenance costs for its wood and fabric planes. In 1937, McGee came back to the airline and opened a liquor store, the airline began flying liquor to remote Alaskan communities; that year, Star Air Service purchased Alaska Interior Airlines and was incorporated as Star Air Lines. Star was again sold that year to a group of miners. In 1938, federal regulation began.
The CAB awarded the airline most of the routes that it wanted in Alaska, but the coveted route between Seattle and Anchorage was awarded to Pan American Airways. In 1941, Star Air Service was purchased by a businessman from New York. In 1942, the airline purchased three other airlines in Alaska, Lavery Air Service, Mirow Air Service, Pollack Flying Service as well as a hangar at the Anchorage airport; that year, the airline's name was changed to Alaska Star Airlines. The name Alaska Airlines was adopted on May 2, 1944, having narrowly beaten a competitor, applying for the name. In the 1940s Alaska's headquarters were in Anchorage; when the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Alaska Airlines faced a shortage of pilots. During the war, the airline lacked funds and equipment, pilots were forced to buy fuel for their planes out of their own pockets; the company, subjected to lawsuits went through many different presidents during this time. In 1943, Alaska Airlines purchased its first multi-engine aircraft.
That same year the company's stock was traded for the first time on the American Stock Exchange. In 1945, Alaska Airlines hired its first stewardesses. In 1947, jockey James Wooten became president of the airline and he began to expand the airline greatly. Under his leadership, the company purchased many surplus military aircraft from the government that were used during World War II; the airline purchased Douglas DC-4s and Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commandos. Alaska Airlines was the first carrier certified to operate DC-3s on skis. Alaska Airlines' large charter business made it profitable, the airline moved its base of operations to Paine Field, an airport north of Seattle, it kept a branch office in Anchorage, however. Despite its success, Alaska Airlines' worldwide charter business was short-lived. In 1949, the CAB tightened its regulations and placed heavy fines on the airline and shut it down for safety violations; the airline was prohibited from operating worldwide charter flights, president James Wooten left the company.
In 1949, Alaska Air began operating five Bell 47B helicopters in order to support oil exploration on the North Slope thus becoming the first airline in Alaska to operate rotary-wing aircraft. In 1949, the airline was a major participant in an effort by the newly established state of Israel to airlift Jews out of Yemen to Israel in what became known as Operation Magic Carpet. C-46 or DC-4 aircraf
