Mike Lowry
| Michael Edward Lowry | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 20th Governor of Washington | |
| In office January 13, 1993 – January 15, 1997 |
|
| Lieutenant | Joel Pritchard |
| Preceded by | Booth Gardner |
| Succeeded by | Gary Locke |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 7th district |
|
| In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1989 |
|
| Preceded by | John Cunningham |
| Succeeded by | Jim McDermott |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 8, 1939 St. John, Washington |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Religion | Baptist |
Michael Edward "Mike" Lowry (born March 8, 1939) served as the 20th Governor of the U.S. state of Washington from 1993 to 1997. Lowry is a Democrat.
Lowry was born and raised in St. John, Washington, and graduated from Washington State University in 1962. He had a brief career working for the Washington State Senate and as a lobbyist for Group Health Cooperative before being elected to the King County Council in 1975. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Washington's Seventh Congressional District in 1978, where he served until 1989.
Lowry twice ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate. In a 1983 special election, he was defeated by Republican former Governor Dan Evans, then an appointed Senator and the incumbent, in a race to replace Democrat Henry "Scoop" Jackson, and in 1988 he lost to Slade Gorton, also a Republican, in a close race.
Lowry was elected governor in 1992 and served for a single term. His principal policy initiative was enactment of a statewide system of health insurance with premiums based on ability to pay. He chose not to run for re-election to a second term due to a sexual harassment scandal in which his deputy press secretary, Susanne Albright, accused him of making inappropriate remarks and fondling her.[1] He was an unsuccessful candidate for Commissioner of Public Lands in 2000. More recently, Lowry has been active in building affordable housing for Washington's migrant farm workers.
Comparison to Yasser Arafat
During his career, Mike Lowry was repeatedly compared to Yasser Arafat by both media and political opponents in the state of Washington, due to a perceived similarity in physical appearance between the two. According to some reports, Lowry shaved off a beard he formerly sported specifically to avoid comparisons to the Palestinian leader.[2][3][4][5]
References
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]]. |
- Mike Lowry at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Congressional Papers at the University of Washington library
- Oral history interview with Mike Lowry, 2006 Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of Washington 1993 – 1997 |
Succeeded by Gary Locke |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 7th congressional district 1979 – 1989 |
Succeeded by Jim McDermott |
- Commons category link from Wikidata
- 1939 births
- Living people
- Governors of Washington (state)
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state)
- Washington State University alumni
- Washington (state) Democrats
- People from Whitman County, Washington
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- Democratic Party state governors of the United States
