Washington onAir

The Washington onAir Hub supports Washingtonians to become more informed about and engaged in local, state, and federal politics while facilitating more civil and positive discussions with their representatives, candidates, and fellow citizens.

  • Washington onAir is one of 50 state governance and elections hubs that the US onAir Network is providing to help reinvigorate US democracy.  This post has short summaries of current state and federal representatives with links to their complete Hub posts.  Students curate post content from government, campaign, social media, and public websites.  Key content on the Washington Hub is also replicated on the US onAir national Hub at: us.onair.cc.
  • Alabama students will be forming onAir chapters in their colleges and universities to help curate Hub content.  As more students participate and more onAir chapters are started, we will expand to include more state and local content as well as increase the number of aircasts – student-led, livestreamed, online discussions with candidates, representatives, and the public.

Find out more about Who Represents Me in Washington
Learn more about the US onAir Network

OnAir Post: Washington onAir

Jay Inslee – WA

Current:Governor since 2013
Affiliation: Democrat
:
Next Election

History: Inslee began college at Stanford University, where he initially intended on studying medicine. After a year, he was forced to drop out because he was unable to get a scholarship.  He returned home and, living in his parents’ basement, attended the University of Washington. He received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in economics in 1973. He then attended the Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Oregon, receiving a Juris Doctor in 1976.

Inslee joined the law firm Peters, Schmalz, Leadon & Fowler, working as a city prosecutor.[7] He practiced in Selah for 10 years. He first became politically active in 1985, while advocating for the construction of a new high school. The experience sparked Inslee’s interest in politics.

Jay Inslee served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012, and was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.  Inslee then served as regional director for the United States Department of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton.

As governor, Inslee has emphasized climate change, education, criminal justice reform, and drug policy reform. He has garnered national attention for his critiques of President Donald Trump.

Quotes:  One does not simply walk into Mordor with a firehose. To get serious about the worsening impacts of wildfires in Washington, we need a broad fellowship of people who can put their differences aside to save us all from climate change

Featured VideoGovernor Inslee Media Availability on June 3, 2021

OnAir Post: Jay Inslee – WA

WA Legislature

The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, with 49 Senators plus the Lieutenant Governor acting as president. The state is divided into 49 legislative districts, each of which elect one senator and two representatives.

The State Legislature meets in the Legislative Building at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia.

As of March 2021, Democrats control both houses of the Washington State Legislature. Democrats hold a 57-41 majority in the House of Representatives and a 28-21 majority in the Senate (with one Democratic senator caucusing with the 20 Republicans).

Source: Wikipedia

OnAir Post: WA Legislature

Patty Murray – WA

Current: US Senator since 1993
Affiliation: Democrat

Leadership: Senate President Pro Tempore and Chair of U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
Next Election

History:  Murray graduated from Washington State University with a degree in physical education. She worked as a pre-school teacher and, later, as a parenting teacher at Shoreline Community College. A long-time advocate for environmental and education issues, Murray was elected to serve on her local school board in King County.

Murray served in the Washington State Senate from 1989 to 1993. She was Washington’s first female U.S. senator and is the first woman in American history to hold the position of president pro tempore.

Quotes:  So many people who are working 40 hours a week are still living in poverty because our federal minimum wage is too low—and tipped workers, youth workers, and workers with disabilities are being paid even less. That’s unacceptable, and it’s why we need to #RaiseTheWage.

Featured Video:  Washington Sen. Patty Murray on US Capitol siege, Trump impeachment

OnAir Post: Patty Murray – WA

Maria Cantwell – WA

Current: US Senator since 2001
Affiliation: Democrat 

Leadership: Chair, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
District:
Next Election

History:  Cantwell attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in public administration. A year after graduating, Cantwell worked on Jerry Springer’s unsuccessful 1982 Ohio gubernatorial campaign.

Maria Cantwell served in the Washington House of Representatives from 1987 to 1993, and in the United States House of Representatives from Washington’s 1st congressional district from 1993 to 1995. After losing her seat to Republican Rick White in the 1994 election. She then briefly worked in the private sector as vice president of marketing for RealNetworks.

Quotes:  The COVID-19 pandemic made it crystal clear that local reporters and newsrooms are essential to keeping the public informed and safe, but their importance spans well beyond health emergencies. At its core, local news is about holding the powerful accountable.

The strength of our democracy is based in truth and transparency, and local newsrooms are on the ground in our communities asking the critical questions, countering misinformation, and telling our stories. We have to protect these vital parts of our communities.

Featured VideoSen. Maria Cantwell On The Washington State Coronavirus Response | All In | MSNBC

OnAir Post: Maria Cantwell – WA

Washington Votes in 2024

Federal & state elections on the ballot: US Senator, 10 US House members, and State Senate and House members

Ballot measures:

Washington Elections & Voting, part of the Secretary of State, oversees all Washington elections.

OnAir Post: Washington Votes in 2024

Washington Collaborators

The US onAir Network will be working with volunteers from Washington universities, colleges, and nonprofit organizations to oversee the curation and moderation of posts, aircasts (online discussions), and in person events for the Washington onAir Hub …  related to federal, state, and local elections and government.

Our first outreach will be to University of Washington partly because of its proximity to the state capital. We have identified many of University of Washington’s civic engagement, academic, internship and research programs related to making democracy and civic responsibility a focus of higher learning on their campus … for students, faculty, staff, and local community. This post, over time, will have similar information on other collaborating organizations in the state.

Contact ben.murphy@onair.cc for more information on how to involve your organization.

About Washington

Washington officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington, the first U.S. president, the state was made out of the western part of the Washington Territory, which was ceded by the British Empire in 1846, in accordance with the Oregon Treaty in the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute. The state, which is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, Oregon to the south, Idaho to the east, and the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north, was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Olympia is the state capital; the state’s largest city is Seattle.

Government Website    Wikipedia page

OnAir Post: About Washington

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