Mike McGavick
Encyclopedia
Michael S. "Mike" McGavick (born February 7, 1958, Seattle, Washington
) is an American
business executive and a graduate of the University of Washington
.
McGavick was a Republican
candidate for the US Senate seat held by Maria Cantwell
in the 2006 election, but Cantwell retained her seat. In March 2008, Bermuda
-based XL Capital announced that McGavick would take over as CEO beginning on May 1, 2008.
-based XL Capital Ltd, and former Chairman/President/CEO of the insurance
company Safeco
.
He served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator
Slade Gorton
and manager of Gorton's campaign in 1988. He later served as Director of the American Insurance Association's Superfund
Improvement Project in Washington, D.C.
, where he was the American Insurance Association's lead negotiator in working to transform the nation's Superfund environmental laws. He was also a staff member of the Seattle-based Washington Roundtable, a non-partisan policy research group composed of the chief executive officers of the state's largest corporations.
McGavick was Senior Financial Officer for Continental Casualty Company (CNA
)'s Commercial Lines Group, Vice President
of CNA's New Ventures group, and President and Chief Operating Officer
of CNA's largest operating department. The department, with $3.5 billion in annual revenues, provided the majority of CNA's commercial insurance products. It also was responsible for managing and strengthening CNA's relationship with its independent agent distribution system.
, but would remain on as Chairman until the end of 2005. McGavick explained that he expected "to give full consideration to the possibility of public service". On July 19, 2005, McGavick announced that he was forming an exploratory committee
for a 2006 bid for the Washington United States Senate
seat held by Maria Cantwell
.
, an elite college prep school but did not complete his education. His father, Joe, served both in the State Legislature and on the State Liquor Control Board. Joe McGavick was the last Republican to serve the Wallingford neighborhood since the Great Depression
. McGavick has credited his father for sparking his interest in politics.
McGavick's wife, Gaelynn, is an attorney by training who did not complete her education has experience in the arena of health care policy. The McGavick's have one son, Jack, attending the University of Virginia
, and two younger sons, Gates and Marco.
For most of July, the McGavick campaigned traveled around the state in an RV, making stops in: Seattle, Sedro-Woolley, Oak Harbor, Anacortes, Bellingham, Friday Harbor, Port Angeles, Forks, Clallam Bay, Bremerton, Belfair, Satsop, Aberdeen, Raymond, South Bend, Seaview, Naselle, Cathlamet, Vancouver, Goldendale, Pateros, Brewster, Republic, Colville, Spokane, Pullman, Clarkston, Pomeroy, Dayton, Prosser, Ritzville, Moses Lake, Leavenworth, and Yakima, among others.http://openmiketour.com/
Knoll Lowney, a Seattle lawyer, represented Schwartzman.
should be taught in public schools and that it is appropriate to be taught in science class despite the 2005 court ruling prohibiting it.
Radio that he was an official candidate in the 2006 Senate race.
In the May 2006 edition of the Weekly Standard, McGavick made the argument that Iran
should be banned from the FIFA World Cup
due to its nuclear weapons research program and statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that deny the truthfulness of the holocaust
(which is a criminal offense in the 2006 World Cup host country, Germany
).
On April 26, 2006, the Washington State Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging that the $17 million severance in cash and accelerated stock options given to him by Safeco
amounted to an illegal campaign contribution to his Senate campaign. The FEC dismissed the case, stating, "The commission concluded that these payments were ordinary employment-related compensation made irrespective of Mr. McGavick's candidacy."
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
business executive and a graduate of the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
.
McGavick was a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate for the US Senate seat held by Maria Cantwell
Maria Cantwell
Maria E. Cantwell is the junior United States Senator from the state of Washington and a member of the Democratic Party....
in the 2006 election, but Cantwell retained her seat. In March 2008, Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
-based XL Capital announced that McGavick would take over as CEO beginning on May 1, 2008.
Professional life
McGavick is the CEO of BermudaBermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
-based XL Capital Ltd, and former Chairman/President/CEO of the insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
company Safeco
Safeco
Safeco Insurance, a member of Liberty Mutual Group, is a national U.S. insurance company. It holds naming rights to the Seattle Mariners' baseball stadium, Safeco Field.- History :...
.
He served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Slade Gorton
Slade Gorton
Thomas Slade Gorton III is an American politician. A Republican, he was a U.S. senator from Washington state from 1981 to 1987, and from 1989 to 2001. He held both of the state's Senate seats in his career and was narrowly defeated for reelection twice as an incumbent: in 1986 by Brock Adams, and...
and manager of Gorton's campaign in 1988. He later served as Director of the American Insurance Association's Superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
Improvement Project in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he was the American Insurance Association's lead negotiator in working to transform the nation's Superfund environmental laws. He was also a staff member of the Seattle-based Washington Roundtable, a non-partisan policy research group composed of the chief executive officers of the state's largest corporations.
McGavick was Senior Financial Officer for Continental Casualty Company (CNA
CNA
- Organizations :*California Nurses Association*Canadian Nuclear Association*Canadian Nurses Association*CNA Institute for Public Research and Center for Naval Analyses*Center for Transportation and Logistics Neuer Adler*Royal Canadian Numismatic Association...
)'s Commercial Lines Group, Vice President
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
of CNA's New Ventures group, and President and Chief Operating Officer
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
of CNA's largest operating department. The department, with $3.5 billion in annual revenues, provided the majority of CNA's commercial insurance products. It also was responsible for managing and strengthening CNA's relationship with its independent agent distribution system.
Safeco
McGavick was named "CEO of the Year" by the Puget Sound Business Journal in 2002. On July 18, 2005, McGavick announced that effective August 31 he would step down as CEO of SafecoSafeco
Safeco Insurance, a member of Liberty Mutual Group, is a national U.S. insurance company. It holds naming rights to the Seattle Mariners' baseball stadium, Safeco Field.- History :...
, but would remain on as Chairman until the end of 2005. McGavick explained that he expected "to give full consideration to the possibility of public service". On July 19, 2005, McGavick announced that he was forming an exploratory committee
Exploratory Committee
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to United States Presidential hopefuls, prior to the primaries.Exploratory...
for a 2006 bid for the Washington United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seat held by Maria Cantwell
Maria Cantwell
Maria E. Cantwell is the junior United States Senator from the state of Washington and a member of the Democratic Party....
.
Family life
Born in 1958, Mike grew up in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood with two sisters, Molly and Meaghan. His parents, Joe and Carole, were active in local civics. He attended Seattle Preparatory SchoolSeattle Preparatory School
Seattle Preparatory School, popularly known as Seattle Prep is a private Jesuit high school located on Capitol Hill, in Seattle. It was founded in 1891 and has maintained a long history of academic excellence. The school regularly sends many of its students to Ivy League and 'highly selective'...
, an elite college prep school but did not complete his education. His father, Joe, served both in the State Legislature and on the State Liquor Control Board. Joe McGavick was the last Republican to serve the Wallingford neighborhood since the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. McGavick has credited his father for sparking his interest in politics.
McGavick's wife, Gaelynn, is an attorney by training who did not complete her education has experience in the arena of health care policy. The McGavick's have one son, Jack, attending the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, and two younger sons, Gates and Marco.
McGavick makes "civility" a central campaign theme
In early January 2006, McGavick began his campaign full-time for the U.S. Senate, saying he would bring a "Northwestern voice of civility" to what he described as a culture of infighting in the nation's capital.http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002754721_mcgavick22.htmlFor most of July, the McGavick campaigned traveled around the state in an RV, making stops in: Seattle, Sedro-Woolley, Oak Harbor, Anacortes, Bellingham, Friday Harbor, Port Angeles, Forks, Clallam Bay, Bremerton, Belfair, Satsop, Aberdeen, Raymond, South Bend, Seaview, Naselle, Cathlamet, Vancouver, Goldendale, Pateros, Brewster, Republic, Colville, Spokane, Pullman, Clarkston, Pomeroy, Dayton, Prosser, Ritzville, Moses Lake, Leavenworth, and Yakima, among others.http://openmiketour.com/
Schwartzman v. McGavick
In August 2006, Safeco Insurance Co. shareholder Emma Schwartzman, the great, great granddaughter of one of the Safeco Corporation founders, filed a lawsuit against him and the Safeco corporation, claiming that his $28 million salary upon leaving his job was fraudulent and wasteful.Knoll Lowney, a Seattle lawyer, represented Schwartzman.
Supported teaching intelligent design
In an August 2006 interview, McGavick said intelligent designIntelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
should be taught in public schools and that it is appropriate to be taught in science class despite the 2005 court ruling prohibiting it.
Timeline of 2006 Senate race
On October 26, 2005, Mike McGavick announced on KIROKIRO (AM)
KIRO is a radio station based in Seattle, Washington on the shores of Lake Union with 2 towers on Maury Island, broadcasting on 710 kHz in the AM radio spectrum...
Radio that he was an official candidate in the 2006 Senate race.
In the May 2006 edition of the Weekly Standard, McGavick made the argument that Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
should be banned from the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
due to its nuclear weapons research program and statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that deny the truthfulness of the holocaust
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
(which is a criminal offense in the 2006 World Cup host country, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
).
On April 26, 2006, the Washington State Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging that the $17 million severance in cash and accelerated stock options given to him by Safeco
Safeco
Safeco Insurance, a member of Liberty Mutual Group, is a national U.S. insurance company. It holds naming rights to the Seattle Mariners' baseball stadium, Safeco Field.- History :...
amounted to an illegal campaign contribution to his Senate campaign. The FEC dismissed the case, stating, "The commission concluded that these payments were ordinary employment-related compensation made irrespective of Mr. McGavick's candidacy."