Walt Minnick
Encyclopedia
Walter Clifford "Walt" Minnick (born September 20, 1942) is the former U.S. House of Representative
for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party
.
The district is located in the western part of the state, and includes roughly one-fourth of Boise and most of its suburbs, as well as cities Meridian
and Nampa
. It also includes the cities of Lewiston
, Moscow
and Coeur d'Alene
.
Minnick was defeated by Raul Labrador in the November 2010 election, and currently works for lobbying firm The Majority Group.
, and grew up on a wheat farm. He received his bachelor's degree
from Whitman College
in Walla Walla in 1964 where he participated on the debate team, and was then accepted to the Harvard Business School
. After graduating with an MBA in 1966, he entered Harvard Law School
, and graduated with a J.D.
in 1969. He is a businessman and politician who resides in Boise. A veteran who served in the Army and Pentagon during the Vietnam War, he is the former leader of a forestry industry and founder of a chain of retail nurseries, SummerWinds Garden Centers. Minnick also served as CEO
of TJ International (acquired by Weyerhaeuser
in 1999) and has served on the board of directors of several corporations and non-profit organizations.
on the White House Domestic Council from 1971–72 and as a deputy assistant director for the Office of Management and Budget from 1972-73. He was also involved in the creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA). Minnick resigned from the administration in October 1973 in protest of the Watergate
-era "Saturday Night Massacre
" in which Nixon dismissed Attorney General
Elliot Richardson
, special prosecutor
Archibald Cox
, and others.
Minnick, who long considered himself a political independent
, was recruited to run against incumbent Senator Larry Craig
in 1996 by then Senator Bob Kerrey
of Nebraska
. Although Minnick originally intended to enter the race as an independent, he was convinced to run as a Democrat by former Idaho Governor Cecil D. Andrus
.
In January 2009, Minnick joined with 10 other Democrats to oppose the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
. In June 2009, Congressman Minnick voted with 43 other Democrats against the American Clean Energy and Security Act
, and in December 2009, voted with 38 other Democrats against the Affordable Health Care for America Act
. Minnick was the lone Democrat to receive a perfect score from the Club for Growth
on their RePork Card ratings, for his votes to cut spending in Congress.
Minnick voted against the Stupak-Pitts amendment which proposed to put restrictions on federal funds "to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion" except in cases of rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother. On March 21, 2010, Minnick voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that President Barack Obama
signed into law on March 23, 2010. Minnick said that there is very little cost control in the bill."
Minnick voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009
, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and against establishing spending caps through fiscal year 2014.
but was defeated in the general election by Craig. He is the first Democrat to represent Idaho at the federal level since Larry LaRocco
, who represented the 1st District for two terms until the 1994 elections.
Minnick ran unopposed in the 2008 Democratic primary held in late May. An expected primary challenge by 2006 nominee Larry Grant was averted when Grant withdrew from the race and endorsed Minnick the previous month. Although the 1st is a heavily Republican district, Democrats thought they had a realistic chance of winning the district because Sali had been a lightning rod for controversy.
In the November 4, 2008 general election, Minnick narrowly defeated Sali, taking 50.6 percent of the vote to Sali's 49.4 percent. While Minnick carried only seven of the district's 18 counties, he prevailed largely by winning Ada County, home to Boise and more than two-thirds of the district's vote, by 4,000 votes. With his victory, Minnick represented the third most Republican district in the nation to be held by a Democrat. The district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index
of R+18. John McCain
easily carried the district with over 60 percent of the vote in 2008.
Raúl Labrador
, Libertarian Mike Washburn and Independent Dave Olson. Labrador defeated him by a 51-41 margin in the November 2nd election, in spite of polling that suggested otherwise.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.
The district is located in the western part of the state, and includes roughly one-fourth of Boise and most of its suburbs, as well as cities Meridian
Meridian, Idaho
-History:The town was established in 1891 on the Onweiler farm north of the present site and was called Hunter. Two years later an I.O.O.F. lodge was organized and called itself Meridian because it was located on the Boise Meridian and the town was renamed...
and Nampa
Nampa, Idaho
Nampa is the largest and the fastest growing city in Canyon County, Idaho, USA. The population of Nampa was 81,557 at the 2010 census. Nampa is located about west of Boise along Interstate 84, and six miles west of Meridian. Nampa is part of the Boise metropolitan area...
. It also includes the cities of Lewiston
Lewiston, Idaho
Lewiston is a city in and also the county seat of Nez Perce County in the Pacific Northwest state of Idaho. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA...
, Moscow
Moscow, Idaho
Moscow is a city in northern Idaho, situated along the Washington/Idaho border. It is the most populous city and county seat of Latah County and the home of the University of Idaho, the land grant institution and primary research university for the state...
and Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Coeur d'Alene is the largest city and county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. Coeur d'Alene has the second largest metropolitan area in the state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census the population of Coeur...
.
Minnick was defeated by Raul Labrador in the November 2010 election, and currently works for lobbying firm The Majority Group.
Early life, education and career
Minnick was born in Walla Walla, WashingtonWalla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
, and grew up on a wheat farm. He received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from Whitman College
Whitman College
Whitman College is a private, co-educational, non-sectarian, residential undergraduate liberal arts college located in Walla Walla, Washington. Initially founded as a seminary by a territorial legislative charter in 1859, the school became a four year degree granting institution in 1883...
in Walla Walla in 1964 where he participated on the debate team, and was then accepted to the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
. After graduating with an MBA in 1966, he entered Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, and graduated with a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1969. He is a businessman and politician who resides in Boise. A veteran who served in the Army and Pentagon during the Vietnam War, he is the former leader of a forestry industry and founder of a chain of retail nurseries, SummerWinds Garden Centers. Minnick also served as CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of TJ International (acquired by Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world. It is the world's largest private sector owner of softwood timberland; and the second largest owner of United States timberland, behind Plum Creek Timber...
in 1999) and has served on the board of directors of several corporations and non-profit organizations.
Early political career
Minnick served as a staff assistant to President Richard NixonRichard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
on the White House Domestic Council from 1971–72 and as a deputy assistant director for the Office of Management and Budget from 1972-73. He was also involved in the creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
(DEA). Minnick resigned from the administration in October 1973 in protest of the Watergate
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
-era "Saturday Night Massacre
Saturday night massacre
The "Saturday Night Massacre" was the term given by political commentators to U.S. President Richard Nixon's executive dismissal of independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox, and the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus on October 20,...
" in which Nixon dismissed Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
Elliot Richardson
Elliot Richardson
Elliot Lee Richardson was an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. As U.S...
, special prosecutor
Special prosecutor
A special prosecutor generally is a lawyer from outside the government appointed by an attorney general or, in the United States, by Congress to investigate a government official for misconduct while in office. A reasoning for such an appointment is that the governmental branch or agency may have...
Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox, Jr., was an American lawyer and law professor who served as U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy. He became known as the first special prosecutor for the Watergate scandal. During his career, he was a pioneering expert on labor law and also an authority on...
, and others.
Minnick, who long considered himself a political independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
, was recruited to run against incumbent Senator Larry Craig
Larry Craig
Larry Edwin Craig is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of Idaho. He served 18 years in the U.S. Senate , preceded by 10 years in the U.S. House, representing Idaho's first district . His 28 years in the Congress rank as the second-longest in Idaho history, trailing only William...
in 1996 by then Senator Bob Kerrey
Bob Kerrey
Joseph Robert "Bob" Kerrey was the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and a U.S. Senator from Nebraska . Having served in the Vietnam War, earning the Medal of Honor for his actions, he moved into politics. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992...
of Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. Although Minnick originally intended to enter the race as an independent, he was convinced to run as a Democrat by former Idaho Governor Cecil D. Andrus
Cecil D. Andrus
Cecil Dale Andrus was an American politician who served as Governor of Idaho from 1971 to 1977, and again from 1987 to 1995; and in Washington as United States Secretary of the Interior from 1977 to 1981, during the Carter administration...
.
Committee assignments
- Committee on AgricultureUnited States House Committee on AgricultureThe U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of some federal agencies, and it can recommend funding...
- Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and ResearchUnited States House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and ResearchThe House Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry is a subcommittee within the House Agriculture Committee. The subcommittee oversees all agricultural matters relating to soil, water, and resource conservation; small watershed program; energy and biobased energy production; rural...
- Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and PoultryUnited States House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and PoultryThe House Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry is a subcommittee within the House Agriculture Committee. It oversees all issues relating to livestock, dairy, poultry, meat, seafood and seafood products including federal inspection, marketing, and promotion of these commodities...
- Subcommittee on Specialty Crops, Rural Development and Foreign Agriculture
- Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research
- Committee on Financial ServicesUnited States House Committee on Financial ServicesThe United States House Committee on Financial Services is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees the entire financial services industry, including the securities, insurance, banking, and housing industries...
- Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
- Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer CreditUnited States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer CreditThe U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit is a subcommittee of the House Committee on Financial Services.-Jurisdiction:...
Tenure
After taking office, Minnick joined the Blue Dog Coalition of House Democrats. He voted with his party 71% of the time.In January 2009, Minnick joined with 10 other Democrats to oppose the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
. In June 2009, Congressman Minnick voted with 43 other Democrats against the American Clean Energy and Security Act
American Clean Energy and Security Act
The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 was an energy bill in the 111th United States Congress that would have established a variant of an emissions trading plan similar to the European Union Emission Trading Scheme...
, and in December 2009, voted with 38 other Democrats against the Affordable Health Care for America Act
Affordable Health Care for America Act
The Affordable Health Care for America Act was a bill that was crafted by the United States House of Representatives in November 2009. At the encouragement of the Obama administration, the 111th Congress devoted much of its time to enacting reform of the United States' health care system...
. Minnick was the lone Democrat to receive a perfect score from the Club for Growth
Club for Growth
The Club for Growth is a politically conservative 527 organization active in the United States of America, with an agenda focussed on taxation and other economic issues, and with an affiliated political action committee . The Club advocates lower taxes, limited government, less government spending,...
on their RePork Card ratings, for his votes to cut spending in Congress.
Minnick voted against the Stupak-Pitts amendment which proposed to put restrictions on federal funds "to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion" except in cases of rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother. On March 21, 2010, Minnick voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
signed into law on March 23, 2010. Minnick said that there is very little cost control in the bill."
Minnick voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009
Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009
The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 is a recently enacted public law in the United States. On May 20, 2009, the Senate bill was signed into law by President Barack Obama...
, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is a United States federal law that gives the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate the tobacco industry...
, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and against establishing spending caps through fiscal year 2014.
2008
Minnick won the Democratic nomination in 1996 for the U.S. SenateUnited 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...
but was defeated in the general election by Craig. He is the first Democrat to represent Idaho at the federal level since Larry LaRocco
Larry LaRocco
Larry LaRocco is a Democratic politician from the US state of Idaho, who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. LaRocco was defeated by Republican Jim Risch for the open U.S. Senate seat in Idaho in 2008....
, who represented the 1st District for two terms until the 1994 elections.
Minnick ran unopposed in the 2008 Democratic primary held in late May. An expected primary challenge by 2006 nominee Larry Grant was averted when Grant withdrew from the race and endorsed Minnick the previous month. Although the 1st is a heavily Republican district, Democrats thought they had a realistic chance of winning the district because Sali had been a lightning rod for controversy.
In the November 4, 2008 general election, Minnick narrowly defeated Sali, taking 50.6 percent of the vote to Sali's 49.4 percent. While Minnick carried only seven of the district's 18 counties, he prevailed largely by winning Ada County, home to Boise and more than two-thirds of the district's vote, by 4,000 votes. With his victory, Minnick represented the third most Republican district in the nation to be held by a Democrat. The district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index , sometimes referred to as simply the Partisan Voting Index , is a measurement of how strongly an American congressional district or state leans toward one political party compared to the nation as a whole...
of R+18. John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
easily carried the district with over 60 percent of the vote in 2008.
2010
Minnick was challenged by Republican state RepresentativeIdaho House of Representatives
The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho State Legislature. It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms and meets at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Idaho.-Composition of the House:...
Raúl Labrador
Raúl Labrador
Raúl Rafael Labrador is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously represented District 14B in the Idaho House of Representatives.-Early life, education, and law career:...
, Libertarian Mike Washburn and Independent Dave Olson. Labrador defeated him by a 51-41 margin in the November 2nd election, in spite of polling that suggested otherwise.
Electoral history
External links
- Walt Minnick for U.S. Congress official campaign site
- Profile at SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...
- Walt for Congress on FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...