Lowry, Mike, 1919-2008

Michael E. Lowry, commonly known as Mike, served in local, state, and national government. Born in 1939 in Eastern Washington, Lowry graduated from Washington State University in 1962. After working as chief fiscal analyst and staff director for the Washington State Legislature's Senate Ways and Means Committee, 1969-1973, Lowry was governmental affairs director for the Puget Sound Group Health Cooperative, 1974-1975, and served on the King County Council, 1975-1978, chairing it in 1977. In 1978 he won a seat in Congress representing Seattle and its southern suburbs, but in 1983 he was defeated in his bid for the U.S. Senate. Lowry opposed many policies of the Reagan administration, such as cuts in social programs and aid to the Contras in Nicaragua. He championed reparations for Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II and supported environmental measures, such as the Washington Wilderness bill. Lowry served on the House Budget Committee and the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, chairing the Panama Canal and Outer Shelf Subcommittee, and the Oceanography Subcommittee. Re-elected to Congress four times, Lowry made another unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate in 1988 and served as governor of Washington State from 1992 through 1996. Following his political career, Lowry taught at Seattle University's Institute for Public Service, promoted the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, and ran two nonprofit foundations that encouraged citizen participation in government and addressed needs of the working poor.

From the description of Mike Lowry congressional papers, 1978-1988. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 63113140

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