| George Nethercutt | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 5th district |
|
| In office January 3, 1995–January 3, 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Tom Foley |
| Succeeded by | Cathy McMorris |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 7, 1944 Spokane, Washington |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Beth Socha |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
George R. Nethercutt, Jr. (born October 7, 1944) is an American politician, and is the founder and chairman of The George Nethercutt Foundation. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2005, representing Washington's 5th congressional district.
Born in Spokane, Washington, and a graduate of North Central High School, Nethercutt earned a B.A. in English from Washington State University and a law degree from Gonzaga University. He worked as a clerk for Alaskan federal Judge Raymond Plummer. Nethercutt then served as staff counsel and later chief of staff to Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) before returning to private practice in Washington State. Specializing in estate and adoption law, he also co-founded the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, a private, not-for-profit institution to help prevent child abuse.
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Nethercutt was first elected to Congress in 1994 in a dramatic election in which he unseated the Speaker of the House, Tom Foley. Nethercutt prevailed largely by running up his totals in the more rural areas of the district, which allowed him to prevail by 4,000 votes. This marked the first time a sitting Speaker of the House was unseated since 1862. In Congress, he sat on the House Appropriations Committee and the House Science Committee. He had a strongly conservative voting record.
Nethercutt's campaign against Foley, a 30-year incumbent, included significant attention to Foley's opposition to term limits. In 1992, Washington state voters had approved a ballot measure limiting the terms of Washington officials, including federal officials such as U.S. Representatives. Foley had brought suit contesting the constitutionality of this limit and won in court. Nethercutt repeatedly cited the caption of Foley's lawsuit — "Foley against the People of the State of Washington." He also claimed that he would serve no more than three terms (six years) in the House. [1]
In the 1996 elections, the Democrats mounted a serious bid to regain the seat Foley had held for 30 years, but Nethercutt won by an unexpectedly large 12-point margin even as Bill Clinton narrowly carried the district. He was handily reelected in 1998. In 2000, when his pledge to serve only three terms would have kicked in, Nethercutt changed his mind and announced his intention to run for re-election again, infuriating term-limits supporters. Nethercutt was nevertheless re-elected without much difficulty in 2000 and in 2002.
Nethercutt decided to run for U.S. Senate in 2004, hoping to again unseat an incumbent, this time Senator Patty Murray, rather than running for a sixth term in the House. Term limits again became an issue in the campaign, as Democrats quickly seized on Nethercutt's broken term-limits pledge.
Nethercutt was also hampered by his lack of name recognition in the more densely populated western part of the state, home to two-thirds of the state's population. Washington has not elected a senator from east of the Cascades since Miles Poindexter in 1916. Other important issues included national security and the war in Iraq. Nethercutt supported the invasion of Iraq, while Murray opposed it.
Nethercutt was a heavy underdog from the start, and his campaign never gained much traction. In November, he lost by 12 points, receiving 43 percent of the vote to Murray's 55 percent.
Nethercutt left the House of Representatives at the end of his term in January 2005, but has said that he probably will not retire from politics completely. In 2005, he and two other political veterans (former Interior Department deputy secretary J. Steven Griles and former White House national energy policy director Andrew Lundquist) joined to form the political lobbying firm of Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles, LLC. Nethercutt now serves as Chairman of Nethercutt Consulting LLC, Of Counsel for Bluewater Strategies in Washington, DC, Of Counsel with Lee & Hayes, an intellectual property law firm in Washington State, and is a member of several corporate boards. He is the author of the book "In Tune with America: Our History in Song," writes a monthly column for The Pacific Northwest Inlander newspaper and records radio commentaries for several radio stations.
Nethercutt has founded The George Nethercutt Foundation in Spokane, Washington. The Foundation is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization[2] in the United States dedicated to fostering civic involvement. The foundation accepts applications from college students who aspire to be Nethercutt Fellows. The Nethercutt Fellowship involves, among other things, a trip to Washington, D.C. where fellows have the opportunity to see the inner-workings of the United States government.
It is the purpose of the Foundation to develop in young adults an understanding of government, business, public policy issues and civics, and to foster leadership qualities that will add value to their communities and create a new generation of principled leadership across America.
Each year the Foundation identifies promising students in the United States to become Nethercutt Fellows. The program combines academic work in their college or university community; targeted on-site exposure to government, business and leaderhip in Washington, DC; and the opportunity to partner and intern with participating businesses or nonprofit organizations to provide substantive assistance and career preparation activities.
This program provides Nethercutt Fellows national exposure, leadership training, high level mentoring and professional development opportunities. All experiences from the program are designed to foster in young people an appreciation for the American system of government, the importance of a free society, and the obligations expected of citizens to perpetuate American ideals and principles of liberty.
The academic program involves lectures from professors who are experts in the fields of economics, political science, Constitutional history and leadership development. Courses will also be a forum for students to meet and interact with leaders in business, foreign affairs, government and politics with the stated goal of fostering appreciation for the benefits of living in a free country.
One of the highlights for the Foundation students is an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC. On this trip, students visit the White House, the U.S. Capitol and tour the US Senate and US House of Representatives, meet with Members of Congress, tour selected federal agencies and meet with ranking government officials.
Fellows also meet with major corporate leaders, trade association personnel and business representatives to get an inside look and receive information about the operations of the private sector's interaction with government.
Through this exposure, Fellows are able to return home to their communities armed with knowledge of the mechanics of an agency, an institution or a business and valuable insight into the workings of government, thereby serving as an asset to business and educational interests in the Fellow's community.
As the final component to the Nethercutt Fellowship, each student spends time as an intern with a business or nonprofit organization in their community. Nethercutt Fellows gain career experience in their individual area of interest, while serving as an asset to local business and nonprofit entities by contributing their skills and energy to their leadership experience.
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Thomas S. Foley | 106,074 | 49% | George R. Nethercutt, Jr. | 110,057 | 51% | ||||||||
| 1996 | Judy Olson | 105,166 | 44% | George R. Nethercutt, Jr. | 131,618 | 56% | ||||||||
| 1998 | Brad Lyons | 73,545 | 38% | George R. Nethercutt, Jr. | 110,040 | 57% | John Beal | American Heritage | 9,673 | 5% | ||||
| 2000 | Tom Keefe | 97,703 | 39% | George R. Nethercutt, Jr. | 144,038 | 57% | Greg Holmes | Libertarian | 9,473 | 4% | ||||
| 2002 | Bart Haggin | 65,146 | 32% | George R. Nethercutt, Jr. | 126,757 | 63% | Rob Chase | Libertarian | 10,379 | 5% |
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Patty Murray | 1,549,708 | 55% | George R. Nethercutt, Jr. | 1,204,584 | 43% | J. Mills | Libertarian | 34,055 | 1% | Mark B. Wilson | Green | 30,304 | 1% |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tom Foley |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 5th congressional district 1995–2005 |
Succeeded by Cathy McMorris Rodgers |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Linda Smith |
Republican nominee for United States Senator from Washington (Class 3} 2004 |
Succeeded by Dino Rossi |