Steven Nielson

Steven Nielson
Official Nielson for WA 2nd Campaign Photo
Secretary of the Washington State Libertarian Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 31, 2014
Personal details
Born Steven Merrill Nielson
September 4, 1979
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Political party Republican (Before 2010)
Libertarian (after 2010)
Spouse(s) Alicia Kate Nielson (2012–present)
Gretchen Dru (2005–2010)
Children Sawyer
Isley
Scarlett
Alma mater University of Washington
Religion Universalist
Website http://www.stevennielson.com

Steven Nielson (born 1979) is an American statesman, political activist, Libertarian Party officer, and Libertarian author.

Nielson was the 2014 Libertarian candidate for Washington State Representative District 2 Position 2 of the Washington House of Representatives,[1] and the first Libertarian candidate to survive a contested primary challenge since Washington's 2004 adoption of the top-two primary.

Early life and education

Steven Nielson was born on September 4, 1979 to parents Mari Davies and Lloyd Barry Nielson Jr, in Portland, Oregon. Nielson's parents were married only a short period of time and he was subject to several relocations prior to finally settling down with his father in Enumclaw, Washington. He has two brothers and three sisters. Nielson excelled in math and science, was involved with track and field and swimming activities, and was the Senior Class President for his graduating class. Nielson graduated from Enumclaw High School in 1998.

Nielson attended Green River Community College in Auburn WA, as an undergraduate, with an emphasis on pre-engineering. In 2000, he was recognized as ASME Student of the Year after leading his college to victory in design innovation competitions.

Nielson transferred to the University of Washington where he earned his B.S.[2] in Astronautical Engineering in 2004, with a specific focus in aerospace composite structures. Nielson was heavily involved with education outreach and on-campus politics. He served as advisor for the Resident Hall Student Association, Vice-President of his residence hall, Hansee Hall, President and Founder of the Mars Society at University of Washington, and the President of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics UW Chapter. He was awarded a scholarship for Professional Potential in the field of aerospace engineering.

Career

Steven Nielson is a professional Quality Assurance Engineer, having worked for Lockheed Martin and Hexcel.

While employed with Lockheed, Nielson successfully redefined Foreign Object Debris maturity measures for the corporation and their supply chain. He led quality teams in military satellite assembly, test, and integration. He was selected for his expertise in space composites to assist with early design of the Orion Spacecraft within Lockheed Martin where he made significant contributions to the supply chain quality management systems, focusing on development of small/disadvantaged businesses. Nielson ended his career with Lockheed Martin in 2012 after three years of FBM test and fabrication at Naval Submarine Base Bangor.

Nielson left Lockheed Martin for an advanced composites manufacturing facility in Kent, Washington. Nielson specializes in strategic problem solving and continuous improvement initiatives as a member of the Quality Management team.[3]

Political history

Steven Nielson is a noted community leader as early as his high school days, where he used his position as class president to advocate for educational outreach and cross-functional / interdisciplinary education, volunteering throughout his high-school tenure for elementary advisor "big brother' programs (educational camp), and drug abuse education. Through college, Nielson used his leadership positions to continue educational outreach where he volunteered in elementary settings, teaching science and math to elementary students. Throughout his career Nielson has volunteered for educational outreach programs, such as AVID, and has been a champion for community involvement in the education system. On campus, Nielson was a leader for student's rights, challenging the then University Smoking Ban at the University of Washington.

Nielson began volunteering for the Republican Party in 2004, in Santa Clara county. In 2006, he was appointed and re-elected as the Secretary of the Republican Party in Douglas County, Colorado. During this time Nielson was heavily involved in the presidential campaigns of Tom Tancredo and Mike Huckabee. Nielson graduated from the Leadership Program of the Rockies[4] in 2008 where he was first introduced in-depth to Libertarian philosophies. Upon relocating to Washington State in 2008, Nielson was sought for chairman of the Kitsap County Republicans, but refused to focus on other political activism. In 2010, Nielson was elected as PCO in Ridgetop 149 precinct[5] but left the Republican Party shortly after to officially join ranks with the Libertarian Party in early 2011.

In early 2014, Nielson accepted a request from the Libertarian Party of Washington to explore a campaign as a Libertarian for the state legislature. On May 31st of 2014, Nielson was unanimously nominated by the state party to represent the party in the race for State Representative in Washington's 2nd Legislative District, challenging Republican Incumbent and House Floor Minority Leader JT Wilcox. A third contender entered the race on the final day of filing from the Democratic Party, Rick Payne. Despite attempting to register as a "Marijuana Party Democrat", Payne's official party preference from the Secretary of State's office indicated "Prefers Marijuana Party." Nielson received 21% of the total vote in the primary, defeating the Democrat for Marijuana candidate and advancing to the General Election. Nielson went on to finish the general election with 28.13% of the final vote.[6]

Nielson was the first Libertarian candidate to survive a contested primary election following Washington's adoption of Initiative 872 in 2004.[7]

Nielson became an appointed member of the Civil Service and Parks Commissions in Orting, WA in 2014 where he was unanimously elected as the Co-Chair of the dual commissions. He has used this position to refurbish and rededicate the town's Veteran's Memorial, designing and executing the city project under all-volunteer labor and private donations. Prior to this activity the memorial lay in disrepair for over a decade.

At the May 2014 Washington State Liberty Summit, the LPWA Annual Convention, Steven Nielson was nominated and unanimously elected as the state party Secretary. Under revised constitution and bylaws enacted at the same convention, the term of this and all officer posts was limited to one year with no term limits.

In 2015, Nielson penned several initiatives to the people, most notably the Make Every Vote Count initiative, aimed at reforming Washington State Electoral College. He was both applauded and criticized for seeking deep multiparty support for the reform.[8]

“ Libertarians should not be criticised for seeking alternative support for initiatives that better the political representation of all voters in the state of Washington. I, as a Libertarian, am not beholden to traditional party affiliations, and I remind those who seek to criticize that Libertarians and our solutions have a broad based appeal across the entire political spectrum. The success of our initiatives in 2015 will be evidence of the viablity of our leadership and ability to work with all political affiliations.[9] ”

Political opinions

Electoral College System

“ The Winner-Take-All electoral college system employed in 48 US States does much to disenfranchise minority votes in those states and propulgate the "red-state / blue-state" myth. When one looks at the political make-up of each state of this union, it is very clear to see that a proportional delegation of electors is the most effective way to ensure representation of the ture intent of the voters.[10] ”

State Education

“ The Washington State education system is failing our students, teachers, and the future of our state. The parents and teachers of our students know what is best for our individual child's success. Evey child deserves a quality education, a curriculum that is competitive on the world market, and educators who are free to seek the advancement of their profession. This is only accomplished by decentralizing the state's education system, eliminating standardized testing, and providing avenues for alternative education options for gifted or early-work-entry students.[11] ”

Gun ownership

“ Washington state fixed, with our state Constitution, any opportunity for misinterpretation of the US Second Amendment. Article 1 Section 24[12] prohibits the state from impairing our ability to bear arms in defense of our person, property, or state. To impair means to hinder in any way. We set into contract 125 years ago under the premise that the state would have no ability to hinder our natural right to defense. We have a natural right to unfettered access to modern armaments and ammunition.[13] ”

Gas taxation

“ The Washington State Department of Transportation has so grossly mismanaged priority projects, and has a history of doing so. Adding taxation at the pump is not a reasonable solution, and no amount of social engineering effort is going to convince the voters that we need additional taxation for transportation packages. I recommend a phased system of road privatization under extended lease, including the state ferry system, to encourage competition in transportation options and eliminate the bureaucracies associated with project management.[14] ”

Tribal Sovereignty

“ The intended sovereignty of Native Tribes within the bounds of Washington State, as established through Article VI of the US Constitution and respective treaties, is being violated by hawkish predators in the State Capitol. I believe that ALL current restrictions and regulations imposed on the tribes by the state government need to be immediately withdrawn, and specific legislation must be introduced to permanently restrict the state government from interfering with free transportation of goods to and from sovereign lands, and from attempting to regulate commerce or transaction within the sovereign territories.[15] ”

Same-sex marriage

“ Though I applaud the efforts and gains of those in this state who successfully won with Referendum 74, the full recognition of same-sex marriage, I abhore the practice of asking the state for permission to marry. State sponsored marriage has wrongly been incorporated into every aspect of our lives, most notably tax recognition through the IRS. Imagine the audacity of the state to believe that they have the power to regulate joint property contracts between two adults simply because of their sexual orientation. It is this kind of misplaced power that we need to remove from government.[16] ”

Personal life

Nielson married Gretchen Spindler in 2005 in Pierce County, Washington. They had two daughters together, Sawyer and Isley. Citing irreconsilable differences, the two separated and divorced in 2011. Nielson remarried in 2012 to educator Alicia K. Hope in Maui County, Hawaii. The have one daughter together, Scarlett. The family resides in Orting, Washington.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.theolympian.com/2014/03/18/3041151_libertarian-steven-nielson-taking.html?rh=1
  2. ↑ http://www.aa.washington.edu/alumni/alumDirectory.html#04
  3. ↑ http://www.stevennielson.com/history
  4. ↑ http://www.leadershipprogram.org/about/alumni-rosters/class-of-2008
  5. ↑ http://www.kitsapgov.com/aud/elections/archive/10/Cum0810/ElectionResult.htm
  6. ↑ http://ballotpedia.org/Steven_Nielson
  7. ↑ Libertarian Party of Washington
  8. ↑ http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2025046055_altpartiesforumxml.html
  9. ↑ http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2025046055_altpartiesforumxml.html
  10. ↑ http://www.makeeveryvotecountwashington.org
  11. ↑ http://www.lpwa.org
  12. ↑ http://ballotpedia.org/Article_I,_Washington_State_Constitution#Section_24
  13. ↑ http://www.stevennielson.com
  14. ↑ http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/07/04/3273743/second-legislative-district-incumbent.html
  15. ↑ http://www.stevennielson.com
  16. ↑ http://www.stevennielson.com

External links