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Dave Reichert

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David George Reichert (born August 29 1950) is an American federal legislator and the former Sheriff of King County, Washington. He has served since 2005 as the Republican Congressional representative of .

Biography

Early life

Reichert was born in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, the oldest of seven children and grandson of the town marshal. His family moved to Washington State in 1951 living first in Renton, Washington, and later moving to Kent, where he attended Kent Meridian High School. He graduated in 1968 and went on to Concordia Lutheran College in Portland, Oregon on a small football scholarship. In 1971, he joined the Air Force Reserves's 939th Military Airlift Group. He saw six months of active duty at Lackland AFB, Texas, Chanute AFB, Ill., and McChord AFB, Wash., from 1971 to 1976.

Education

Reichert earned an AA in Social Work in 1970 from Concordia Lutheran College in Portland, Oregon where he also played on the football team.

Law enforcement career

Reichert served with the King County Sheriff's Department beginning in 1972. He was a SWAT Commander, Commander-Hostage Negotiation, Commander-Bomb Disposal Unit, Commander-Traffic Unit, and an Acting Commander-Internal Investigations. Reichert was a leading member of the Green River Task Force, which was formed to track down the so-called "Green River Killer." DNA evidence eventually identified Gary Leon Ridgway as the Green River Killer in 2001. Ridgway was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the Green River murders.

County Sheriff

In 1997 he was appointed Sheriff of King County, Washington by King County Executive Ron Sims. In 2001, he ran unopposed for a second four year term. A widely rebroadcast event during the Seattle World Trade Organization riots showed Reichert chasing looters down 3rd Avenue in Seattle.

Affiliations

Reichert served as president of the Washington State Sheriffs’ Association.

Reichert is an executive board member of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

Awards

Reichert won the 2004 National Sheriffs' Association's Sheriff of the Year award, two valor awards and the Washington State Atty. General's Award for courageous action.

Publications

July 2004 non-fiction book "Chasing the Devil: My Twenty-Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer" ISBN 0-316-15632-9

Congressional service

Reichert has been described as a moderate Republican and is the only centrist member of the Washington State Delegation, named by the National Journal three years in a row.

2004 Election

In 2004 Reichert ran for Congress. In the Republican primary debate, he walked out due to other Republican Primary Candidates not adhering to the Republican 11th commandment.

Reichert's record as sheriff enabled him to defeat well known KIRO (AM) talk show host Dave Ross in the 2004 Congressional elections by a 5 percentage-point margin. Receiving 51 percent of the vote, he replaced retiring Republican representative Jennifer Dunn. At the same time, a shift of swing voters gave Democrat John Kerry a 51 percent to 48 percent edge over President George W. Bush in the . That made Reichert one of just 17 House Republicans elected in a district that went Democratic for president.

ARMPAC, one of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's political action committees, donated $20,000 to Reichert's election campaign. Since DeLay's 2005 indictment on charges of conspiracy to launder money, Democrats have urged Reichert to return the money or to donate it to charitable causes. He has refused to do so. Republicans say that the charges against DeLay are politically motivated.

109th Congress

Reichert was a member of the following committees: House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Intelligence Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment, Subcommittee Management Integration and Oversight, House Committee on Science, Subcommittee on Energy, Subcommittee on Research, Subcommittee on Environment Technology and Standards, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, Subcommittee on Highways Transit and Pipelines. In September 2005, he was appointed chairman for the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science and Technology, a subcommittee within the Homeland Security Committee.

During the 2004 campaign, in the Seattle PI's 2004 Voters Guide Reichert described himself as a moderate conservative, and claimed that his top priority in his campaign was security, both of his district and of the U.S. as a whole. He vowed to champion efforts to strengthen intelligence agencies, support the military and ensure proper equipment and training for first-responders.

110th Congress

Reichert is a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, the Subcommittee on Border Maritime and Global Counter-terrorism, and the Ranking Minority Member on the Subcommittee on Intelligence Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment. He is a member of the House Committee on Science and Technology. Also, he is a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, with membership on the Subcommittee on Aviation and Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

Elections

Date Position Status Opponent Result Vote Share Top Opponent Vote Share
1997 Sheriff Appointed
2001 Sheriff Incumbent Ran Unopposed Elected 100% N/A
2004 U.S. Representative Open seat Primary Diane Tebelius (R), Luke Esser (R), Conrad Lee (R) Nominated 45.34% 22.13% (Tebelius)
2004 U.S. Representative Open seat Dave Ross (D) Elected 51.50% 46.70%
2006 U.S. Representative Incumbent Darcy Burner (D) Re-Elected 51.31% 48.69%
2008 U.S. Representative Incumbent Darcy Burner (D) November 4

Family

His wife is named Julie, whom he met in college. Together, the Reicherts currently live in Auburn and have three grown children, Angela, Tabitha, and Daniel, and six grandchildren. Reichert is a Missouri Synod Lutheran.

See also

References

External links



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