Aaron Dixon | |
|---|---|
 Dixon in 2012 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 2, 1949 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | |
| Residence(s) | Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Occupation | Political Activist |
Aaron L. Dixon (born January 2, 1949) is an American activist and a former captain of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party for its initial four years. [1] In 2006, he ran for the United States Senate in Washington state on the Green Party ticket.
As an adolescent, Dixon marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to end housing discrimination in Seattle, and was one of the first volunteers to participate in the busing program to integrate schools. King's assassination, on April 4, 1968, deeply affected Dixon and propelled him towards the Black Power Movement. That week, Dixon and his brother Elmer were in San Francisco for the West Coast Black Student Union conference, and during that time attended the funeral of Bobby Hutton, a member of the Black Panther Party killed on April 6 in a confrontation with the police. Following the funeral, Dixon met with some of the Black Panther leadership such as Bobby Seale and Kathleen Cleaver, who made a vivid impression upon him. The time spent in San Francisco lead the Dixon brothers to set up the first Black Panther chapter outside of California, in Seattle. [2]
While a member of the Black Panthers, Dixon started the Free Breakfast for Children program that fed thousands of hungry African American children; and he helped to open a free community medical and legal clinic. The clinic continues to this day as the Carolyn Downs Family Medical Center. [3] At the same time, according to the Seattle Weekly , the Panthers were involved in the "firebombing [of] businesses and institutions that they considered racist." [4]
Dixon also became involved in electoral politics when he worked on the mayoral campaign of Lionel Wilson, who was elected as the first black mayor of Oakland, California in 1977.
After leaving the Panthers, Dixon worked for several non-profit organizations, focusing on drug and gang violence and working with homeless youth. In 2002, he founded Central House, a non-profit providing transitional housing for homeless young adults. Central House also has a Youth Leadership Project that operates at four Seattle public high schools. It teaches youth to think positively, graduate high school, and control their own destinies. It also teaches them the importance of serving their community.
Dixon is the father of six and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
On March 9, 2006, Dixon announced his decision to seek the Green Party's nomination for U.S. Senate, challenging incumbent Maria Cantwell on her continued support for the U.S. presence in Iraq and the USA PATRIOT Act. [5]
His platform included a call for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, the repeal of the PATRIOT Act, support of same-sex marriage, the implementation of a system of universal single-payer health care, the end the war on drugs and a renewed focus on the issue of poverty.
On May 13, 2006, Dixon was nominated as the Green Party of Washington State's nominee for the U.S. Senate. On July 10, 2006, the Secretary of State's office announced that the Dixon campaign had gathered the appropriate nomination signatures and that Aaron Dixon would appear on the November ballot. Besides Dixon and Cantwell, the ballot included Libertarian nominee Bruce Guthrie, independent candidate Robin Adair and Republican challenger Mike McGavick.
A positive reaction to Dixon's candidacy came from Republican Chairwoman Diane Tebelius. [6] Negative reactions from other Democrats, who cited the vote splitting that Dixon would have on Cantwell's voters, thus aiding the pro-Iraq War Republican candidate. [6]
Dixon faced criticism for having criminal charges on his record, most for traffic violations, and owing the city and county substantial fines as a result. Public records revealed that Dixon: had only ever voted once in King County, in 1998; was not married to his claimed wife, and was still married to a different woman; and owed several thousand dollars to another former spouse for child support payments. [7] [8] Dixon described these as additional costs in addition to his agreed payments, and indicated he was working to pay the debt. [7]
Dixon did not meet the sponsors' criteria of public support or fundraising to participate in a televised debate of the Senate candidates to be held on October 17, 2006, sponsored by various news outlets and civic organizations in King County; to take part, candidates had to have garnered 10 percent of the tally in a scientific poll; be the nominated candidate of a party that won 10 percent of the vote in the last election; or have raised at least $1.2 million. [9]
On the day of the debate, Dixon was arrested for trespassing at the KING-TV studio in Seattle, where he and his supporters were protesting his exclusion from the debate being taped there for broadcast later that day. [10]
In the months following the campaign, Dixon reorganized much of the campaign's organization into the Center for Social Justice, based out of the campaign's former headquarters in Seattle's Central district. The Center organized an anti-war rally and march on January 27, 2007, in Seattle, which had a turnout of several thousand.
In 2012, Dixon published a memoir, My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captain, ISBN 978-1608461783. [11]
Patricia Lynn Murray is an American politician and president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2023 and the senior United States Senator from Washington since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray served in the Washington State Senate from 1989 to 1993. She was Washington's first female U.S. senator and is the first woman in American history to hold the position of president pro tempore. Murray is also the youngest senator to occupy the office of president pro tempore in more than five decades. As president pro tempore, Murray is third in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency.
Maria Ellen Cantwell is an American politician and former businesswoman serving as the junior United States senator from Washington since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Washington House of Representatives from 1987 to 1993, and in the United States House of Representatives from Washington's 1st congressional district from 1993 to 1995.
Thomas Slade Gorton III was an American lawyer and politician from Washington. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1981 to 1987, and again from 1989 to 2001. He held both of the state's U.S. Senate seats in his career and was narrowly defeated for reelection twice, first in 1986 by Brock Adams and again in 2000 by Maria Cantwell following a recount, becoming the last Republican senator to date for each seat.
The 2006 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, 2006, with all 33 Class 1 Senate seats being contested. The term of office for those elected in 2006 ran from January 3, 2007, to January 3, 2013. Before the election cycle, the Republican Party controlled 55 of the 100 Senate seats.
Michael Sean McGavick is an American business executive and a graduate of the University of Washington.
Christopher M. Vance is an American politician who served two terms on the Metropolitan King County Council and is a former member of the Washington State Legislature. Vance is former chair of the Washington State Republican Party. He and his wife Ann raised their son and daughter in Auburn, Washington and now live in Sumner, Washington. Vance ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate, losing to Democratic incumbent Patty Murray in the 2016 election by 18 percentage points.
The 2006 United States Senate election in Washington was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell won reelection to a second term.
The 2008 gubernatorial election in Washington was held on November 4, 2008. Republican Dino Rossi and incumbent Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire emerged from the August 19 primary. This made the 2008 election a rematch between the candidates from the 2004 election, the closest gubernatorial election in the state's history. In contrast to the recounts and months of legal challenges in their previous contest, Gregoire was the clear winner on November 5, earning 53 percent of the vote. With a margin of 6.45%, this election was the second-closest race of the 2008 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only the election in North Carolina.
The 2000 United States Senate election in Washington was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Slade Gorton was seeking reelection to a third consecutive term, and a fourth overall, but he was unseated for a second time by a very narrow margin by former Congresswoman Maria Cantwell. The race was the most expensive contest in the state's history at the time.
The Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) is the state affiliate of the national United States Republican Party, headquartered in Bellevue.
Bradley Allen Klippert is an American politician, minister, law enforcement officer, and military officer who formerly served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 8th Legislative District.
The Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI) is a left wing think tank based in Redmond, Washington, founded in 2003 and incorporated in 2005. It uses technology, public policy research, and political advocacy to advance progressive causes in the Pacific Northwest region as well as across the United States. It describes itself as "a netroots powered strategy center working to raise America's quality of life through innovative research and imaginative advocacy."
Susan Hutchison is an American television news journalist, educator, and politician. She served as chair of the Washington State Republican Party from 2013 to 2018 and was a candidate for the United States Senate in 2018.
The 1992 United States Senate election in Washington was held on November 3, 1992. Incumbent Democratic Senator Brock Adams chose not to run for re-election to a second term after eight different women made allegations that he had engaged in various acts of sexual misconduct, including harassment and rape. Adams denied the allegations, but his popularity statewide was weakened considerably by them, and he chose to retire rather than risk costing the party his seat.
The 2012 United States Senate election in Washington took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell won re-election to a third term by a significant margin, outperforming President Barack Obama's margin in the concurrent presidential election by 6%.
The 2016 Green National Convention, in which delegates of the Green Party of the United States chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the national election, was held August 4–7, 2016 in Houston, Texas. In August 2015, Houston was chosen over a competing proposal from Toledo, Ohio. The convention was located at the University of Houston with the theme, "Houston, We Have A Solution: Vote Green 2016". The convention formally nominated Jill Stein as the party's presidential nominee and Ajamu Baraka as her running mate.
Richard Lamar Pope Jr. is an American attorney and perennial candidate from Bellevue, Washington.
The 2018 United States Senate election in Washington took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Washington. Incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell won election to a fourth term over television news journalist Susan Hutchison, a Republican.
A special election was held on November 7, 2017, to fill the vacant seat in the Washington State Senate representing the 45th district. The seat was left vacant after the death of incumbent Andy Hill in October 2016. Dino Rossi, a former candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010 and for governor in 2004 and 2008, was appointed to fill the seat until the election. He announced that he would not run for the seat. The election was then contested between Manka Dhingra of the Democratic Party and Jinyoung Lee Englund of the Republican Party, who advanced as the top two finishers in the August primary. Dhingra won the election by more than ten percent, giving the Democratic caucus a 25–24 majority for the 2018 session.
 | This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines.(January 2022) |
