Robert "Bob" Oke (September 4, 1940 - May 14, 2007) was an American politician who served 16 years in the Washington State Senate representing portions of Kitsap County, Washington. A member of the Republican Party, he is credited with championing construction of a second Tacoma Narrows Bridge and for his work on youth smoking prevention. [1] [2]
Oke was born in Spokane and raised in Seattle. Prior to his 1990 election to the senate, he was a career seaman in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a senior chief petty officer. Well-liked by both Democratic and Republican colleagues in the legislature, Oke was interred with military honors at Tahoma National Cemetery in a memorial attended by Governor of Washington Christine Gregoire, Rep. Norm Dicks, and at least half-a-dozen sitting and former state legislators. Following Oke's death, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's Lewis County Game Farm was renamed the Bob Oke Game Farm in his memory. [1] [2] [3]
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of twin suspension bridges that span the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound in Pierce County, Washington. The bridges connect the city of Tacoma with the Kitsap Peninsula and carry State Route 16 over the strait. Historically, the name "Tacoma Narrows Bridge" has applied to the original bridge, nicknamed "Galloping Gertie", which opened in July 1940 but collapsed possibly because of aeroelastic flutter four months later, as well as to the successor of that bridge, which opened in 1950 and still stands today as the westbound lanes of the present-day two-bridge complex.
Kitsap County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard; its largest city is Bremerton. The county, formed out of King County and Jefferson County on January 16, 1857, is named for Chief Kitsap of the Suquamish Tribe. Originally named Slaughter County, it was soon renamed.
Daniel Jackson Evans was an American politician from Washington. A member of the Republican Party, he served as governor of Washington from 1965 to 1977 and a member of the United States Senate from 1983 to 1989.
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a public ferry system in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and operates 10 routes serving 20 terminals within Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. The routes are designated as part of the state highway system. WSF maintains a fleet of 21 vessels that are able to carry passengers and vehicles.
Jay Robert Inslee is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012, and was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. He is the longest-serving current governor in the United States.
The Kitsap Peninsula lies west of Seattle across Puget Sound, in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest. Hood Canal separates the peninsula from the Olympic Peninsula on its west side. The peninsula, a.k.a. "Kitsap", encompasses all of Kitsap County except Bainbridge and Blake Islands, as well as the northeastern part of Mason County and the northwestern part of Pierce County. The highest point on the Kitsap Peninsula is Gold Mountain. The U.S. Navy's Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and Naval Base Kitsap are on the peninsula. Its main city is Bremerton.
Dino John Rossi is an American businessman and politician who served as a Washington State Senator thrice, from 1997 to 2003, in 2012, and again from 2016 to 2017. A Republican, he is a former chair of the Washington State Special Olympics.
State Route 16 (SR 16) is a 27.16-mile-long (43.71 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, connecting Pierce and Kitsap counties. The highway, signed as east–west, begins at an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) in Tacoma and travels through the city as a freeway towards the Tacoma Narrows. SR 16 crosses the narrows onto the Kitsap Peninsula on the partially tolled Tacoma Narrows Bridge and continues through Gig Harbor and Port Orchard before the freeway ends in Gorst. The designation ends at an intersection with SR 3 southwest of the beginning of its freeway through Bremerton and Poulsbo. SR 16 is designated as a Strategic Highway Network (STRAHNET) corridor within the National Highway System as the main thoroughfare connecting Tacoma to Naval Base Kitsap and a part of the Highways of Statewide Significance program.
The Washington State Department of Transportation is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington. Established in 1905, it is led by a secretary and overseen by the governor. WSDOT is responsible for more than 20,000 lane-miles of roadway, nearly 3,000 vehicular bridges and 524 other structures. This infrastructure includes rail lines, state highways, state ferries and state airports.
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.
Timothy Markham Sheldon is an American farmer, businessman, and politician who served as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 35th District between 1997 and 2023. The district includes all of Mason County and parts of Thurston and Kitsap counties. A member of the Democratic Party, Sheldon caucused with the Republican-dominated Majority Coalition Caucus and afterwards the Republican Caucus from 2012. He previously represented Mason County as a Mason County Commissioner for District 2 from 2005 to 2017 and served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 1991 to 1997.
Derek Christian Kilmer is an American politician who has been the U.S. representative for Washington's 6th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 2005 to 2007 and the Washington State Senate from 2007 to 2012.
Drew Christian MacEwen is an American politician of the Republican Party. He is a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 35th district, which covers the entirety of Mason County and parts of Kitsap and Thurston counties.
South Puget Sound is the southern reaches of Puget Sound in Southwest Washington, in the United States' Pacific Northwest. It is one of five major basins encompassing the entire Sound, and the shallowest basin, with a mean depth of 37 meters (121 ft). Exact definitions of the region vary: the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife counts all of Puget Sound south of the Tacoma Narrows for fishing regulatory purposes. The same agency counts Mason, Jefferson, Kitsap, Pierce and Thurston Counties for wildlife management. The state's Department of Ecology defines a similar area south of Colvos Passage.
Emily Elissa Randall is an American politician and activist who is a U.S. representative-elect for Washington's 6th congressional district and a former member of the Washington State Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, she will succeed Derek Kilmer in the U.S. House of Representatives.
General elections were held in the U.S. state of Washington on November 3, 2020. A primary was held on August 4.
The 2022 Washington House of Representatives elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections on November 8, 2022. Washington state voters elected state representatives in all 98 seats of the House, electing two state representatives in each of the 49 Washington state legislative districts. State representatives serve two-year terms in the Washington House of Representatives.
The 2024 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2024. The top-two primary was held on August 6. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jay Inslee was eligible to seek re-election to a fourth term but decided that he would not do so. The Democratic nominee, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, defeated the Republican nominee, former Congressman Dave Reichert, who conceded defeat on November 19. Inslee, who previously served in the U.S. House, was first elected governor in 2012 and won re-election in 2016 and 2020. Washington has not had a Republican governor since John Spellman left office in 1985, the longest streak of Democratic leadership of any state in the country and the third-longest streak of one-party leadership after South Dakota and Utah. Ferguson defeated Reichert with 55.51% of the vote in the general election. He also became the first Democrat to win Clallam County since 2000.
The 2022 Washington Secretary of State special election was held on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Kim Wyman, a Republican, resigned from the office on November 19, 2021, to become the senior election security lead for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the Biden administration's Department of Homeland Security. Washington governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat, announced he would appoint state senator Steve Hobbs as her replacement, the first Democrat to hold the office in more than fifty years.
The 2024 Washington State Senate elections were held on November 5, 2024, with a nonpartisan blanket primary election held on August 6, 2024. Voters in 25 of the 49 state legislative districts elected Senators to the Washington State Senate. The elections will coincide with other elections for federal, state, and local offices.