Rob McKenna

Infobox_Governor
name= Rob McKenna


caption=
order=17^th
office= State Attorney General
term_start= January 12, 2005
term_end=
predecessor= Christine Gregoire
successor=Incumbent
birth_date= birth date and age|1962|10|01
birth_place= Fort Sam Houston
death_date=
death_place=
spouse= Marilyn McKenna
profession= Lawyer
party= Republican
religion=Roman Catholic
footnotes=

Robert ("Rob") McKenna, a Republican from Bellevue, Washington, is the Attorney General of the state of Washington. He was elected in November 2004 for a term beginning in January 2005, and is running for re-election.

Early life and education

The son of an Army officercite web | title=Election 2004 voters guide| url=http://www.spokesmanreview.com/elections/2004/candidates/candidate.asp?ID=53| accessdate=2008-01-20] , McKenna was born October 1, 1962 in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. cite web | title=About Rob McKenna | url=http://www.atg.wa.gov/page.aspx?ID=1730 | accessdate=2007-07-29 ] cite web | title=Biography of Attorney General Rob McKenna | url=http://www.atg.wa.gov/page.aspx?id=1732 | accessdate=2007-07-29] He grew up at posts in Germany, Bangkok, San Francisco and Kansas before his family settled in Bellevue, Washington, when he was 14. cite web | title="McKenna takes on role of 'general' with gusto"- Associated Press | url=http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=mckenna27m&date=20050227&query=%22mckenna+takes+on+role%22| accessdate=2008-01-20] McKenna is an Eagle Scout.

McKenna graduated from Sammamish High School in Bellevue in 1980. He earned two bachelor's degrees, in Economics and International Studies, from the University of Washington and a Phi Beta Kappa key. McKenna was student body president in 1984-85. He received a J.D. from University of Chicago Law School in 1988.

Career

After graduation, McKenna worked as an attorney at the law firm of Perkins Coie, where he practiced mainly business and regulatory law from June 1988 to January 1996. He was elected to the Metropolitan King County Council in November 1995, took office in January 1996 and was re-elected in 1999 and 2003. As councilman, he represented Bellevue, Mercer Island, Kirkland, Newcastle, and much of Renton. His re-elections were without opposition and he was twice rated "Outstanding" by the Municipal League.

McKenna based his 2004 campaign for the office of Attorney General around three areas of protection he promised to bring to Washingtonians: protection of the safety of families, by fighting crimes such as identity theft, internet fraud, and child pornography, and supporting local police, sheriffs, and prosecutors; protection of rights, by controlling regulation and supporting the public's right to know what the government is doing; and protection of pocketbooks, by counseling state agencies to avoid costly trial and litigation, bringing reform in the matter of reducing what some see as unfair burdens placed on doctors, hospitals, and other professionals.

McKenna developed broad-based alliances to win election, attracting the support of prosecutors, police chiefs and sheriffs, along with farm and business leaders one at a time then leveraging those endorsements into broader support. He also built nontraditional alliances with tribal leaders, public safety unions, firefighters and other moderates in both parties. He defeated political novice Mike Vaska, a private attorney from Issaquah, in the Republican primary for state Attorney General, with approximately 70 percent of the vote. He then defeated former Insurance Commissioner and Democratic Senate candidate Deborah Senn in the November General election, one of just a few Republicans to win statewide office in 2004.

McKenna kicked off his 2008 campaign in November 2007. He has the support of two Democrats, State Auditor Brian Sonntag and Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Janice Ellis.cite web | title="McKenna Announces Re-Election Bid"-Soundpolitics.com| url=http://www.soundpolitics.com/archives/009644.html| accessdate=2007-11-14]

Attorney General

As Washington's 17th Attorney General, McKenna manages the largest public law office in the state with more than 1,200 employees and offices in 12 cities around the state: Bellingham, Port Angeles, Everett, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Wenatchee, Spokane, Yakima, Kennewick, Vancouver and Pullman. The Washington State Attorney General's Office serves more than 230 state agencies, boards, commissions, colleges, and universities, as well as the Governor and Legislature. cite web | title=About the Washington State Attorney General's Office| url=http://atg.wa.gov/AboutTheOffice/default.aspx| accessdate=2008-01-20]

Personal

McKenna and his wife Marilyn have four children. They live in Bellevue, Washington. cite web | title=About Rob McKenna | url=http://www.atg.wa.gov/page.aspx?ID=1730 | accessdate=2007-07-29] cite web | title=Biography of Attorney General Rob McKenna | url=http://www.atg.wa.gov/page.aspx?id=1732 | accessdate=2007-07-29]

References

External links

*cite web | title=State of Washington biography | url=http://www.atg.wa.gov/page.aspx?ID=1730
* [http://www.robmckenna.org/ Campaign website]