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Al Swift | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWashington's2nd district | |
| In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Lloyd Meeds |
| Succeeded by | Jack Metcalf |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Allan Byron Swift (1935-09-12)September 12, 1935 Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | April 20, 2018(2018-04-20) (aged 82) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Central Washington University |
Al Swift addresses concerns with theNational Voter Registration Act of 1993 Recorded June 16, 1992 | |
Allan Byron Swift (September 12, 1935 – April 20, 2018) was an AmericanEmmy award–winning broadcaster and politician who served as a member of theUnited States House of Representatives for eight terms from 1979 to 1995. He represented theSecond Congressional District ofWashington as aDemocrat.
Swift was born inTacoma, Washington, in 1935. He studied for two years atWhitman College where he was a member of theSigma Chi Chapter. He received a bachelor's degree from theCentral Washington College of Education in 1957.
Prior to his sixteen years in Congress, Swift was a broadcaster in several stations throughout Washington State in the towns of Walla Walla (KUJ), Ellensburg (KXLE) and Bellingham (KVOS-TV). At KVOS, he was Director of News and Public Affairs, producing a series of weekly public interest programs and documentaries and earning anEmmy from theNational Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
He was first elected to the House in 1978, replacing the retiringLloyd Meeds,[1] for whom Swift had served as an administrative assistant from 1965 to 1969 and from 1977 to 1978. Swift won re-election in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1992. Swift served on the powerfulEnergy and Commerce Committee, of which he was the 5th ranking member during his final term and chair of the subcommittee on Transportation and Hazardous Materials. He also chaired theSubcommittee on Elections of theHouse Administration Committee. Among his accomplishments was authorship ofEmergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, which was designed to support emergency planning regardingSuperfund sites. Swift also authored and led the passage of theNational Voter Registration Act of 1993, otherwise known as motor-voter, which expanded voter registration options nationwide including drivers license offices and mail-in registration. He retired and did not run for re-election in 1994, an election in which the Democrats lost this seat.
Following his final term in Congress, Swift was Vice President of Governmental Affairs withBurlington Northern Railroad until its merger withSanta Fe Railroad in 1996 and had a new railroad siding south of Blaine, WA named after him (Swift) . He was later a principal with theWashington, D.C., political strategy firmColling, Swift & HynesArchived July 3, 2008, at theWayback Machine and a regular member of the internet based radio talk show called Backroom Politics. He and his wife, Paula, had two daughters, Amy Swift Donovan and Lauri Swift, and resided inAlexandria, Virginia.
Swift died on April 20, 2018, inAlexandria, Virginia.[2]
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromWashington's 2nd congressional district 1979–1995 | Succeeded by |
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