Steven Nielson

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Steven Nielson
File:Steven Nielson.jpg
Steven Nielson - Official Photo
Chairperson of the Washington State Libertarian Party
In office
May 31, 2015 – April 9, 2016
Secretary of the Washington State Libertarian Party
In office
May 31, 2014 – May 29, 2015
Secretary of the Douglas County Republican Party, Colorado
In office
June 01, 2007 – June 30, 2009
Personal details
Born Steven Merrill Nielson
(1979-09-04) September 4, 1979 (age 44)
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Political party Libertarian
Spouse(s) Alicia Kate Nielson (2012–present)
Gretchen Dru (2005–2010)
Children Sawyer
Isley
Scarlett
Alma mater University of Washington
Religion Universalist
Website http://www.electnielson.com

Steven Nielson (born September 4, 1979) is an American statesman, political activist, Libertarian Party officer, and children's author.

Nielson is the 2016 Libertarian Candidate for Washington Public Lands Commissioner, was the 2014 Libertarian candidate for Washington State Representative District 2 Position 2 of the Washington House of Representatives,[1] and the first Libertarian candidate to survive a contested primary challenge since Washington's 2004 adoption of the top-two primary.

Early life and education

Steven Nielson was born on September 4, 1979 to parents Mari Davies and Lloyd Barry Nielson Jr, in Portland, Oregon. Nielson's parents were married only a short period of time and he was subject to several relocations prior to finally settling down with his father in Enumclaw, Washington. He has two brothers and three sisters. Nielson excelled in math and science, was involved with track and field and swimming activities, and was the Senior Class President for his graduating class. Nielson graduated from Enumclaw High School in 1998.

Nielson attended Green River Community College in Auburn WA, as an undergraduate, with an emphasis on pre-engineering. In 2000, he was recognized as American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Student of the Year after leading his college to victory in design innovation competitions.

Nielson transferred to the University of Washington where he earned his B.S.[2] in Astronautical Engineering in 2004, with a specific focus in aerospace composite structures. Nielson was heavily involved with education outreach and on-campus politics. He served as advisor for the Resident Hall Student Association, Vice-President of his residence hall, Hansee Hall, President and Founder of the Mars Society at University of Washington, and the President of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics UW Chapter. He was awarded a scholarship for Professional Potential in the field of aerospace engineering.

Career

Steven Nielson is a professional Quality Assurance Engineer, having worked for Lockheed Martin and Hexcel.

While employed with Lockheed, Nielson redefined Foreign Object Debris maturity measures for the corporation and their supply chain. He led quality teams in military satellite assembly, test, and integration. He was selected for his expertise in space composites to assist with early design of the Orion Spacecraft within Lockheed Martin where he made significant contributions to the supply chain quality management systems, focusing on development of small/disadvantaged businesses. Nielson ended his career with Lockheed Martin in 2012 after three years of nuclear missile test and fabrication at Naval Submarine Base Bangor.

Nielson left Lockheed Martin for an advanced composites manufacturing facility in Kent, Washington. Nielson specializes in strategic problem solving and continuous improvement initiatives as a member of the Quality Management team.[3]

Political history

Nielson is a noted community leader as early as his high school days, where he used his position as class president to advocate for educational outreach and cross-functional/interdisciplinary education, volunteering throughout his high-school tenure for elementary advisor programs (educational camp), and drug abuse education. Through college, Nielson used his leadership positions to continue educational outreach where he volunteered in elementary settings, teaching science and math to elementary students. Throughout his career Nielson has volunteered for educational outreach programs, such as Advancement Via Individual Determination, and has been a champion for community involvement in the education system. On campus, Nielson was a leader for student's rights, challenging the then University Smoking Ban at the University of Washington.

Nielson began volunteering for the Republican Party in 2004, in Santa Clara county. In 2006, he was appointed and re-elected as the Secretary of the Republican Party in Douglas County, Colorado. During this time Nielson was heavily involved in the presidential campaigns of Tom Tancredo and Mike Huckabee. Nielson graduated from the Leadership Program of the Rockies[4] in 2008 where he was first introduced in-depth to Libertarian philosophies. Upon relocating to Washington State in 2008, Nielson was sought for chairman of the Kitsap County Republicans, but refused to focus on other political activism. In 2010, Nielson was elected as PCO in Ridgetop 149 precinct[5] but left the Republican Party shortly after to officially join ranks with the Libertarian Party in early 2011.

In early 2014, Nielson accepted a request from the Libertarian Party of Washington to explore a campaign as a Libertarian for the state legislature. On May 31, 2014, Nielson was unanimously nominated by the state party to represent the party in the race for State Representative in Washington's 2nd Legislative District, challenging Republican Incumbent and House Floor Minority Leader JT Wilcox. A third contender entered the race on the final day of filing from the Democratic Party, Rick Payne. Despite attempting to register as a "Marijuana Party Democrat", Payne's official party preference from the Secretary of State's office indicated "Prefers Marijuana Party." Nielson received 21% of the total vote in the primary, defeating the Democrat for Marijuana candidate and advancing to the General Election. Nielson went on to finish the general election with 28.13% of the final vote.[6]

Nielson was the first Libertarian candidate to survive a contested primary election following Washington's adoption of Initiative 872 in 2004.[7]

Nielson became an appointed member of the Civil Service and Parks Commissions in Orting, WA in 2014 where he was unanimously elected as the Co-Chair of the dual commissions. He has used this position to refurbish and rededicate the town's Veteran's Memorial, designing and executing the city project under all-volunteer labor and private donations. Prior to this activity the memorial lay in disrepair for over a decade.

At the May 2014 Washington State Liberty Summit, the LPWA Annual Convention, Steven Nielson was nominated and unanimously elected as the state party Secretary. Under revised constitution and bylaws enacted at the same convention, the term of this and all officer posts was limited to one year with no term limits.

In 2015, Nielson penned several initiatives to the people, most notably the Make Every Vote Count initiative, aimed at reforming Washington State Electoral College. He was both applauded and criticized for seeking deep multiparty support for the reform.[8]

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Libertarians should not be criticised for seeking alternative support for initiatives that better the political representation of all voters in the state of Washington. I, as a Libertarian, am not beholden to traditional party affiliations, and I remind those who seek to criticize that Libertarians and our solutions have a broad based appeal across the entire political spectrum. The success of our initiatives in 2015 will be evidence of the viablity of our leadership and ability to work with all political affiliations.[9]

Nielson became Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Washington State in 2015 and pledged to serve one term on a platform of party growth and candidate recruitment. He successfully recreuited several local candidates in local 2015 races and added 5 election victories for the Libertarian Party. Nielson built a team to successfully recruit nearly 50 candidates for office in 2016, aimed at helping the Libertarian Party attain Major Party status. His efforts have been identified as a Libertarian case study for candidate achievement by the Libertarian Leadership Academy, and he has been nominated for recognition for the National Libertarian Party Patrick Henry Award, recognizing achievement in libertarian campaigns.[10]

On March 15th, 2016 Nielson announced candidacy for Commissioner of Public Lands for the State of Washington.

Personal life

Nielson married Gretchen Spindler in 2005 in Pierce County, Washington. They had two daughters together, Sawyer and Isley. Citing irreconcilable differences, they separated and divorced in 2011. Nielson remarried in 2012 to educator Alicia K. Hope in Maui County, Hawaii. They have one daughter together, Scarlett. The family resides in Port Orchard, Washington.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.theolympian.com/2014/03/18/3041151_libertarian-steven-nielson-taking.html?rh=1
  2. ↑ http://www.aa.washington.edu/alumni/alumDirectory.html#04
  3. ↑ http://www.stevennielson.com/history
  4. ↑ http://www.leadershipprogram.org/about/alumni-rosters/class-of-2008
  5. ↑ http://www.kitsapgov.com/aud/elections/archive/10/Cum0810/ElectionResult.htm
  6. ↑ http://ballotpedia.org/Steven_Nielson
  7. ↑ Libertarian Party of Washington
  8. ↑ http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2025046055_altpartiesforumxml.html
  9. ↑ http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2025046055_altpartiesforumxml.html
  10. ↑ https://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/call-for-nominations-libertarian-party-awards-for-the-2016-national-lp-convention

External links

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