Alina Hintza

Alina F. Hintza (born August 31, 1964) is an American politician and the current Governor of the West, having served since January 20, 2001. She is an independent who was previously a journalist for the Seattle Times from 1991 to 1997 and Mayor of Seattle, elected for one term in 1997. She opened an exploratory committee in 2002 for President of the United States in 2004, but closed it within the same year due to Isabelle Foster's ascension to the Presidency.

Early life, education, and career
Hintza was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, specifically in Seabeck, Washington, from 1964 to 1969 and Olympia, Washington from 1969 to 1983. She has lived in Seattle since 1983. Her mother was a teacher in Mason, in the county of Washington, and her father was a park planner for the Washington County Department of Transportation. A second-generation Washingtonian and a third-generation Westerner, she describes her family as being of Finnish and Italian descent.

Hintza attended Olympia High School in Olympia, Washington, where she was described as 'dedicated and determined' by peers and teachers and an honor-roll student, graduating in 1983. She was also described as the high school's most proficient goalie and defender on the high school's girls' soccer team. Hintza's interest in environmental, educational, and criminal justice issues began at an early age, with extensive research and study of these subjects. Hintza soon became involved in youth activism for criminal justice reform at the high of the national crime wave in the 1980s. She frequently visited Mount Rainier during her high school and college years, and has visited yearly since 1993.

Hintza attended college at the University of Washington from 1983 to 1991, where she studied political science, law, and education. She moved to Seattle to attend the university, and has lived there since. She earned a Master's Degree in Law and a Master's Degree in Political Science. She earned a Juris Doctor in 1989.

Hintza and her husband, Michael Hintza-Rockefeller, were married on March 18, 2004. They met when Hintza was in her junior year of high school. Michael Hintza-Rockefeller is a Supreme Court Justice and helps manage Alina Hintza's political campaigns. They have not had any children together. Hintza worked as a journalist for the Seattle Times from 1991 to 1997 before entering politics. She first became interested in the political scene advocating for the abolishment of capital punishment in Seattle. She showed great interest in running for political office after this event.

Elections
1997

Hintza ran for Mayor of Seattle in 1997 against incumbent Norm Rice. Initially thought to be only a small threat to the incumbent's re-election, she soon rose dramatically in the polls and garnered nationwide attention due to her very progressive and pro-environment views, views that often contrasted with the moderate, center-left politics that were so common in her county. 33 at the time, Hintza was set to be one of the youngest mayors in the nation. She campaigned on the slogan, 'Progressivism, Patriotism, Pragmatism,' which soon inspired many other candidates of a similar ideology in her county to run for office. She was endorsed by Gary Locke, the then-current Washington County Executive.

Hintza's energetic campaign style and spunk gained her the admiration of Americans nationwide and she quickly became a rising star in Western politics. The media predicted a close race; Hintza ended up winning 52% in the blanket primary and 61% in the general election. Norm Rice came in second place both times, with 36% and 39% of the vote respectively.

Tenure
As Mayor, Hintza passed significant pro-environment and criminal justice reform legislation, including banning mandatory minimum sentencing, a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_labor_in_the_United_States#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20International%20Labor,%240.95%20an%20hour%20before%20deductions. minimum wage for prison labor], and a tax on carbon emissions in the city. She also made several economic reforms, including providing public housing for the homeless and raising the minimum wage to $12/hour.

Elections
2000

On March 19, 2000, Hintza announced her candidacy for the vacant West Governor's seat. In the early months prior to the election, she had a challenger in the current Supreme Court Justice and Democrat, Franklin Dean Roosevelt. Hintza was the frontrunner throughout the race, even though she ran as an independent in a heavily Democratic region. Hintza used the famous song House of the Rising Sun extensively for her campaign. Roosevelt dropped out on June 3, however, due to his consideration for a Supreme Court nomination by both Presidential nominees in that year, as to not recuse himself. Hintza ran unopposed from this point onward, with the exception of two insignificant and minor write-in campaigns.

Hintza won the election with 94% of the vote, with the highest turnout of any region that year. She was sworn in on January 20, 2001. Hintza was 37 at the time. She became the first female Governor of an American state in the nation and she is the youngest currently serving Governor. Following this election, whispers about a possible 2004 Presidential run began circulating throughout both Republican and Democratic circles, possibly serving on a ticket with Republican and North Governor Michael K. Hintza-Rockefeller before his eventual nomination to the Supreme Court.

2004

Several candidates had declared their interest in running for Governor of West, but most eyes were soon turned away from this election when Miss Hintza declared her re-election campaign on November 17, 2003. Initially, she had no competition. A few months later, though, on February 3, 2004, Representative Aidan Nicholas declared his campaign for the seat. Most news outlets and almost every political pundit at the time dismissed his campaign as having little chance. Hintza was entering the race with massive support amongst her constituents and had fulfilled all of her previous campaign promises. Hintza, instead of campaigning extensively, instead decided to show Westerners how well she could do her job even during the campaign season. Representative Nicholas didn't extensively campaign either, resigning himself to chance.

In the end, Mrs. Rockefeller (by that time, she had gotten married to Supreme Court Justice Michael K. Rockefeller) won re-election with 79% of the vote to Nicholas's 21%. Her region again had the highest turnout of any region that year, mirroring that of 2000. She became the third Governor in the nation to get re-elected to a second term, after Overseas Governor and Republican, Dancio, and South Governor and Christian Democrat, Peyton C. Hulsey, both of which got re-elected in the 2002 midterms. The election was a landslide in all regards and most news outlets had already called the race by West's poll closings, even before most of the votes had been reported.

First Term (2001-present)
Anti-Discrimination Laws

Hintza's administration in the West got into controversy almost immediately, with the signing of West Executive Order 1, which banned discrimination based on '...sex, sexuality, gender identity, race, nationality, ethnicity, or religion.' Justice Frederick D.W. Stewart argued against it even before it was brought to court by LAGconservative, the North State Attorney General at the time. The Supreme Court ruled against the Executive Order, stating that business owners may refuse service to any person for any reason. Hintza had this to say on the situation:"I am in strong opposition to the recent decision made by the Supreme Court. No American should have service denied to them based on their sexuality; the enforcement of the right to deny a person life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, is unconstitutional. That's why I have just asked my Attorney General to appeal the case. We will fight for our rights."The House of Representatives, the Senate, the President, and the State Government of North joined Hintza in the appeal, but it was dismissed by the Supreme Court. After another struck-down Presidential Executive Order and yet another struck-down Gubernatorial Executive Order, Hintza finally signed into law West Executive Order 35 on November 12, 2001. Hintza is also know for violating the constitution with her executive order some of which have been struck down by the courts.