Unitarian Universalist elected to U.S. House
Walt Minnick of Idaho joins two fellow Unitarian Universalists in Congress.
Minnick becomes the third Unitarian Universalist in Congress. The others are Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND).*
Issues Minnick hopes to focus on include education, the environment, and the health of small businesses.
Minnick defeated Republican Bill Sali, who becomes the first Idaho congressman to fail to win a second term in 56 years. Minnick ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1996 but was defeated by the incumbent, Republican Larry Craig. Minnick is the chairman and CEO of SummerWinds Garden Centers in Boise, the 10th largest independent garden center company in the United States. For 21 years he was an executive in the Idaho forest products industry.
Minnick served a tour of duty in Vietnam and later served in the Nixon administration. He was deputy assistant director of the Office of Management and Budget and was instrumental in the creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), according to his campaign biography.
He and his wife, A.K. Leinhart-Minnick, a former chair of the Idaho Democratic Party, have four children. He is cofounder and board member of the Idaho Business Coalition for Education Excellence, a group of Idaho business leaders working to improve education in the state. He has lived in Idaho since 1974.
Correction 12.3.08: As originally published, this story erroneously reported that Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) is also a Unitarian Universalist. He is a Roman Catholic. Click here to return to the corrected paragraph.
