Deborah Senn
Party: Democrat
Age: 55
Personal: Married, two children.
Education: Raised in Chicago, Senn graduated from South Shore High School in 1966. She has a bachelors in history (1970) and masters in political science (1976) from the University of Illinois. Her law degree is from Loyola University, also in 1976.
Professional: Senn worked for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency as a law student and after graduation. She then went to work as a lawyer representing consumers in utility cases, and spent a year as a TV reporter in Anchorage. She then became counsel to a telecommunications committee in the Washington Legislature from 1985 to 1989. She became a lobbyist, representing the Service Employees International Union, the Northwest Women’s Law Center and the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She is now a lawyer and expert witness, specializing in asbestos and insurance cases.
Political: After an unsuccessful run for state Senate, Senn was elected state Insurance Commissioner in 1992, serving from 1993 to 2001. She was known as an outspoken advocate for consumers, with Ralph Nader once calling her the best insurance commissioner in the country. Her insurance reforms – and their costs to insurers -- drew fire from health insurers, however, some of whom stopped writing new individual policies in the state.
Key issues: Senn said she would defend home ownership, by targeting predatory lenders. She would also focus on prescription drug problems, such as a recent anti-trust case, in which drug companies were allegedly working together to try to keep generic drugs off the market. Senn said she would aggressively go after high-tech crime, including identity theft, junk “spam” e-mails, and so-called spyware: programs which can secretly monitor keystrokes or computer activity. She said she would like to investigate this summer’s surge in gas prices, and that she’s committed continuing the Hanford cleanup.
Money raised/spent: By June 30, raised $380,000 and spent $126,000
Top contributors: Big donors included law firms, chiropractors and unions for teamsters, teachers, electricians and food workers.
Quote: “This is an office that requires a consumer advocate, someone who wants to represent the people, and someone who’s fearless. I’ve been working all my professional life toward this type of office.”
Key influence: Her mother
Favorite book: “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker
First priority if elected: “My priority is to be the people’s attorney.”
