Cal Anderson

Following high school he joined the United States Army and worked as a court reporter for the 23rd Infantry Division.

He came out as gay to his parents during his time in the military.

He worked for multiple Seattle city officials and held positions in the Young Democrats and Washington State Democratic Party.

Anderson served in the United States Army and worked as a court reporter for the 23rd Infantry Division.

During his time in the military he received two Bronze Stars for working as the lead court reporter during the Mỹ Lai massacre investigation.

During the trial of Ernest Medina he served as a senior court reporter.

McDermott's vacancy in the state senate was filled by Representative Janice Niemi, a member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 43rd district.

Anderson won the most votes, fifty-one out of one hundred sixteen, at the precinct representatives meeting to recommend a person to fill Niemi's vacant seat.

He was one of the three nominees, alongside Harvey Muggy and Gene Peterson, considered to replace Niemi.

He was selected to fill the vacancy, becoming the first openly gay member of the Washington State Legislature.

He stated that a campaign ad by Mobley that asked "Which one of these candidates for state representative in Position 1 in the 43rd District could I honestly look my kids in the eye and say, 'this is a good role model to follow'?"

were "homophobic and gay-bashing".

He defeated Mobley in the primary and defeated Republican nominee Lee Carter in the general election.

Calvin Bruce Anderson (May 2, 1948August 4, 1995) was an American military officer and politician who served as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 43rd district in 1995.

Calvin Bruce Anderson was born in Seattle, Washington, on May 2, 1948, to Robert and Alice Anderson.

He volunteered for Warren Magnuson's campaign for a seat in the United States Senate while in middle school.

He worked for his father's successful campaign for a seat on the Tukwila, Washington, city council which he won by four votes.

Anderson graduated from Foster High School in 1966.

In 1968, he was appointed to serve as secretary of the South King County Young Democrats.

He came out to his parents as homosexual during his time in the military before his father's death in 1971, and his mother stated that "It doesn't bother me; I don't even think about it. I just can't see why people can't live and let live".

Anderson stated that he was once caught "in the act" but was only given a short reprimand, with the commander stating "Now, I don't care what people do in their own time, but the Army doesn't feel that way, so in the future, be more discreet".

Anderson started working for Jeanette Williams, the chair of the King County Democratic Party after graduating from high school.

He served in the Army until 1973.

Anderson worked for George Benson, a member of the Seattle city council, from 1975 to 1983, as an administrative assistant.

During the 1980s he was a member of the Washington State Democratic Party's central committee and was the secretary of the committee.

He became an appointments secretary for Mayor Charles Royer in 1983, and worked for him until 1987.

A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 1987 to 1995, and was the first openly gay member of the Washington State Legislature.

Anderson was born in Seattle, Washington, and educated at Foster High School.

He became involved in politics at a young age working for his father's city council campaign and Warren Magnuson's Senate campaign.

In 1987, he was selected to fill Representative Janice Niemi's vacant seat in the state house and during his tenure he faced homophobic attacks from a member of the state legislature and in the Democratic primary.

Jim McDermott left the Washington State Senate in 1987, to work in the United States Foreign Service.

During the 1988 election Anderson faced a primary challenge from Debra Wilson Mobley, who was the Seattle city council clerk.

Ed Murray, who later served in the state legislature and as Mayor of Seattle, was Anderson's campaign manager during the 1988 election.

Anderson defeated Mobley and Gary A. Jacobs in the 1990 Democratic primary and defeated Republican nominee James Alonzo in the general election.

He defeated Republican nominee Mike Meenen in the 1992 election.

Anderson ran for a seat in the state senate after Niemi chose to not seek reelection in 1994; he won the Democratic nomination and defeated Republican nominee Meenen in the general election.

Anderson replaced Representative Mike Todd as chair of the State Government committee after Todd unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the state senate.

Anderson was appointed to serve as vice-chair of the Ecology and Parks, and the Law and Justice committees in the state senate.

Anderson briefly served in the state senate, where he was Assistant Majority Whip, until his death from AIDS in 1995.

His memorial was attended by thousands and a park in Seattle was later named after him.