Daniel Pennypacker

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Revision as of 07:30, 17 November 2007

Daniel G. Pennypacker (born 17 June 1968) was a Republican Congressman representing the 6th District of Washington.

Daniel Pennypacker
United States Representative
In Office: 3 January 2013 - 3 January 2017*
Preceded by	Norm Dicks
Succeeded by
Born	17 June 1968 Tacoma, WA
Political Party	Republican
Spouse	Emily
Religion	Episcopalian

Biography

Dan Pennypacker was born in Tacoma, Washington on June 17, 1968. His father, an engineer originally from southeastern Pennsylvania, moved to the Pacific Northwest to work for Boeing, while he mother’s family had lived in and around Tacoma for decades. His father eventually left the aerospace industry proper, starting his own consulting firm. Thus, Dan was raised to enter the world of the engineering, and yet as any good son would do upon entering the University of Washington, he enrolled in the Environmental Science program. His father pled with him to change course – even become a business major if he had to! – anything besides that “hippie crap” that would never make any money. Dan did acquiesce slightly, studying Mathematics heavily as well, and gained admittance to Stanford Law Program, planning to fight for the environment from the court room.

But of course, there is always a force more powerful than a father’s concerned words. In his first few days in California, Dan met a lovely young (and conservative) woman who began the long process of tearing him from his sandals. He continued to push through his law degree, unsure of precisely where he was headed. It was then, around 1990, that he was first introduced to the new great shaping force in America that would set him off on his ultimate path. A group of friends (the kind of people his father would have certainly loved) opened Dan to the still mysterious Internet and the growing powers of connection and communication it would unleash. He refocused his studies on the interactions of the law with new technology and the businesses that drive them. Despite his long fling with the far left, his now more serious girlfriend Emily (and, no matter how hard he denied it, the influence of his father) had centered him more on the political spectrum and made him realize that maybe, just maybe, businesses weren’t completely evil in every way.

Dan continued into the world of academia, teaching a wide range of classes – from business law to the environment and technology - at the University of Washington in both Seattle and Tacoma. He also did a lot of advising with high tech firms and local governments across Washington and the rest of the west coast, working to create the best balance between public and private endeavors in technology. As the Internet really began to take a stranglehold on American culture around the turn of the century, Dan’s area of expertise became incredibly important, and he soon found himself to be an important voice in many of the more academic oriented discussions. In 2012, Dan made a move into politics, disappointed with the lack of clearheaded debate at the national level about anything related to technology. Surprising, even to him, he won by a narrow margin, and soon found himself on the way to Washington.

Congressional Career

During his first year in Congress, despite being a complete n00b, Pennypacker put his obsessive mathematical skills to work and served as Assistant to Acting House Minority Leader Buford Justice. They fought to keep the faltering Republican caucus organized until Justice's ascension to the Senate. Pennypacker then served as Deputy HmL to Daniel Morey during 2014, before running for Senate in the Pacific Coast against Ross Kesler. He was defeated handily, but returned to the House after a massive write-in campaign for the uncontested seat, and was elected House Majority Leader. He and Minority Whip Jennifer Henrickson fought to keep the GOP caucus from becoming a permanent minority. Pennypacker served as HmL until late 2015 when he disappeared from Congress.

Disappearance

Late in 2015, House Minority Leader Pennypacker stopped showing up to work. Staffers at first thought he was sick, but soon received a single cryptic update via Twitter: "Off looking for the next ex-Mrs. Pennypacker" This led to initial speculation that Pennypacker had been having marital trouble and was taking time off to deal with family issues. However, in March of 2016, he was spotted with his wife (both looking very happy, mind you) in Phoenix, AZ. Though most people now believe he simply left because he was bored, a college friend has stated that a mutual friend of theirs is involved in a polygamous cult in Phoenix, so it is very likely that Dan may have skipped Congress to seek many, many Mrs. Pennypackers.

Needless to say, Pennypacker did not seek re-election in his House district in 2016.

Political Ideology

Love for trees + love for guns + love for math = Pennypacker

2014 Pacific Coast Senate Race

Hawai'i didn't like Pennypacker very much. And then he spent an entire day there talking about math and science. And they liked him less.

Education

• B.S. Environmental Science, University of Washington, 1990
• B.A. Mathematics, University of Washington, 1990
• J.D., Stanford University School of Law, 1993

Occupations

• Assistant Professor, UW School of Law, 1997-2004
• Associate Professor of Law, UW School of Law, 2004-2012
• Advisor to the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment, 2005-2012
• Advisor to the State of Washington Department of Community, Trade, & Economic Development, 2007-2012

Political Experience

• Representative, 6th District, Washington, 2013-2017*