Don Delos Eldridge (December 26, 1919 – October 16, 2007) was an American politician.

Early life and education

He was born in

Mount Vernon, Washington Mount Vernon is the county seat of Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 35,219 at the 2020 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon- Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

. He graduated from

Mount Vernon High School Mount Vernon High School could refer to: *Mount Vernon High School (Arkansas) — Mount Vernon, Arkansas * Mount Vernon High School (Illinois) — Mount Vernon, Illinois *Mount Vernon High School (Fortville, Indiana) * Mount Vernon High Sch ...

and Mount Vernon Junior College. While at junior college, he completed the first phase of civilian pilot training in anticipation of joining the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

.Oral History-Don Eldridge
/ref> He attended

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

for one year and received a degree in education from Western Washington College of Education. He then worked in his family's stationary business and local newspaper in Mount Vernon.

Career

He served in the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

1952–1970 as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and was the speaker. In 1970, Eldridge was appointed to the

Washington State Liquor Control Board The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, formerly the Washington State Liquor Control Board, is an administrative agency of the State of Washington. The Liquor and Cannabis Board is part of the executive branch and reports to the Governor. ...

and served until 1979. He was a member of the first

Washington Redistricting Commission The Washington Redistricting Commission is a decennial body charged with redrawing congressional and legislative districts in the state of Washington after each census. On November 8, 1983, Washington state passed the 74th amendment to its const ...

in 1983. He was in the property management business in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. Europea ...

. He died in Olympia, Washington.'Former WA Speaker Don Eldridge dies,'

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington ...

, October 23, 2007

Notes

1919 births 2007 deaths People from Mount Vernon, Washington People from Olympia, Washington Washington State University alumni Western Washington University alumni Businesspeople from Washington (state) Speakers of the Washington House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Washington House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople United States Army Air Forces soldiers {{Washington-politician-stub