Jenny Durkan Biography, Career, Age, Height, Family, Politics, Education, and Net Worth.

Who Is Jenny Durkan?

Jenny Durkan was born on May 19, 1958, as an American attorney and politician serving as the 56th mayor of Seattle. She is a member of the Democratic Party just like her Father Martin Durcan who was considered to be one of the most powerful politicians in Washington state.

She went to the University of Washington School of law where she earned her J.D. Degree. She began practicing law as a prosecutor and happened to have many prominent cases both on behalf of the government and private parties.

More to that, she also worked for many non-profits and advocacy groups and was briefly Governor Mike Lowry’s chief lawyer. President Barack Obama appointed Durkan as United States Attorney from the Western District of Washington in October 2009 where she held this position until September 2014.

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In 2017, Durkan was elected as the 56th mayor of Seattle becoming the first city female mayor(since the 1920s) and the second openly LGBT elected mayor. In November general elections, she defeated urban planner political activist Cary Moon where she took first place in the nonpartisan August primary.

She has received criticism for her decision not to prosecute Washington mutual for her response to the George Floyd protests in Seattle and her handling of law enforcement in the so-called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.

Durkan, in December 2020, announced that she was not to seek reelection after her term as mayor ends.

Career

Private Practice

While Durkan was in law school, she participated in a pilot criminal defense clinic where she worked with the public defenders’ office to represent individuals charged in Seattle municipal court. Before she moved to Washington DC to practice law with the firm of Williams & Connolly, Durkan continued the work on a pro bono basis.

In 1991, Durkan return to Seattle and established a successful practice focusing on criminal defense and work on behalf of plaintiffs, including the case of Stan Stevenson a retired firefighter who was stabbed leaving a Mariners game. Also, Durkan was in the case of the family of Lt. Walter Kinglore who died in the Pang Warehouse fire, and the case of Kate Flemming who died in a flash flood in her Madison Valley basement during the Hanukkah Eve windstorm of 2006.

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Durkan became executive council and political director to Governor Mike Lowry in 1994 making her Lowry’s chief lawyer. In 1972 she was a campaign manager to and protege of her father, and she worked for congressman Lowry in the 1980s. In 1995, Durklan resigned after being accused of sexual harassment by deputy press secretary Susanne Albright just after she initially recommended that an independent investigator represent Lowry.

Durkan has the most prominent cases in private practice, the standing out case was the 2005 recount lawsuit that attempted to undo Governor Chris Gregoire’s election in 2004. Gregoire’s victory was upheld after Democratic Party turned to Durkan with Gregoire’s election “facing an unprecedented trial and Republicans trying to remove her from office”. However, Gregoire’s win was upheld.

Moreover, after serving as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington. Durkan later joined Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to lead a new Seattle law firm. In the Law firm, they were focused on internet and online security issues. Furthermore, she was part of the team that represented FIFA as one of the lawyers leading an independent internal inquiry into concerns relating to a worldwide corruption case launched by Swiss authorities and the US Justice Department while at Quinn Emanuel.

How Old Is Jenny Durkan?

She was born on 19th May 1958, she is 63 years as of 2021.

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Jenny Durkan Family

Who are Her Parents?

She was born in Seattle as the daughter of Martin Durkan and Lorraine Durkan. Her father was a well-known attorney in the Seattle area. In addition, her father also served for 16 years in the state Senate and run twice for governor, however in both trials he failed. On the other hand, her mother was a primary homemaker and supported her husband’s career.

Does She Have Siblings

At the moment much is not known about her siblings

Jenny Durkan Education

She graduated from Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, a private girls’ school in Bellevue. After that, she enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, and she graduated in 1980 with a BA degree. After graduating from the University, she spent two years teaching in a high school before enrolling in the University of Washington School of Law, where she earned her JD in 1985.

Jenny Durkan Husband/Girlfriend

She is openly gay and she has a partner by the name of Dana Garvey. However, the two are not married but they have been registered as domestic couples.

Jenny Durkan Kids

Together with her partner, they have adopted two sons, though much is not known about them.

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Civil Leader

In 1993, she started serving on the Washington State Sentencing Guideline Commission. She served in that position until 1996. In 1997, she served as the first Citizen Observer on the Seattle Police Firearms Review Board. She served on that board for three years until 2000.

Moreover, after leaving the Schroeter law firm in September 1994, she joins the staff of Washington Governor Mike Lowry as his lawyer and political adviser.

Furthermore, she was a founding board member of the Seattle Police Foundation from 2002 to 2004. In addition, she was also the Chair of the Washington State Attorney General’s Task Force on Consumer Privacy, which resulted in legislation that became a national model for identity theft laws.

U.S. Attorney

During the Barack Obama Administration, she was nominated as the U.S Attorney for the Western District of Washington in May 2009. The districts covered around 19 counties and have a population of 4.6 million. After her nomination, she was overwhelmingly approved by the US Senate on September 29th, 2009. After that, she was sworn in on October 1 by Chief U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik.

As the US attorney, she established a Civil Rights Department in the office. The Department coordinates a variety of civil rights cases and outreach. This included several cases on behalf of the returning veterans. Moreover, she assisted in pushing police reform efforts in the Seattle Police Department. This was after a department of Justice investigation found a pattern and practice of excessive use of force.

After taking the office, she was appointed as the Attorney general adviser in his advisory committee. The committee advised the US Attorney General on policy, management, and operational matters. Furthermore, she was also chair of the attorney general’s subcommittee on Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Enforcement.

In that capacity, she used federal law against felons hols=ding firearms to fish out on career criminals in Western Washington. However, cases involving felons with guns increased by 45% during her time as the attorney general. In addition, she went ahead and pushed for a ” hot spot” which was an initiative in high-crime areas to deal with gun and drug sales. The investigation was successful as led to several arrests and gun confiscations.

Durkan was mentioned as a possible successor to US Attorney General Eric Holder after he announced his decision to leave down in September 2014. Loretta Lynch was nominated by the Obama administration.

2017 Mayoral Election

On May 11, 2017, she declared her bid to run for the mayoral position. Her announcement came after the incumbent mayor Ed Murray ended his reelection campaign and stepped down from the race. His resignation came after allegations of repeated sexual offenses.

During the primary she emerged as the first candidate with 28% of the vote cast, proceeding to the general election. During the campaign she outraised moon 5 to 1 with over $600k coming from an apolitical organization sponsored by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

In the general election, she was facing Cary Moon who she defeated with over 60% of the preliminary votes, and moon had no other option other than conceding.