Christian Aalvik was a member of the Washington House of Representatives who represented the 16th legislative district from 1937 to 1939.

Biography

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Born in or around the year 1876, Aalvik was of Danish descent and worked as a fuel dealer in Stevenson, Washington.[1][2]

Aalvik ran for state representative in 1936 in the 16th legislative district, which included portions of Benton, Franklin, Klickitat, and Skamania counties.[3][4] A Democrat, Aalvik was initially reported to have lost the general election to the Republican nominee but edged out a victory once absentee ballots were counted, winning by only 324 votes.[5][6][7] During his term in office, Aalvik introduced a bill that he claimed would cut the lawful limit of game fish from 30 to 20 a day; however, the limit was already 20 at the time of the bill's introduction.[8][9] He also introduced a bill that would have legalized some fish traps in Washington.[10] Aalvik filed to run for reelection in 1938 but only received 4% of the vote in the primary.[11][12]

Aalvik was a long-time member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Fraternal Order of Eagles.[13] He died on May 16, 1953.[1]

Electoral history

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16th House District Position 1 Election, 1936[14]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Fred D. Kemp 4,403 42.59
Republican L.E. Johnson 2,003 19.38
Republican Chauncey Price 1,560 15.09
Republican Bessie F. Ratliff 1,384 13.39
Democratic Christian Aalvik 987 9.55
General election
Democratic Fred D. Kemp 7,643 34.76
Democratic Christian Aalvik 5,161 23.47
Republican Chauncey Price 4,837 22.00
Republican L.E. Johnson 4,347 19.77
Total votes 21,988 100.0
16th House District Position 1 Election, 1938[15]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark M. Moulton 2,976 19.22
Republican Geo F. Christensen 2,513 16.23
Democratic D.W. Neff 1,961 12.66
Republican Guy F. Wade 4,403 11.98
Democratic Earl S. Coe 1,548 10.00
Democratic Hilda Broughton 1,182 7.63
Democratic D.M. Hurley 1,059 6.84
Democratic Merle Hurd 1,038 6.70
Democratic W.J. Ewing 726 4.69
Republican Christian Aalvik 726 4.06
General election
Republican Mark M. Moulton 5,423 25.45
Democratic Earl S. Coe 5,397 25.33
Republican Geo F. Christensen 5,244 24.61
Democratic D.W. Neff 5,243 24.61
Total votes 21,307 100.0

References

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  1. ^ a b Ancestry.com. Washington, U.S., Death Records, 1883-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014
  2. ^ Holden, Ashley (1937-01-12). "Stevenson Key to Reilly Win". The Spokesman-Review. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Notice by County Auditor of Primary Election". Goldendale Sentinel. 1936-08-27. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ State of Washington: Members of the Legislature, 1889-2023 (PDF). Washington State Legislature. 2023. p. 53. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  5. ^ "Five Republicans in House; Eight Reported for Senate". The Spokesman-Review. 1936-11-15. p. 43. Retrieved 2023-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Aalvik Heads Roster". The Spokesman-Review. 1936-11-20. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Official Figures Are Now Available". Goldendale Sentinel. 1936-11-26. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Wants to Cut Fishing Limit to 20 a Day". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. 1937-02-16. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Representative Didn't Study Fishing Laws". The Spokesman-Review. 1937-02-19. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Ask Fish Traps for Columbia". Spokane Chronicle. Associated Press. 1937-02-18. p. 22. Retrieved 2023-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Four More File for Representative". Spokane Chronicle. Associated Press. 1938-07-19. p. 21. Retrieved 2023-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Elections Search Results - September 1938 Primary". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  13. ^ "Christian Aalvik: Democratic Candidate for State Representative". Goldendale Sentinel. 1936-10-29. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-08-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Elections Search Results - November 1938 General, September 1938 Primary, November 1936 General, September 1936 Primary". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  15. ^ "Elections Search Results - November 1938 General, September 1938 Primary, November 1936 General, September 1936 Primary". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved 2023-08-23.