Mike McCormack (politician)

Mike McCormack
McCormack in 1967
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 4th district
In office January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1981
Preceded by	Catherine May
Succeeded by	Sid Morrison
Member of the Washington Senate from the 16th district
In office January 9, 1961 – November 1970
Preceded by	Al B. Henry
Succeeded by	Daniel J. Jolly
Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 16th district
In office January 14, 1957 – January 9, 1961
Preceded by	Al B. Henry
Succeeded by	James N. Leibold
Personal details
Born	Claude G. McCormack (1921-12-14) December 14, 1921 (age 95) Basil, Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Medford, Oregon
Alma mater	University of Toledo Washington State College
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1943–1946
Rank	First lieutenant
Battles/wars	World War II

Claude G. "Mike" McCormack (born December 14, 1921) is a retired American politician, who served as U.S. Representative from the State of Washington's Fourth Congressional District from 1971 to 1981. He is a Democrat. [1]

McCormack was born on December 14, 1921 at Basil, Ohio (now part of Baltimore, Ohio); his parents were of Scots-Irish and English descent. As a young man he attended schools in Toledo, Ohio, graduating from Waite High School. He began college at the University of Toledo in 1939, worked for two years, and then entered military service in 1943. He attended OCS and was commissioned as second lieutenant, parachute infantry, United States Army, with occupation duty in Germany until 1946, at which time he was discharged as first lieutenant. From 1946 to 1949, he attended Washington State College and received Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Physical Chemistry. He worked briefly at the University of Puget Sound, and then spent twenty years as a research chemist with the atomic energy facilities of the Atomic Energy Commission at Hanford, during which time he resided in Richland, Washington.

In 1956, at age 35, McCormack was first elected to a public office as member of the Washington State House of Representatives, and was re-elected in 1958. During this period he sponsored successful legislation to allow automobiles by default to make right-turns at red lights, a novel idea at the time, in order to conserve energy by reducing time spent idling.