David H. Rodgers (August 10, 1923 – April 18, 2017) was an American politician and Mayor of Spokane, Washington, from 1967 until 1978. Rogers was born in

New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in New Albany Township, Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It ...

, and attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

. After serving in World War II as a Navy UDT communications officer, he came to Spokane in 1949. Among many political and community activities, Rodgers was a member of the local YMCA and Boy Scouts boards, along with city and county Republican committees. Rodgers was appointed to Spokane City Council in 1966 to fill an unexpired term of council Luke Williams. After incumbent mayor Neal Fosseen announced his resignation in 1967, Rodgers declared his candidacy for the position in July of that year. He was elected on November 7, 1967, defeating Ralph Rosenberry, another prominent Spokane citizen, in an election that was described by a local newspaper as having an "unexpected low vote". He was re-elected to another term in 1973 and served as mayor until retiring in 1978. After retiring, Rodgers, who had formerly worked in the insurance business, served as Washington's Deputy State Insurance Commissioner. One of Rodgers' sons, Brian Rodgers, is married to

Cathy McMorris Rodgers Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers (born May 22, 1969) is an American politician who served from 2005 to 2025 as the United States representative for , which encompasses the eastern third of the state and includes Spokane, the state's second-largest cit ...

, who has served as the

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for

Washington's 5th congressional district Washington's 5th congressional district encompasses the Eastern Washington counties of Ferry County, Washington, Ferry, Stevens County, Washington, Stevens, Pend Oreille County, Washington, Pend Oreille, Lincoln County, Washington, Lincoln, Spok ...

since 2005. Rodgers died on April 18, 2017, at age 93. He was preceded in death by his wife, Naomi Fowle Rodgers, whom he was married to from 1965 until her death in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, David 1923 births 2017 deaths Mayors of Spokane, Washington Washington (state) city council members Washington (state) Republicans People from New Albany, Indiana Purdue University alumni Businesspeople from Washington (state) 20th-century American businesspeople United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers