Paul Jacob Alexander (March 11, 1904 – May 6, 1969) was a newspaper publisher and

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-larg ...

man. Paul Jacob Alexander was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

on March 11, 1904, to Alfred and Lillian (Wooding) Alexander. He graduated from Ballard High School and spent a semester at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. He worked for ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'' in the 1920s, and purchased the '' Rainier District Times'', a community newspaper in the

Rainier Valley Rainier Valley ( ) is a neighborhood in southeastern Seattle, Washington. It is located east of Beacon Hill; west of Mount Baker, Seward Park, and Leschi; south of the Central District and north of Rainier Beach. It is part of Seattle's So ...

, in 1929. He sold the paper in 1965. He ran unsuccessfully for the

in 1952 and 1954. He was elected in 1956 and re-elected in 1960 and 1964. He was a Republican, and although he was a strong supporter of

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

, he considered himself a conservative. In 1963, he succeeded in removing an emergency clause from Seattle's proposed

open housing Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Got ...

ordinance that would have allowed it to take effect without a public vote, and in 1964 he ran for re-election as an opponent of open housing. As the chairman of the council's Utilities Committee, he was attending a reception at the

American Public Power Association The American Public Power Association (APPA) is the service organization for approximately 2,000 U.S. community-owned electric utilities that serve more than 50 million Americans. APPA was created in September 1940 to represent the common inter ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

when he died of a heart attack. Liem Tuai was appointed to fill his seat. He lived in Rainier Valley, a block from

Lake Washington Lake Washington () is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest lake in King County, Washington, King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington (state), Was ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Paul Jacob 1904 births 1969 deaths Seattle City Council members 20th-century Washington (state) politicians