Gig Harbor, Washington

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gig Harbor is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 5,465 at the 2000 census.

Gig Harbor is generally known as the "tourist" hub of Pierce County. It is a gateway to the Olympic Peninsula. With close access to several state and city parks and the Puget Sound, it is a popular tourist destination. It also has a fairly extensive and historic waterfront, with boutiques and fine dining. The $849 million narrows bridge project is close by, so construction watching is popular. During off-peak traffic times, Tacoma can be reached in 20 minutes and Seattle in less than an hour.

Based on per capita income, Gig Harbor ranks 49th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Education
4 Demographics
5 Politics
6 Sister city
7 Movies and entertainment
8 External links

[edit] History

Gig Harbor was named by Captain Charles Wilkes. During a heavy storm, the captain brought his Gig (small boat) into the harbor for protection. Later, Captain Wilkes named the sheltered bay Gig Harbor.

1867 brought fisherman Samuel Jerisich to the Gig Harbor area, along with many other immigrants from Sweden, Norway, and Croatia.

Commercial fishing and boat building dominated the economy until the building of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The increased accessibility that the bridge provided increased both the number of people living in the town and the diversity of the community. It is now considered a developing suburb of the neighboring Tacoma.

Gig Harbor was officially incorporated on July 12, 1946.

[edit] Geography

Image:Gig Harbor BA.JPG

See also: Raft Island and Puget Sound

Gig Harbor is located at 47°19′37″N, 122°35′11″W (47.327032, -122.586426)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.3 km² (4.4 mi²), all land.

[edit] Education

The Peninsula School District is the district covering the city of Gig Harbor and the Peninsula.

[edit] Demographics

As of the 2006 census^GR2, there were 6,465 people, 2,880 households, and 1,765 families residing in the city. The population density was 573.8/km² (1,485.2/mi²). There were 3,085 housing units at an average density of 273.8/km² (708.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.17% Caucasian, 0.11% African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.22% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.03% of the population.

There were 2,880 households out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.0% were married couples living together. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.75.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.3% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 83.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $183,456, and the median income for a family was $157,587. Males had a median income of $156,250 versus $128,487 for females. The per capita income for the city was $128,318. About 0.05% of families and 0.009% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.8% of those under age 18 and 0.01% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Politics

The 26th Legislative District — which stretches from Gig Harbor in the south to Bremerton in the north — has been a swing district in Washington State for decades, with seats changing hands between religiously conservative Republicans and socially liberal Democrats on a regular basis.

Lately, however, there seems to be a trend toward a pragmatic, practical brand of progressive liberalism chacterized by greater tollerance on social issues and a pragmatic approach to economic development.

This development began in 2004 with Democrat Derek Kilmer (D) ousting the perennial Republican candidate Lois McMahan from the State Legislature, and continued in 2006 with Kilmer's election to the State Senate to replace the retiring Bob Oke, a Republican who had held the seat for 16 years.

Both McMahan and Oke were well-known for using religion to rationalize their socially-conservative postions in the state legislature. But Kilmer's pragmatic approach to economic development has garnered enough support from fiscally-conservative yet socially-liberal Republicans in the Gig Harbor area which, combined with his Democratic base, gave him a landslide victory over his Republican opponent Jim Hines (R) in the 2006 election.

The evolution of the local political landscape was also marked by the election of Larry Seaquist (D), a 32-year Navy veteran and former commander of the battleship USS Iowa, over religious conservative Ron Boehme, as well as the easy re-election of the area's five-term liberal legislator Patricia Lantz (D).

All three Democrats won with very comfortable margins in 2006 - something not seen in a contested race in the 26th Legislative District in a generation.