This op-ed originally appeared online in the Seattle Times, Feb. 23, 2016, and in printed editions Feb. 24. Two people, Cesar Medina and Lindsey Hill, are dead. We hope the governor will find our inquiry helpful. By Mike Padden, Steve O’Ban JUST before Christmas, the governor’s office revealed a shocking...

OLYMPIA – The Senate Law and Justice Committee marked the start of formal hearings Monday regarding the Department of Corrections by releasing thousands of pages of documents that have been generated by subpoenas and a legislative effort to reach out to agency employees. Documents were released at a Monday-morning news...

OLYMPIA – Fast-growing communities of the Spokane Valley will have greater assurance of an adequate water supply under a bill that cleared the Senate Wednesday, 27-21. Senate Bill 6215, sponsored by Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, allows certain legacy irrigation water rights to be approved for municipal water systems. The...

OLYMPIA – The Washington state Senate paid tribute Tuesday to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, passing a resolution describing him as “one of the most transformational Supreme Court justices our country has ever witnessed.” The resolution, sponsored by state Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, recalled Scalia as a...

OLYMPIA — State Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, expressed disappointment Friday following a Senate vote rejecting a two-thirds-for-taxes constitutional amendment. Senate Joint Resolution 8211 would have given Washington voters a chance to vote on a two-thirds-for-taxes constitutional amendment. The rule would require a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate...

This newsletter was distributed to Sen. Mike Padden’s subscribers on Feb. 11, 2016. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Friends and neighbors, This has been a busy time at the Capitol. Some of it is the ordinary business of a legislative session, as action moves to the House...

OLYMPIA…In response to Saturday’s announcement that Sec. Dan Pacholke of the Department of Corrections has resigned, Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, chair of the Senate Law and Justice Committee, issued the following statement: “Secretary Pacholke resigned for his own reasons. The accusation of a blood-thirsty investigation is clearly an attempt...

OLYMPIA – A bill banning abortions for sex-selection purposes cleared the Senate Law and Justice Committee Wednesday night and awaits action in the Senate Rules Committee. Calling the practice a true “war on women,” Law and Justice Chair Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, said the bill offers a needed protection for...

This newsletter was distributed to Sen. Mike Padden’s subscribers. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Sens. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, and Steve O’Ban, R-Pierce County, discuss the Department of Corrections scandal on TVW’s ‘The Impact.’ Click here to see the newscast. Dear friends and neighbors, We are nearly...