Remembering Judge Sam Cozza, reforming DUI laws
The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s newsletter Jan. 18, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, On Saturday, the people of our area will pay tribute to one of our best-respected jurists, Sam Cozza, presiding judge of the Spokane County Superior Court. Cozza...
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An out-of-bounds court casts shadow over Legislature
By Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley Note: This op-ed originally appeared in the Valley News Herald, Spokane Valley, Jan. 13, 2017. In Olympia this year we’re going to be talking about a number of specific issues that have a direct impact on the people of the Spokane Valley and...
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Off and running in Olympia
The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s newsletter Jan. 12, 2017. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, We’re off and running on our 2017 legislative session. The Legislature opened Monday for what is supposed to be 105 days at the state...
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Coroners’ inquests, investigations of police fatalities, subject of committee hearing Wednesday
OLYMPIA – The Senate Law and Justice Committee will hold a work session Wednesday, Jan. 11, on coroners’ investigations of police use of deadly force – a topic that has garnered much comment during the run-up to the 2017 legislative session. The hearing begins at 8 a.m. in Senate Hearing...
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2017 shaping up as busy year for Legislature
Taxes, other key issues for Spokane Valley, are on the table By Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley Note: This op-ed was originally published in the January 2017 editions of the Liberty Lake Splash and the Valley Current. The buzz about next year’s legislative session is all about education funding, proposals...
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Breaking the bank in 2017
The following newsletter was sent to subscribers to Sen. Padden’s newsletter Dec. 16, 2016. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletters, click here. Dear friends and neighbors, We’re getting ready again for another legislative session in Olympia, and it is looking like this will be one of the hardest-fought sessions in...
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Sen. Padden discusses 1976 Electoral College vote with KIRO radio
Sen. Padden spoke with KIRO radio in Seattle and reporter Feliks Banel about his 1976 vote in the Electoral College. Padden, a Republican elector from Washington’s 5th Congressional District, cast his ballot for Ronald Reagan, rather than President Gerald Ford, who carried the state in the general election, prompting legislation...
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Sen. Padden tells the story of his Electoral College vote
Sen. Padden appeared recently on a pair of national broadcasts aired on public radio networks, recounting the story of his 1976 Electoral College vote. Padden, a Republican elector from Washington’s 5th Congressional District, cast his ballot for Ronald Reagan, rather than Gerald Ford, who carried the state — one of...
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Sen. Mike Padden: DOC, governor must accept responsibility for deadly prison releases
This op-ed originally appeared in The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, June 11, 2016. One of the most disturbing things about the deadly prison-release scandal at the Department of Corrections is the way top state officials keep telling us it wasn’t their fault. The governor’s investigators went to great lengths to blame midlevel...
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