SPOKANE VALLEY — State Sen. Mike Padden receives the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s top public-service award from John M. Moffat, administrator of the federal agency’s regions 9 and 10. Padden, a Spokane Valley Republican serving Washington’s 4th Legislative District, had been unable to attend the 32nd annual Lifesavers conference in Nashville, Tenn., where this year’s 12 award winners were announced April 28, so Moffat traveled from Seattle to present the honor Tuesday. 

Padden, a Spokane County District Court judge from 1995-2007, is the lone 2014 Lifesaver award recipient from the Pacific Northwest and West Coast. The presentation took place in the same Spokane Valley courtroom where he presided over DUI court in 2006.

As chairman of the Senate Law and Justice Committee, Padden has led the Legislature’s efforts to strengthen Washington’s laws regarding impaired driving. The inscription on the plaque states: “In recognition of your tireless and unending efforts to end tragedies related to alcohol abuse and DUI.”

More information is at https://mikepadden.src.wastateleg.org/?p=6085. Click here for a photo of Senator Padden.