Tag Archives: Washington State Senate

Padden will not seek reelection to 4th District Senate seat

After serving in the Washington State Senate since 2011, Sen. Mike Padden announced today that he will not seek reelection to his 4th Legislative District seat this year.

“It has been a tremendous honor and privilege to serve our 4th District in the state Senate these past dozen years,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “After much thought and discussion with my wife, Laura, I have decided it is time to retire from office. I appreciate the opportunity to work with all of my legislative colleagues on a variety of issues over these years to make Washington better. I will miss my relationships with each and every one of them.”

Padden is the longtime Republican leader on the Senate Law and Justice Committee. He also serves on the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee and Senate Transportation Committee.

While much of his policy work has concerned public safety and the law, the hallmark of Padden’s legislative career has been his dedication to defending life, from the unborn to the innocent victims of crime.

He has been an outspoken opponent of efforts to expand access to abortions, particularly beyond what voters placed into state law decades ago, and worked tirelessly to strengthen Washington laws concerning impaired driving, which he describes as a completely preventable crime.

“While I have focused on many issues, public safety has been especially important to me throughout my years as a legislator,” said Padden, who pointed out crime has worsened in Washington.

“There has been a sharp increase in several types of crime in recent years, including auto thefts and burglaries. I’m disappointed that House Democrats did not follow the Senate on the habitual property offender bill (SB 5056, introduced by Padden) and Senator Lynda Wilson’s opioid reckless endangerment bill (SB 5010). Washington has far to go in terms of improving public safety.”

Padden became 4th District senator through a special election in 2011, then was reelected in 2012, 2016 and 2020.

Padden will leave office after serving a combined 28 legislative sessions in Olympia, including 15 in the House of Representatives, from 1981 to 1995. Padden was elected to a 4th District House seat in 1980 and was reelected seven times. He was House majority floor leader during the 1995 legislative session.

Padden resigned his 4th District House seat in March 1995 when he was appointed as a Spokane County District Court judge. He won three additional terms as a district court judge through countywide elections. Padden retired as a judge in January 2007.

In 2008, Padden was appointed to serve on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as the Judicial Outreach Liaison overseeing therapeutic traffic safety issues in five states — Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Alaska.

Padden is a graduate of Spokane’s Gonzaga University and earned his law degree from the Gonzaga University School of Law in 1974. He is active in his church, having served the past two years on the parish council, and is a long-time member of the Knights of Columbus. Padden has also served as a state commissioner for American Legion Baseball and is past president of the Spokane chapter. He is also a volunteer for the Spokane Valley Meals on Wheels program.

Padden and his wife, Laura, have five sons and four grandchildren.

“We look forward to traveling and spending even more time with our sons and grandkids,” said Padden.

Legislators in Washington and Oregon to offer bills creating year-round standard time

As people across America adjust to this past weekend’s switch from daylight saving time to standard time, state senators in Washington and Oregon are planning to introduce bills early next year to put their states on standard time year-round.

This is not the first time the lawmakers have sought to end the twice-yearly clock changes.

“I introduced Senate Bill 320 in 2019 that would change Oregon to permanent daylight saving time,” said Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, who serves Oregon’s District 11. “Even though the bill passed it was contingent on Washington and California passing a similar bill and then all the states seeking permission from the federal government. Washington passed a bill but California never did, though their people overwhelmingly passed a proposition in 2018 to ditch the switch.”

In 2019, Sen. Mike Padden, who serves Washington’s 4th District, supported the passage of a state law in Washington calling for year-round daylight saving time, which will not take effect until the federal government approves the same change.

“If there is one issue most people agree on, it’s the dislike of moving their clocks from standard time to daylight saving time in the spring and then back to standard time in the fall,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley, who will introduce his year-round standard-time bill when Washington’s 2024 session begins Jan. 8.

“It confuses and annoys many people, and it causes health problems for some. That’s why Senator Thatcher and I are working together to see if our respective legislatures can keep our clocks on standard time year-round,” added Padden.

In 2022, Padden co-sponsored Senate Bill 5511, a bipartisan measure that would have exempted Washington from observing daylight saving time until the state could move to Pacific Daylight Time year-round. SB 5511 was not approved by the Senate.

During Oregon’s 2023 legislative session Thatcher introduced Senate Bill 1090, a bipartisan bill that would have kept Oregon on standard time year-round and halted the state’s annual switch from standard time to daylight saving time.

Thatcher and Padden said they have contacted legislators in California, Idaho and Nevada to see if they will introduce similar bills in those states.

Arizona and Hawaii are the only states on permanent standard time. Because Congress has already decided states may be on permanent standard time if they choose, Oregon and Washington would not need the federal government to pass a bill authorizing the two states to be on year-round standard time.