Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Padden’s subscribers January 9, 2025. To subscribe to Sen. Padden’s newsletter, click here.
Dear friends and neighbors,
After serving as the 4th Legislative District’s state senator since 2011, I am retiring at the end of my current term, which will arrive Monday, when the Legislature convenes for its 2025 session.
Including 14 years (1981-1995) as a state representative, I have had the honor and privilege of serving the 4th District for a total of 28 years. I want to express my gratitude and thank you and other residents of the 4th District for allowing me to serve you in Olympia.
Over nearly three decades as a state legislator, I have met and worked with many great people in our district, the Spokane area as a whole, and around the state. One of the things I will miss most about leaving the Legislature is the person-to-person interaction – whether at a local coffee shop or in my office at the Capitol – that is so essential to being an effective legislator.
I wish my successor, Leonard Christian, all the best as he moves from serving the 4th District as a representative to representing you as our district’s senator. Having made that transition myself, I know how the pace and workload are different between the two chambers. Fortunately, the Senate Republican Caucus is blessed with skilled, seasoned members who also have made the switch and will be ready with helpful answers and good advice.
I also wish good luck to our two 4th District state representatives, Suzanne Schmidt and Rob Chase.
Although I am retiring from the state Legislature, I am not retiring from public service. I have accepted a part-time position as a special adviser for new U.S. Representative Michael Baumgartner, who as of this week serves eastern Washington’s 5th Congressional District. I will work in Congressman Baumgartner’s district office in Spokane.
I look forward to traveling to Washington, D.C., in two weeks to meet with Congressman Baumgartner and to attend President-elect Trump’s inauguration ceremony on January 20.
As many of you know, Congressman Baumgartner served with me in the state Senate (he represented the neighboring 6th Legislative District). We plan to visit Olympia during this year’s legislative session to meet with legislators and state officials.
Thank you, as always, for the honor of representing you in Olympia!
Best Regards,
Senator Mike Padden
Committee meetings in Olympia
Senator Padden asks a question during the Senate Law and Justice Committee meeting on December 12 in Olympia.
During the week of December 9-13, I joined other legislators in Olympia for Committee Assembly Days. During that week, senators attended Senate or joint legislative committee meetings, as well as caucus meetings. That week marked my final meetings as a member of the Senate Law and Justice (as ranking Republican), Health and Long-Term Care, and Transportation committees.
At the end of the Law and Justice Committee meeting, the committee’s chair, Senator Manka Dhingra, thanked me for my years of service as Republican leader on the panel. I appreciated her kind words. You may view our exchange here.
At the end of the week in Olympia, Senate Republican Caucus staff director Jim Troyer presented me with a photo book covering my 28 years as a legislator. It was a wonderful gift that will forever remind me of my years in both the House and Senate, through the many photos of me with legislators I worked with, as well as visitors to Olympia during that time.
Democrats make it clear they want to raise taxes this session
Since Election Day in early November, Democrats in Olympia have made it clear they want to raise taxes or create new taxes. First, there was a Seattle Times story in early December in which a few top legislative Democrats have said publicly that they will look to impose additional taxes.
Then came Governor Inslee’s proposed state operating budget, which really carries no political weight since he is leaving office next week. Inslee’s budget plan calls for $13 billion in new taxes over the four years in the state’s budget outlook. He wants a “wealth tax” and to also slap a higher tax on Washington employers.
Finally, in late December, Senator Noel Frame, a Seattle Democrat who was just appointed to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, sent a pair of documents to her fellow Democrats that provided arguments and defenses for raising taxes. We know this because, as this Seattle Times story published just before Christmas reports, Senator Frame accidentally sent the documents to ALL senators, including Republicans.
Here is the Senate Ds’ “2025 Revenue Options” document. It outlines their tax proposals, which include:
- Removing the cap on employer payroll taxes.
- Creating B&O surcharge “on the largest corporations.”
- Modifying the advanced computing surcharge (ACS) cap.
- Creating a capital assets ownership tax (“wealth tax”).
- Raising the capital gains tax on million-dollar gains.
- Lifting the property-tax levy lid.
- Making the rental of storage units a retail transaction.
- Taxing the sale of ammunition and firearms.
- Increasing the ceiling for the Tier 1 real estate excise tax from $545,000 to $750,000.
And here is the revenue discussion presentation from Senator Frame that generated controversy.
It’s obvious that Senator Frame and other Democrats who back these proposals want to portray wealthy Washingtonians as villains who aren’t paying enough in taxes. Instead of looking to once again increase taxes to support an ongoing streak of reckless overspending, legislative Democrats should instead work within the available revenue, which is easily enough to maintain core public services and programs. Washingtonians should not be punished because of Democrats’ love of big government.
Honored by Spokane Valley City Council
Senator Padden with several of his former legislative assistants (from left to right: Annalise Hemingway, Marvel Travis, Felicia Hebner and Jacob Clark) at a reception honoring him at Spokane Valley City Hall on December 17.
It was a thrill and honor for me to be recognized by the Spokane Valley City Council during its December 17 council meeting. What made this event especially nice is that one of the council members is my wife, Laura. Several of my former legislative assistants came to the city council’s reception honoring me. I have had many good LAs over the years, so it was nice to see some of them at the event.
Here is the Spokane Valley City Council’s proclamation honoring Senator Padden.
The council members presented me with a proclamation thanking me for my service as a legislator. The city council also honored retiring 5th District U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Cathy’s proclamation is found on page 1 of this PDF, while my proclamation is on page 2.
The reading of the proclamation honoring my service starts at about the five-minute mark of this video.
It was nice to learn that former Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers added positive comments about me to the Congressional Record last May before she left office.
View KSPS interview
In late November, I sat down with Spokane County Commissioner Josh Kerns at the KSPS-TV studios to do an interview about my legislative career for the Spokane County Spotlight show. It was an enjoyable interview, as I have known Josh for many years. The interview aired on December 21. You can view the interview here.
Latest population estimates show 4th District still growing
If you haven’t already noticed it yourself, the 4th Legislative District continues to grow. The state Office of Financial Management recently released the estimates for total population for the state’s 49 legislative districts. They show the 4th District is the third-fastest growing legislative district in eastern Washington going back to 2010.
The OFM numbers reveal the 4th has experienced a population increase of 29,722 from 2010 to 2024, a 21.9% hike. Only the 8th District (Kennewick and part of Benton County) and the 16th District (Franklin and Walla Walla counties) have had greater population growth among eastern Washington districts since 2010, with the 8th seeing a 27.1% increase and the 16th a 24.2% rise.
However, the OFM figures indicate that, since 2020, the 4th District is tied with the 8th District for the second-highest population growth of eastern Washington districts, at 5.4%. The 13th District (Ellensburg and Moses Lake) is at 5.8%.
PLEASE NOTE: Any email or documents you provide to this office may be subject to disclosure under RCW 42.56. If you would prefer to communicate by phone, please contact Sen. Padden’s Olympia office at (360) 786-7606.
To request public records from Sen. Padden, please contact Randi Stratton, the designated public records officer for the Secretary of the Senate and Senate members.