OLYMPIA — Lt. Gov. Brad Owen announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election, saying his four decades in state service has been a “rare privilege and a great honor.”
Owen, a moderate Democrat from Shelton, was elected lieutenant governor in 1996 and re-elected four times. Before that he served seven years in the state House and 13 in the Senate.
Owen fought back tears several times Tuesday during a speech delivered on the floor of the Senate. In it, he said one his primary goals upon taking office was to always “protect the dignity of the institution.”
Owen also spoke about the relationships he built with foreign leaders through his many trade missions and with thousands of children at 600 schools he visited.
He also decried the “insanity of partisan politics” that can cause lawmakers to vote for the good of their caucus rather than the people they represent.
“I have never understood how you can take the most valuable thing you have as an elected official, your vote, and give it away when in your heart you do not believe that you should,” he said.
As president of the Senate, Owen earned a reputation for guiding senators through rough-and-tumble sessions with a steady hand and timely humor. Following his speech, several senators rose to praise Owen for his unswerving effort to be firm and fair.
Tuesday’s announcement was not a big political surprise. It seemed clear he would face a tough time securing a sixth term, clear enough that eight people, including four Democratic state lawmakers, have already launched campaigns for the job. One of those is state Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens.
Owen had a difficult re-election in 2012. Two years later, the Washington State Executive Ethics Board fined him for improper use of state resources in support of his now-defunct nonprofit Strategies for Youth.
Owen fought the allegations and always insisted he did nothing wrong but agreed to pay a fine in order to put the episode behind him.
Owen’s five terms matches that of Democrat Vic Meyers for the second longest tenured lieutenant governor in state history. John Cherberg, also a Democrat, served the longest, 32 years, and wound up with name on a building on the Capitol campus.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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