Washington State Senate

File:Budget passing 05.jpg

The Washington State Senate passing the 2005 budget.

The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 senators, each representing a district with a population of nearly 120,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympia.

As with the lower House of Representatives, state senators serve without term limits, though senators serve four-year terms. Senators are elected from the same legislative districts as House members, with each district electing two representatives but only one senator.

Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the state senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions and boards.

Leadership of the Senate

The Lieutenant Governor of Washington serves as the President of the Senate, but only casts a vote if required to break a tie. In his or her absence, the President Pro Tempore presides over the Senate. The President Pro Tempore is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the entire Senate through a Senate Resolution. The President Pro Tempore is the chief leadership position in the Senate. The other Senate Majority and Minority leaders are elected by their respective party caucuses.

The President of the Senate is Washington Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen. The President Pro Tempore is Democrat Rosa Franklin (D–Lakewood). The Majority Leader is Lisa Brown (D–Spokane) and the Minority Leader is Mike Hewitt (R–Walla Walla).

Composition of the Senate

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Template:American politics/party colours/Democratic |	Template:American politics/party colours/Republican |
	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	32	17	49	0
Begin	31	18	49	0
Latest voting share	63.2%	36.8%

Members of the Senate (2009-2010, 61st Legislature)

District	Senator	Party	Residence	First elected
1	Rosemary McAuliffe	Democratic	Bothell	1992
2	Randi Becker	Republican	Eatonville	2008
3	Lisa Brown	Democratic	Spokane	1996
4	Bob McCaslin	Republican	Spokane Valley	1980
5	Cheryl Pflug	Republican	Maple Valley	2004
6	Chris Marr	Democratic	Spokane	2006
7	Bob Morton	Republican	Kettle Falls	1994
8	Jerome Delvin	Republican	Richland	2004*
9	Mark Schoesler	Republican	Ritzville	2004
10	Mary Margaret Haugen	Democratic	Camano Island	1992
11	Margarita Prentice	Democratic	Renton	1992
12	Linda Evans Parlette	Republican	Wenatchee	2000
13	Janea Holmquist	Republican	Moses Lake	2006
14	Curtis King	Republican	Yakima	2007*
15	Jim Honeyford	Republican	Sunnyside	1998
16	Mike Hewitt	Republican	Walla Walla	2000
17	Don Benton	Republican	Vancouver	1996
18	Joseph Zarelli	Republican	Ridgefield	1995*
19	Brian Hatfield	Democratic	Raymond	2006*
20	Dan Swecker	Republican	Rochester	1995*
21	Paull Shin	Democratic	Edmonds	1998
22	Karen Fraser	Democratic	Olympia	1992
23	Phil Rockefeller	Democratic	Bainbridge Island	2004
24	James Hargrove	Democratic	Hoquiam	1992
25	Jim Kastama	Democratic	Puyallup	2000
26	Derek Kilmer	Democratic	Gig Harbor	2006
27	Debbie Regala	Democratic	Tacoma	2000
28	Mike Carrell	Republican	Lakewood	2004*
29	Rosa Franklin	Democratic	South Tacoma	1992
30	Tracey Eide	Democratic	Federal Way	1998
31	Pam Roach	Republican	Auburn	1990
32	Darlene Fairley	Democratic	Lake Forest Park	1994
33	Karen Keiser	Democratic	Kent	2000
34	Joe McDermott	Democratic	West Seattle	2007*
35	Tim Sheldon	Democratic	Potlatch	1996
36	Jeanne Kohl-Welles	Democratic	Seattle	1994
37	Adam Kline	Democratic	Seattle	1996
38	Jean Berkey	Democratic	Everett	2004*
39	Val Stevens	Republican	Arlington	1996
40	Kevin Ranker	Democratic	San Juan Island	2008
41	Fred Jarrett	Democratic	Bellevue	2008
42	Dale Brandland	Republican	Bellingham	2002
43	Ed Murray	Democratic	Seattle	2006
44	Steve Hobbs	Democratic	Lake Stevens	2006
45	Eric Oemig	Democratic	Kirkland	2006
46	Ken Jacobsen	Democratic	Seattle	1998
47	Claudia Kauffman	Democratic	Kent	2006
48	Rodney Tom	Democratic	Medina	2006
49	Craig Pridemore	Democratic	Vancouver	2004

* first elected by county commissioners following the vote of a vacancy committee

Miscellaneous fact

• Rajan Zed, prominent Hindu chaplain and Indo-American leader, recited the first Hindu opening prayer on February 22, 2008.

See also

• Washington State Capitol
• Washington State Legislature
• Washington House of Representatives

External links

• Washington State Senate
• Map of State Senate Districts
• Project Vote Smart - State Senate of Washington