Matt Shea
A candidate for State Representative, Pos. 2, Legislative District 4 (Spokane Valley) in the 2012 Washington General Election
Party: Republican
Age: 50
City: Spokane Valley, WA
Occupation: Lawyer
Education: Graduated from high school in Bellingham. Earned bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Gonzaga University in 1996. Earned law degree from Gonzaga in 2006.
Political experience: Elected to state House every two years since 2008. Serves as assistant ranking minority member on the House’s Labor and Workforce and Judiciary committees.
Work experience: Attorney at M. Casey Law since 2013. Formerly handled personal injury cases at Keith S. Douglass and Associates. Co-founded the Washington Family Foundation. Served 4 ½ years in the army, entering as a lieutenant in 1996, including eight months in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Later served 11 months in Iraq as a captain in the Army and Army National Guard.
Family: Divorced and remarried. No children.
Contact information
More about Matt Shea
Race Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Shea (R) | 35,555 | 56.74% |
| Amy Biviano (D) | 27,110 | 43.26% |
Related Coverage
Gay marriage wins 55-43 vote, now headed to Gregoire
OLYMPIA – By a vote of 55-43, the House passed and sent to Gov. Chris Gregoire a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry in Washington. Gregoire, who has already called for such legislation, will sign it sometime within the next week. After nearly two and a half hours of debate, the House passed SB 6239 without amendments, setting Washington up to be the seventh state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage.
In brief: Same-sex marriage gets House panel OK
OLYMPIA – By a single vote, a House panel passed a proposal to allow same-sex marriage after rejecting a Spokane Valley legislator’s efforts to change it. Republican Rep. Matt Shea argued that all business owners with a religious objection to same-sex marriage need absolute protection from any civil suit for refusing to participate. That’s in keeping with the state constitution’s guarantee of “absolute freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment,” he said.