Todd Mielke
Sixth District Rep. Todd Mielke chairs the House Republican Caucus. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Eastern Washington University and owns an excavating company. He and his wife, KXLY anchor Tonia Bendickson, have one daughter.
Todd Mielke says he’s been hooked on politics ever since grade school, where he was class president.
In college, when many kids are still figuring out what they want to do, Mielke was working for Sen. James West, R-Spokane.
Caucus chairman at age 30, Mielke is considered a rising star within the Republican Party.
“The thing I like about politics is every day is different. I pick up the phone and I don’t know if it’s a good call or a bad call. I get to see sides of life I otherwise would not and interact with all kinds of people.
“I try to stay a very open person, and to make all kinds of people feel comfortable around me. I take sincere interest in what people are trying to accomplish and keep my ears and eyes open, to observe people’s biases and comforts.”
If anything, he’s too political, Mielke said. He senses strategic dimensions to even simple questions, and sees legislators’ every action in terms of their chances for re-election.
After all, he’s got a stake in their longevity: Mielke spent last summer with a phone glued to his ear, drumming up support for many of the new GOP members swept into office this November.
Mielke calls himself a fiscal conservative with a social conscience.
“My central philosophy is people know how to spend their own money. They don’t need government making that decision for them. … We have to get out of the way.”
He favors restrictions on abortion, including requirements for parental consent or notification, and informed consent before any abortion is performed, “if it’s done objectively, and not as a guilt trip.”
“I’m not going to cast any judgments. That’s not the primary reason I’m elected.”
Mielke’s church is First Church of the Nazarene, but he doesn’t attend regularly. “I believe in it, and value it, but I wouldn’t say it’s a major part of my life. I’m not pushing my religion on anybody.”
As caucus chairman, Mielke said he’ll keep reminding members the Contract with Washington State is their first priority, not moral issues.
“If we get involved in other issues that tear us apart or get us off focus we are in trouble. The public isn’t wedded to either party right now. We have to show them we can deliver.”
MEMO: Also see the story under the headline “Republicans prepare to turn plans into law.”