Editorial: Padden’s conservatism would serve district well

At a time when political experience and government service are increasingly vilified, Mike Padden has much to overcome in the race to become District 4 state senator.

He served 14 years as District 4 representative, earning re-election seven times. He stepped out of the Legislature in 1995 to accept an appointment to the District Court bench. He kept the seat through three subsequent elections. He stepped down in 2007.

Padden attempted to reclaim a spot in the Legislature earlier this year, when the late Sen. Bob McCaslin was forced to surrender his District 4 position because of failing health. Remarkably, his name was left off the list of potential successors Republicans forwarded to the Spokane County commissioners, who selected Jeff Baxter.

Now, Padden’s name is on the ballot, with endorsements from all three commissioners, two former Spokane Valley mayors and most present and former legislators from the Valley.

Deservedly so. Add that of The Spokesman-Review.

Padden’s conservative credentials are impeccable and entirely reflective of the less-government-is-best philosophy embedded in district attitudes and politics. Not surprising given his 33 years at the same home address.

Padden was conservative before conservatism was cool.

In 1976, he was the only Republican Electoral College elector not to support then-incumbent President Gerald Ford when he cast his ballot. He supported Ronald Reagan, a vote for which he was much criticized.

Once in the Legislature, Padden was a formidable representative, selected by his Republican peers to be majority floor leader and chairman of the Law and Justice Committee. He never saw a tax hike he could not reject.

On the bench, Padden was an innovator who helped set up a separate court for adjudicating driving under the influence cases, with the goal of reducing recidivism. The court continues to be a success, one he promoted as a liaison to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the Northwest.

He was also the District Court’s presiding judge, managing 150 employees and a budget of $7.8 million.

Baxter, who owns companies that process credit card transactions, touts his experience in business. In the Legislature, he was one of 13 Senate votes against a budget that emerged from reasoned, bipartisan negotiations, in part out of admirable concern for its impact on homes for the developmentally disabled and double-digit university tuition increases.

Although critical of spending in Olympia, Baxter identifies no program cuts he would make, suggesting instead that privatizing more services and audits of existing programs might yield enough savings to plug a looming $2 billion budget gap.

It’s highly unlikely that will be enough. Given the magnitude of the challenges facing Washington, Padden’s depth of experience would work to the greater advantage of District 4 and the state.