In the News

March 20, 2024 — “2024 Legislative Review: Southwest Washington lawmakers tout session’s successes”

Lt. Gov. Denny Heck highlighted the fast pace of the short legislative session. He pointed out the Legislature passed 386 bills, 25 percent more than were passed in 2022, and the operating, transportation and capital budgets passed with a majority vote. Additionally, three out of six citizen-backed initiatives were approved, a new record.

“That is not the norm,” Heck said.

Both Democrats and Republicans claimed some success this session, Heck said.

March 8, 2024 — “WA lawmakers fall short on housing as 2024 legislative session adjourns”

While last year’s legislative session was dubbed the “Year of Housing” by Democratic Lt. Gov. Denny Heck, he noted in a news release Thursday afternoon that lawmakers missed the mark on achieving the Year of Housing 2.0, as lawmakers initially intended.

“Unfortunately, progress on housing was modest. Significant additional investments for the Housing Trust Fund for affordable housing, re-legalizing co-living options, and reducing parking mandates are bright spots. However, we continue to fall further and further behind each year in the number of new homes needed to meet current and future demand. NIMBY attitudes and some local governments unwilling to rise to the challenge continue to have outsized influence on this debate.”

March 7, 2024 — “Five takeaways from the 2024 Washington legislative session”

Figuring out how to handle the initiatives and how they meshed with existing law sucked up time and weighed on conversations around the Capitol. Lt. Gov. Denny Heck said the initiatives presented a “huge task” for the majority heading into the session. “I think they thought that through very well, and I think it took up a lot of the bandwidth,” he added.

Read more at the Washington State Standard

March 6, 2024 — “Washington State Sen. Lynda Wilson to step down from Legislature to spend time with family”

“I congratulate Sen. Lynda Wilson on her retirement from the Legislature,” Washington Lt. Gov. Denny Heck said in an email. “She has been a principled conservative and has maintained the capacity to work across party lines. I was privileged to work with her at a small credit union in Vancouver 45 years ago, and I have been equally privileged to work together again the last four years. She bravely fought and defeated cancer while continuing to serve, an inspiration to all. I wish her well in her retirement.”

March 4, 2024 — “High-ranking Washington Democrat won’t run for re-election”

Lt. Gov. Denny Heck released a statement on Billig's decision not to run again.

“Senator Andy Billig has been an outstanding Senate Majority Leader,” Heck said. “As a former legislative leader myself, I know the realities and pressures of the position. Leader Billig’s tenure will be remembered for significant legislative accomplishments that will leave lasting positive impacts on our state, and for marked civility between the caucuses. I am deeply grateful for his extraordinary service to our state.”

February 21, 2024 — “Two people honored with Washington’s top awards for civilians”

Lt. Gov. Denny Heck described Bergman as someone who was able to “see the bigger picture about how good policy could prevent so much of the needless suffering he encountered. Not just one patient at a time, but on a wholesale basis, indeed, on a nationwide basis.”

Read more at the Washington State Standard

February 21, 2024 — “The Northern Light attends media day in Olympia”

The Northern Light attended media day at the Washington state Capitol campus in Olympia February 15.

The day was packed with state lawmakers discussing key issues in this year’s short legislative session, followed by presentations from state government officials. Presentations included: House speaker Laurie Jinkins, Senate Republican leader John Braun, secretary of state Steve Hobbs, lieutenant governor Denny Heck, Washington State Patrol chief John Batiste and Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction staff.

January 18, 2024 — “Washington State Leadership Board (WSLB) announces the 48th Annual Washington Leadership Award Honorees”

The Washington State Leadership Board (WSLB), in partnership with Lt. Governor Denny Heck’s office, have announced this year's recipients of the Washingtonian of the Year, Organization of the Year, Justice for All, and Legacy of Service awards. These awards are given every year on behalf of the State of Washington in recognition of outstanding service and leadership. “Congratulations to all the honorees," said Lt. Governor Heck. "This year's recipients have demonstrated dedication to improving lives and bridging divides through their legacies and innovations. These awards appreciate their achievements for all Washingtonians."

January 10, 2024 — “What’s happening this week around Thurston County”

The Office of Lt. Gov. Denny Heck will host an unveiling ceremony of the Billy Frank Jr. maquette created by Seattle artist Haiying Wu. The unveiling will take place in the State Reception Room of the Legislative Building from 4-5 p.m. Wednesday. The Billy Frank Jr. maquette models a statue that will be displayed in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. It will be the first to depict a contemporary Native American. This decision was part of legislation passed in 2021 to replace the Marcus Whitman statue in the national statuary hall collection. Haiying Wu was selected by the National Statuary Hall Selection Committee, co-chaired by Willie Frank III, Heck, and Rep. Debra Lekanoff, to create the statue. Haiying then built a “maquette” to understand the proportions, gesture, and arrangement of the different elements of the sculpture, which will later be developed into a full-scale clay statue cast in bronze. After Wednesday’s ceremony, a copy of the maquette will be displayed in the lobby of the Lt. Governor’s office.

January 8, 2024 — “WA Legislature kicks off short session with optimism, lengthy agenda”

Across the rotunda, Lt. Gov. Denny Heck, who presides over the Senate, mentioned the 1889 state Constitution, on loan from the state archives and displayed on the dais to mark the opening of the session. (The glass-encased document meant that statehouse reporters could not sit at their assigned table on the floor in the chamber.)

“Our system of government is unique,” Heck said. “It’s been called ‘the great experiment,’ the longest surviving democracy in the world, and our state is an extension of that. And we govern through rule of law — not the whim of an individual but the rule of law, which is your sacred mission to modify and propose changes to, in keeping with our founding document.”

January 8, 2024 — “Following the ‘year of housing,’ issue likely again to be a priority for legislators”

“In the meantime, the lack of affordable housing continues to damage low-income families as their rents have risen much faster than their incomes,” Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck wrote in a letter to legislators on Jan. 4, signed by a collection of unions, trade organizations, corporations and other stakeholders. “More families are becoming homeless. Older adults have a harder time ‘aging in place.’ Fewer young families can afford to buy their first home. And workforce housing is increasingly out of reach.”

January 2, 2024 — “State Legislators Push for ‘Year of Housing 2.0’”

Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck, who takes credit for being the first person to call 2023 session the “year of housing,” spent decades working on housing policy reform in both the state legislature and U.S. Congress. He intends to press the issue again in the coming year.

“Our work is not done,” Heck told The Urbanist. “Pretty straightforward: the problem is so big, and some of the solutions that were adopted in [last] year’s legislative session are going to take quite some time to actually be felt on the ground. It’s not a time to let up.”

December 19, 2023 — “Washington Lieutenant Governor addresses civic health crisis and political divisions”

Tri-Cities Wash. — Washington Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck visited the Tri-Cities today. He talked with leaders from Benton and Franklin counties about the Civic Health Project. Action News caught up with Heck at the Benton-Franklin Council of Governments, a voluntary association of local government helping with multi-jurisdictional decision-making and regional planning, among other things.

At a roundtable discussion Tuesday afternoon, Lieutenant Governor Heck says civic health in Washington is not good and tells us a new survey shows nearly one in four has stopped talking to a friend or a family member because of political differences.

December 7, 2023 — “Can Washington bridge its political divide? Some want to try”

When Lt. Gov. Denny Heck brought together bipartisan focus groups of community leaders – in Port Angeles, Wenatchee, Vancouver and elsewhere – to discuss civility and deepening political polarization this year, participants were asked to rate the overall health of democracy from one to 10.

In the resulting Civic Health Summit held in Renton in October, Heck, a Democrat, described the rating system: “One is almost at civil war” and 10 is “We just join hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’ all together all the time.”

December 2, 2023 — “Editorial: Improving civic health starts by coming to table”

Not to dismiss the unarguable importance of such inventions as the wheel, movable type, sliced bread and the long-handled back-scratcher, but the humble table — that flat surface with four legs where we work, gather family and friends for meals and hammer out agreements — may be what saves the world.

Denny Heck has long been convinced of that.

“I’ve not seen anything that’s more effective than people sitting around a table,” said the former state lawmaker and member of Congress and current Washington state lieutenant governor, in discussing a prime focus of his time in office: our civic health and the crisis in confidence and trust that our communities, state and nation are experiencing in public discourse and in governance.

November 16, 2023 — “Our civic health in WA needs first aid”

Our civic health isn’t good. If you’re feeling that way, you’re not alone. We all know it.

This is why we — the University of Washington Evans School, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, the William D. Ruckelshaus Center and the Office of Lieutenant Governor — formed the Project for Civic Health. For the last year, we’ve been hard at work.