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Adam Kline
Adam Kline (b. October 27, 1944) is a former Democratic member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 37 from 1997 to 2015. He served as Democratic Assistant Whip for that year. Kline announced on January 2, 2014, that he would not be running for re-election in 2014.[1]
Biography
Kline earned his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University in 1968 and his J.D. from the University of Maryland in 1972.
Kline is an attorney. He has been employed by the Laborers Union since 2004. He was a legal services attorney from 1973 to 1977. Kline has worked as a newspaper reporter as well as a merchant seaman. From 1972 to 1973, he worked in legal services. He was in private practice from 1977 to 2004.[2]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Kline served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Law & Justice |
| • Natural Resources & Parks |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Kline served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Judiciary, Chair |
| • Health & Long-Term Care |
| • Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection |
| • Rules |
Issues
Public Records Act
The Washington state legislature is one of several states that exempts many of its own records from public disclosure. According to the state's Public Records Act, legislators are not required to reveal all their email correspondence and other internal communications to the public. According to The Seattle Times, Kline has expressed hostility toward the idea that these records should be public.[3]
Elections
2010
- See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2010
Adam Kline was re-elected to the Washington State Senate District 37. He ran unopposed in the primary on August 17, 2010. He defeated independent Tamra Smilanich in the November 2, 2010, general election.[4]
| Washington State Senate, District 37 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
 Adam Kline (D)
|
34,130 | 61.81% | ||
| Tamra Smilanich (No preference) | 4,797 | 12.06% | ||
| Washington State Senate, District 37 Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Adam Kline (D)
|
17,706 | 88.67% | ||
| Tamra Smilanich
|
2,263 | 11.33% | ||
2006
- See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2006
In November 2006, Kline was re-elected to the 37th District seat in the Washington State Senate, receiving 28,417 votes.
Kline raised $64,045 for his campaign.[5]
| Washington State Senate, District 37 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Adam Kline (D)
|
28,417 | |||
| Brian Thomas (R) | 4,433 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Washington scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the 63rd Washington State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 13 to March 14.[6]
- Association of Washington Business: 2014 Voting Record
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Children's Campaign Fund: 2014 Scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes for or against CCF's position.
- National Federation of Independent Business/Washington: 2013-14 Voting Record
- Legislators are scored on their stances on small business issues.
- The American Conservative Union: 2014 Scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Washington Conservation Voters: 2013-2014 scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Washington State Labor Council: 2014 Voting Record
- Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the 63rd Washington State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 14 to April 29.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the 62nd Washington State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 9 to March 8.[7]
|
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2011, the 62nd Washington State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 10 through April 24.
|
Missed Votes Report
- See also: Washington House of Representatives and Washington State Senate
In March 2014, Washington Votes, a legislative information website, released its annual Missed Votes Report, which provides detailed missed roll call votes on bills for every state legislator during the 2014 legislative session.[8] The 2014 regular session included a total of 515 votes in the State House and 396 in the State Senate, as well as 1,372 bills introduced total in the legislature and 237 bills passed. Out of all roll call votes, 90 individual legislators did not miss any votes. Three individual legislators missed more than 50 votes.[8] Kline missed 75 votes in a total of 1017 roll calls.
Freedom Foundation
The Freedom Foundation releases its Big Spender List annually. The Institute ranks all Washington legislators based on their total proposed tax and fee increases. To find each legislator’s total, the Institute adds up the 10-year tax increases or decreases, as estimated by Washington’s Office of Financial Management, of all bills sponsored or co-sponsored by that legislator.[9]
2012
Kline proposed a 10-year increase in state taxes and fees of $22.3, the 5th highest amount of proposed new taxes and fees of the 46 Washington state senators on the Freedom Foundation’s 2012 Big Spender List.
- See also: Washington Freedom Foundation Legislative Scorecard (2012)
The Freedom Foundation also issued its 2012 Informed Voter Guide for Washington State voters, including a legislative score card documenting how Washington State legislators voted upon bills the Foundation deemed important legislation. The legislation analyzed covered budget, taxation, and pension issues.[10] A 
sign indicates a bill more in line with the Foundation's stated goals, and a 
sign indicates a bill out of step with the Foundation's values. Here's how Kline voted on the specific pieces of legislation:
| 2012 Senate Scorecard - Adam Kline | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill #6636 (Balanced budget requirement)
|
Bill #5967 (Senate Republicans budget)
|
Bill #6582 (Local transportation tax increases)
|
Bill #6378 (Pension reforms)
| ||||||||
| N | N | Y | N | ||||||||
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Kline and his wife, Laura Gene Middaugh, have one child. Laura Gene Middaugh is a King County Superior Court Judge.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Adam + Kline + Washington + Senate"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Washington State Legislature
- Washington State Senate
- Washington State Senate Committees
- Washington Joint Committees
- Washington State Senate District 37
External links
- Senate Democrats website
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile of Kline on Project Vote Smart
- Biographical profile of Kline on Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998
- Campaign website
- Washington Votes profile for Kline
Footnotes
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "Adam Kline to retire, ending long career in state Senate," January 2, 2014
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Adam Kline's Biography," accessed January 24, 2014
- ↑ Seattle Times, "Will Legislature open its own records," May 11, 2009
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Previous Elections," accessed January 24, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Kline, Daniel Adams - 2006," accessed January 24, 2014
- ↑ StateScape, "Session schedules," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ StateScape, "Session schedules," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Washington Policy Center, "2014 Missed Votes Report for Legislators Released," March 18, 2014
- ↑ Freedom Foundation, "Big Spender List," accessed January 24, 2014
- ↑ My Freedom Foundation, "Home," accessed June 18, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
Washington State Senate District 37 1996-2015 |
Succeeded by Pramila Jayapal (D) |
