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Derek Stanford
2019 - Present
2029
6
Derek Stanford (Democratic Party) is a member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 1. He assumed office on July 1, 2019. His current term ends on January 8, 2029.
Stanford (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the Washington State Senate to represent District 1. He declared candidacy for the 2028 election.[source]
Stanford was appointed to the office by the King and Snohomish County councils on July 1, 2019, to replace former Sen. Guy Palumbo (D).[1]
Biography
Stanford earned a B.S. and M.S. in mathematics from Harvey Mudd College and a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Washington. His professional experience includes serving as the director of analytics at a telecom company. He previously ran a small statistical consulting business and worked as the principal investigator for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Stanford was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee
- Business, Financial Services & Trade Committee, Chair
- Labor, Commerce & Tribal Affairs Committee
- Joint Water Supply During Drought Committee
2021-2022
Stanford was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee
- Labor, Commerce & Tribal Affairs Committee, Vice chair
- Environment, Energy & Technology Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| • Appropriations |
| • Business and Financial Services |
| • Rules |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Stanford served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| • Business and Financial Services |
| • Capital Budget, Vice-Chair |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Stanford served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| • Business and Financial Services |
| • Capital Budget, Vice chair |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Stanford served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Natural Resources, Vice chair |
| • Business and Financial Services |
| • Education Appropriations and Oversight |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2028
See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2028
General election
The general election will occur on November 7, 2028.
General election for Washington State Senate District 1
Incumbent Derek Stanford is running in the general election for Washington State Senate District 1 on November 7, 2028.
Candidate | ||
 | Derek Stanford (D) | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2024
See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Washington State Senate District 1
Incumbent Derek Stanford won election in the general election for Washington State Senate District 1 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Derek Stanford (D) | 96.1 | 60,591 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 3.9 | 2,490 | ||
| Total votes: 63,081 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Washington State Senate District 1
Incumbent Derek Stanford advanced from the primary for Washington State Senate District 1 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Derek Stanford (D) | 96.0 | 30,980 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 4.0 | 1,282 | ||
| Total votes: 32,262 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Stanford received the following endorsements.
2020
See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Washington State Senate District 1
Incumbent Derek Stanford defeated Arthur Coday Jr. in the general election for Washington State Senate District 1 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Derek Stanford (D) | 63.3 | 55,496 |
 | Arthur Coday Jr. (R) | 36.7 | 32,168 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 53 | ||
| Total votes: 87,717 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Washington State Senate District 1
Incumbent Derek Stanford and Arthur Coday Jr. advanced from the primary for Washington State Senate District 1 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Derek Stanford (D) | 63.5 | 34,445 |
| ✔ | | Arthur Coday Jr. (R) | 36.4 | 19,778 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 47 | ||
| Total votes: 54,270 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2018
General election
General election for Washington House of Representatives District 1-Position 1
Incumbent Derek Stanford defeated Josh Colver in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 1-Position 1 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Derek Stanford (D) | 69.6 | 47,881 |
| Josh Colver (R) | 30.4 | 20,925 | ||
| Total votes: 68,806 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 1-Position 1
Incumbent Derek Stanford and Josh Colver defeated Colin McMahon in the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 1-Position 1 on August 7, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Derek Stanford (D) | 67.0 | 23,927 |
| ✔ | Josh Colver (R) | 25.7 | 9,192 | |
| Colin McMahon (Independent) | 7.3 | 2,603 | ||
| Total votes: 35,722 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2016
Elections for the Washington House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was May 20, 2016.
Incumbent Derek Stanford defeated Neil Thannisch in the Washington House of Representatives, District 1-Position 1 general election.[2]
| Washington House of Representatives, District 1-Position 1 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Derek Stanford Incumbent |
60.97% | 43,207 | |
| Republican | Neil Thannisch | 39.03% | 27,661 | |
| Total Votes | 70,868 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Derek Stanford and Neil Thannisch defeated Kaz Sugiyama and Brian Travis in the Washington House of Representatives District 1-Position 1 top two primary.[3][4]
| Washington House of Representatives, District 1-Position 1 Top Two Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Derek Stanford Incumbent |
49.57% | 14,512 | |
| Republican | Neil Thannisch |
24.00% | 7,026 | |
| Democratic | Kaz Sugiyama | 11.54% | 3,379 | |
| Republican | Brian Travis | 14.89% | 4,360 | |
| Total Votes | 29,277 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
Endorsements
In 2016, Stanford's endorsements included the following:[5]
- Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers
- Snohomish County Councilmember Terry Ryan
- Snohomish County Councilmember Brian Sullivan
- Snohomish County Councilmember Stephanie Wright
- Snohomish County Councilmember Hans Dunshee
- King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski
- Mountlake Terrace Mayor Jerry Smith
- Mountlake Terrace City Councilmember Bryan Wahl
- Mountlake Terrace City Councilmember Doug McCardle
- Mountlake Terrace City Councilmember Laura Sonmore
2014
Elections for the Washington House of Representatives took place in 2014. A blanket primary election took place on August 5, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 17, 2014. Incumbent Derek Stanford (D) was unopposed in the primary.[6][7][8] After being unopposed in the primary, Stanford defeated Mark Davies (R) in the general election.[9] Davies earned his place on the general election ballot via a successful write-in campaign.[10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Derek Stanford Incumbent |
58.4% | 25,276 | |
| Republican | Mark Davies | 41.6% | 17,985 | |
| Total Votes | 43,261 | |||
2012
Stanford won re-election in the 2012 election for Washington House of Representatives District 1-Position 1. Stanford advanced past the blanket primary on August 7, 2012, and defeated Sandy Guinn (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[11][12]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Derek Stanford Incumbent |
57.8% | 37,824 | |
| Republican | Sandy Guinn | 42.2% | 27,559 | |
| Total Votes | 65,383 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |
Derek Stanford Incumbent |
47.4% | 13,888 | |
| Republican | Sandy Guinn |
26.4% | 7,726 | |
| Republican | Brian Travis | 17.5% | 5,129 | |
| Democratic | Greg Rankich | 8.8% | 2,567 | |
| Total Votes | 29,310 | |||
2010
Derek Standford was elected to the Washington House of Representatives District 1-Position 1. He defeated Republican Dennis Richter in the November 2, 2010, general election.The primary election was on August 17, 2010.
| Washington House of Representatives, District 1-Position 1 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Derek Stanford (D)
|
29,181 | |||
| Dennis Richter (R) | 25,672 | |||
| Washington House of Representatives, District 1-Position 1 Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Derek Stanford (D)
|
7,057 | 26.01% | ||
| Dennis Richter (R)
|
6,452 | 23.78% | ||
| Vince DeMiero (D) | 6,263 | 23.09% | ||
| Sandy Guinn (R) | 6,144 | 22.65% | ||
| Dick Lapinski (R) | 1,213 | 4.47% | ||
Campaign themes
2028
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2024
Derek Stanford did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Derek Stanford did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Stanford's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
Strengthening Our Schools The Supreme Court has made it clear: We need to make education a higher priority in our state budget. I’ve worked to keep our commitment to our public schools by supporting early learning, supporting local control of our schools, simplifying testing, while recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers. I am excited to stay on the front lines supporting excellent public schools. Fighting For Our Share Of Transportation Dollars No one should have to choose between being with their family and being stuck in traffic. I worked for millions of dollars in new investments in the latest transportation package to relieve congestion on the freeways in our region. We have more work to do in the next legislative session to increase investments and I will be there fighting for our district. Creating Jobs As a champion for the Public Works Trust Fund and a former member of the Community Economic Revitalization Board, I have worked to help communities all over our state build their top priority economic development projects. I fought to strengthen our Buy Washington laws to make sure local companies get the first crack at state and local contracts so our hard-earned dollars create jobs here, not overseas. Protecting Our Clean Air and Water Our beautiful natural surroundings are part of our quality of life in the Northwest. I have worked as Vice-Chair of the Capitol Budget Committee to save natural open spaces and recreational areas, especially supporting the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) and state parks. I will continue to work keep Washington State one of the most beautiful places to live in the world.[13] |
” |
| —Derek Stanford[14] | ||
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.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2024, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 7.
|
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2023, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 9 to April 23.
|
2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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|
In 2022, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 10 to March 10.
|
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2021, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 11 to April 25.
|
2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2020, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 13 to March 12.
|
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 14 through April 28.
|
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Washington State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 8 through March 8.
|
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2017, the Washington State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 9 through April 23. There were also special sessions. The first special session was April 24 through May 23. The second special session was May 23 through June 21. The third special session was June 21 through July 20.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the 64th Washington State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 11 through March 10. The legislature held a special session from March 11 to March 29 to pass a supplemental budget.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 64th Washington State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 12 through April 24. The legislature was in special session from April 29 to May 28, May 29 to June 27 and June 28 to July 10.[15]
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 63rd Washington State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 13 to March 14.[16]
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 63rd Washington State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 14 to April 29.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the 62nd Washington State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 9 to March 8.[17]
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the 62nd Washington State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 10 through April 24.
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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.[18] 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.[18] Stanford missed 8 votes in a total of 1211 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.[19]
2012
Stanford proposed a 10-year increase in state taxes and fees of $17 million, the 82nd highest amount of proposed new taxes and fees of the 93 Washington state representatives 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.[20] 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 Stanford voted on the specific pieces of legislation:
| 2012 House Scorecard - Derek Stanford | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill #6636 (Balanced budget requirement)
|
Bill #5967 (House Democrats budget)
|
Bill #6582 (Local transportation tax increases)
|
Bill #6378 (Pension reforms)
| ||||||||
| Y | Y | Y | N | ||||||||
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Stanford and his wife, Cheryl, have one child.
See also
2028 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Senate Democrats, "Stanford appointed 1st Legislative District senator," July 1, 2019
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "General Election Results 2016," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2016 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 23, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 2, 2016 Primary Results," accessed August 25, 2016
- ↑ Derek Stanford, "Endorsements," accessed October 3, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2014 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 20, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 5, 2014, Official Primary Results," accessed August 5, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Official general election results, 2014," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Voters’ Guide: 2014 General Election," accessed October 16, 2014
- ↑ Amy Nile, ‘’Herlad Net’’, “Different approaches to jobs, transportation, education,” October 10, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Candidates," accessed July 16, 2012
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 07, 2012 Primary Results - Legislative - All Results," accessed August 15, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Derek Stanford, "Issues," accessed October 3, 2016
- ↑ Multi State, "2015 State Legislative Session Dates," accessed July 13, 2015
- ↑ StateScape, "Session schedules," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ StateScape, "Session schedules," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Washington Policy Center, "2014 Missed Votes Report for Legislators Released," March 18, 2014
- ↑ Freedom Foundation, "2012 Big Spender List," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ My Freedom Foundation, "Home," accessed June 18, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Washington State Senate District 1 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Washington House of Representatives District 1-Position 1 2011-2019 |
Succeeded by - |
