Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Hans Zeiger
Hans Zeiger (Republican Party) was a member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 25. Zeiger assumed office on January 9, 2017. Zeiger left office on January 11, 2021.
Zeiger (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Washington State Senate to represent District 25. Zeiger won in the general election on November 8, 2016.
Zeiger is a former Republican member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing District 25-Position 2 from 2011 to 2017.
Biography
Zeiger earned a B.A. in American studies from Hillsdale College and an M.S. in public policy from the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy. He is a former author, editor and senior fellow for the American Civil Rights Union, a national nonprofit constitutional law organization.
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Zeiger was assigned to the following committees:
- Human Services, Reentry & Rehabilitation Committee
- State Government, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee, Ranking Member
- Senate Transportation Committee
- Housing Stability and Affordability Committee, Ranking Member
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Early Learning & K-12 Education, Chair |
| • State Government, Vice chair |
| • Ways & Means |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Zeiger served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs, Assistant Ranking Minority Member |
| • Higher Education, Ranking Minority Member |
| • Rules |
| • Transportation |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Zeiger served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Early Learning and Human Services |
| • Higher Education |
| • Technology and Economic Development |
| • Transportation |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Zeiger served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Capital Budget |
| • Higher Education |
| • Transportation |
Campaign themes
2016
Zeiger's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
Jobs No policy issue is more important to the citizens of our community than their jobs. I often hear from constituents who are out of work, homeowners who are facing foreclosure, or small business owners who are dealing with excessive government regulations, B&O taxes, or worker’s compensation issues. We in government owe much to our community’s private sector workers and job creators. I am inspired by the many entrepreneurs who create jobs and provide goods and services in our community. A free society, to be prosperous, requires appropriate but limited taxes and regulations. Schools We live in an education community—and an education state. Our state Constitution says that education is Washington’s “paramount duty.” It is the state’s first responsibility to provide for the basic education of all Washington kids. And I believe that good teachers hold the keys to our future. We should do everything we can to recruit, reward, and retain great teachers. We must return authority to teachers, principals, and parents—not state bureaucrats. Environment Growing up in the outdoors of the Pacific Northwest, I learned the value of environmental stewardship. As a legislator, I am proud to be an advocate for clean air and water and land conservation. Government ought to work with property owners, businesses, and communities to find the best answers to problems like storm water runoff, growth management, and air pollution. The old regulatory and bureaucratic model isn’t sufficient. We can do better for our precious resources by encouraging green innovation, private sector conservation, and market-driven energy solutions. Transportation As your State Representative, I worked to secure funding for completion of Highway 167 to I-5 and the Port of Tacoma. I worked to ensure that bridge replacement funding was prioritized to the Meridian Street Bridge over the Puyallup River. We also need to complete the Cross-base Highway out to I-5, finish Canyon Road, improve Highway 162 to Orting, and widen northbound 167 into King County. As we do these things, we need to hold the Department of Transportation accountable to complete projects on time and on budget, and we need to reforms to make our transportation system more cost-effective. Finally, we need to unleash private sector infrastructure funding by authorizing public-private partnerships. Colleges and Universities As a member of the House Higher Education Committee, I believe that we need to sustain funding to public higher education. I am pleased that Republicans took the lead to finally reduce college tuition in the 2015 budget.[1] |
” |
| —Hans Zeiger[2] | ||
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
2020
- See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2020
Hans Zeiger did not file to run for re-election.
2016
- See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Washington State Senate 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 Bruce Dammeier (R) did not seek re-election.
Hans Zeiger defeated Karl Mecklenburg in the Washington State Senate District 25 general election.[3]
| Washington State Senate, District 25 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Hans Zeiger |
59.33% | 35,138 | |
| Democratic | Karl Mecklenburg | 40.67% | 24,088 | |
| Total Votes | 59,226 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
Karl Mecklenburg and Hans Zeiger were unopposed in the Washington State Senate District 25 top two primary.[4][5]
| Washington State Senate, District 25 Top Two Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Karl Mecklenburg | |
| Republican | Hans Zeiger | |
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||
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. Eric Renz (D) and incumbent Hans Zeiger (R) were unopposed in the primary. Renz was defeated by Zeiger in the general election.[6][7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Hans Zeiger Incumbent |
64.9% | 23,760 | |
| Democratic | Eric Renz | 35.1% | 12,861 | |
| Total Votes | 36,621 | |||
2012
Zeiger won re-election in the 2012 election for Washington House of Representatives District 25-Position 2. Zeiger was unopposed in the blanket primary on August 7, 2012, and defeated Bill Hilton (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Hans Zeiger Incumbent |
56.8% | 32,017 | |
| Democratic | Bill Hilton | 43.2% | 24,332 | |
| Total Votes | 56,349 | |||
2010
Hans Zeiger ran for the Washington House of Representatives District 25-Position 2. He defeated Steve Vermillion, Ron Morehouse, Larry Johnson and Bryan Shaner in the August 17, 2010, primary. He defeated Democrat Dawn Morrell in the November 2, 2010, general election.
| Washington House of Representatives, District 25-Position 2 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Hans Zeiger (R)
|
24,919 | |||
| Dawn Morrell (D) | 24,872 | |||
| Washington House of Representatives, District 25-Position 2 Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Dawn Morrell (D)
|
10,287 | 40.29% | ||
| Hans Zeiger (R)
|
9,164 | 35.89% | ||
| Steven Vermillion (R) | 4,044 | 15.84% | ||
| Ron Morehouse (D) | 1,247 | 4.88% | ||
| Larry Johnson (I) | 548 | 2.15% | ||
| Bryan Shaner (I) | 243 | .95% | ||
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.
2020
In 2020, the Washington State Legislature was in session from January 13 to March 12.
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on legislation supported by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to home building industry issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on how they voted on firearm policies.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
|---|
|
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]. |
|---|
|
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]. |
|---|
|
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.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
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.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
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.[11]
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the 63rd Washington State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 13 to March 14.[12]
|
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.[13]
|
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, the state’s premier 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.[14] 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. 3 individual legislators missed more than 50 votes.[14] Zeiger missed 1 vote 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.[15]
2012
Zeiger proposed a 10-year increase in state taxes and fees of $188.3 million, the 50th 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.[16] 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 Zeiger voted on the specific pieces of legislation:
| 2012 House Scorecard - Hans Zeiger | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill #6636 (Balanced budget requirement)
|
Bill #5967 (House Democrats budget)
|
Bill #6582 (Local transportation tax increases)
|
Bill #6378 (Pension reforms)
| ||||||||
| Y | N | N | N | ||||||||
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google News search for the term "Hans + Zeiger + Washington + House"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Washington State Legislature
- Washington House of Representatives
- Washington House of Representatives Committees
- Washington Joint Committees
- Washington state legislative districts
- Washington State Senate
- Washington State Senate District 25
- Washington State Senate elections, 2016
External links
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Hans Zeiger on Facebook
- Profile by Vote-USA
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Hans Zeiger, "Issues," accessed October 3, 2016
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ C-SPAN, "AP Election Results - Washington State House of Representatives," accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Candidates," accessed July 16, 2012
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Washington Policy Center "2014 Missed Votes Report for Legislators Released," March 18, 2014
- ↑ Freedom Foundation, "2012 Big Spender List," accessed April 17, 2014
- ↑ My Freedom Foundation, "Home," accessed June 18, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bruce Dammeier (R) |
Washington State Senate District 25 2017–2021 |
Succeeded by Chris Gildon (R) |
| Preceded by Dawn Morrell (D) |
Washington House of Representatives District 25-Position 2 2011–2017 |
Succeeded by Joyce McDonald (R) |
