Steve Litzow
Steve Litzow is a former Republican member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 41 from 2011 to 2017. He was defeated in the general election on November 8, 2016.
Biography
Litzow attended Northwestern University. Before his election, Litzow worked as a consultant with EMM Group. He is a former Procter and Camble executive, and worked in senior management for Xpensewise, Compuserve, and ShareBuilder. He served on the Mercer Island City Councilmember from 2003-2007.
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Litzow served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Early Learning & K-12 Education, Chair |
| • Financial Institutions & Insurance |
| • Transportation |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Litzow served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Early Learning & K-12 Education, Chair |
| • Transportation |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Litzow served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Early Learning & K-12 Education |
| • Financial Institutions, Housing & Insurance |
| • Transportation |
Campaign themes
2016
Litzow's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
|
” |
| —Steve Litzow, [2] | ||
2012
Litzow's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[3]
Creating Jobs
- Excerpt: "Senator Steve helped pass tax relief for small business and workers' compensation reforms to make state government more business-friendly and encourage hiring."
Strengthening Education
- Excerpt: "Steve is a leading advocate for education reform. He led a coalition of parents, teachers, businesses, and legislators in passing a comprehensive teacher evaluation system that helps put a great teacher in every classroom. Steve fought to protect education funding and helped pass a budget that did not cut education this year."
Balancing the Budget
- Excerpt: "During his first term, the Senator helped pass legislation that saves taxpayer money by reforming Washington's worker compensation system. This year, he helped pass a sustainable budget that did not cut funding for education or the most vulnerable -- without raising taxes."
Improving Transportation
- Excerpt: "As a member of the Transportation Committee, Steve Litzow is working to improve I-405, I-90, and mass transit to sustainably reduce daily commute times and keep freight moving. Steve will work across party lines to find practical solutions to our community's future infrastructure needs."
2010
Litzow's website highlighted the following campaign themes:
- Business
- Excerpt: "Reduce the tax burden on small business jobs to help them survive and recover. Provide incentives and predictability for small businesses to invest in future growth."
- Spending
- Excerpt: "Our state must stop spending more money than it brings in. Decreasing spending reduces the tax burden on small businesses so that they can employ more people."
- Education
- Excerpt: "Education, the #1 state budget priority, is the foundation of a vibrant economy. By fully funding education and reducing class sizes, we will provide more jobs for quality teachers. "
- Transportation
- Excerpt: "Continue investing in I-405, I-90, and mass transit to sustainably reduce daily commute times and keep freight moving. Steve will work across party lines to find practical solutions to our community's future infrastructure needs."
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
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.
Lisa Wellman defeated incumbent Steve Litzow in the Washington State Senate District 41 general election.[4]
| Washington State Senate, District 41 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Lisa Wellman |
51.86% | 37,107 | |
| Republican | Steve Litzow Incumbent | 48.14% | 34,446 | |
| Total Votes | 71,553 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
Lisa Wellman and incumbent Steve Litzow defeated Bryan Simonson in the Washington State Senate District 41 top two primary.[5][6]
| Washington State Senate, District 41 Top Two Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Lisa Wellman |
48.79% | 14,800 | |
| Republican | Steve Litzow Incumbent |
47.29% | 14,344 | |
| Libertarian | Bryan Simonson | 3.92% | 1,189 | |
| Total Votes | 30,333 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
2012
- See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2012
Litzow won re-election in the 2012 election for Washington State Senate District 41. Litzow was unopposed in the blanket primary on August 7, 2012, and defeated Maureen Judge (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Litzow Incumbent |
54% | 37,314 | |
| Democratic | Maureen Judge | 46% | 31,734 | |
| Total Votes | 69,048 | |||
2010
- See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2010
Steve Litzow was elected to the Washington State Senate District 41. He ran unopposed in the August 17 primary. He defeated Randy Gordon (D) in the November 2, 2010, general election.
| Washington State Senate, District 41 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Steve Litzow (R)
|
30,030 | 50.16% | ||
| Randy Gordon (D) | 29,836 | 49.84% | ||
| Washington State Senate, District 41 Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Steve Litzow (R)
|
16.938 | 50.14% | ||
| Randy Gordon (D)
|
16,846 | 49.86% | ||
2008
| Washington House of Representatives, District 41-Position 1 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Marcie Maxwell (D)
|
32,571 | 50.58% | ||
| Steve Litzow (R) | 31,823 | 49.42% | ||
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.
2017
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.
- 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 reproductive health 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.
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.[9]
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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.[10]
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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.[11]
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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.[12] 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.[12] Litzow missed 0 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.[13]
2012
Litzow proposed a 10-year increase in state taxes and fees of $2.3 million, the 41st 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.[14] 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 Litzow voted on the specific pieces of legislation:
| 2012 Senate Scorecard - Steve Litzow | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill #6636 (Balanced budget requirement)
|
Bill #5967 (Senate Republicans budget)
|
Bill #6582 (Local transportation tax increases)
|
Bill #6378 (Pension reforms)
| ||||||||
| Y | Y | N | Y | ||||||||
Endorsements
2016
In 2016, Litzow’s endorsements included the following:[15]
|
|
Presidential preference
2012
Steve Litzow endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[16]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Steve Litzow is married. He and his wife Jenny, live in Mercer Island with their four children.
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google News search for the term "Steve + Litzow + 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 41
External links
- Steve Litzow on the Washington State Senate website
- Steve Litzow on the Senate Republican Caucus website
- Litzow's official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Steve Litzow on Facebook
- Steve Litzow's biography on Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Steve Litzow, "Issues," accessed July 11, 2016
- ↑ stevelitzow, "Official Campaign Website," accessed April 12, 2014
- ↑ 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
- ↑ C-SPAN, "AP Election Results - Washington State Senate," 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
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 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
- ↑ Steve Litzow, "Endorsements," accessed July 11, 2016
- ↑ Mitt Romney for President, "Mitt Romney Announces Support of Washington State Elected Officials and Leaders," February 13, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Randy Gordon (D) |
Washington State Senate District 41 2011-2017 |
Succeeded by Lisa Wellman (D) |
