Brad Owen

Bradley Scott Owen (born May 23, 1950) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Washington from 1997 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was previously elected to the Washington State Legislature from 1977 to 1997, spending six years in the Washington House of Representatives and fourteen years in the Washington State Senate.

Brad Owen
15th Lieutenant Governor of Washington
In office January 15, 1997 – January 11, 2017
Governor	Gary Locke Christine Gregoire Jay Inslee
Preceded by	Joel Pritchard
Succeeded by	Cyrus Habib
Member of the Washington Senate from the 35th district
In office January 10, 1983 – January 15, 1997
Preceded by	Ruthe Ridder
Succeeded by	Lena Swanson
Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 24th district
In office January 10, 1977 – January 10, 1983
Preceded by	Leona Savage Osterman
Succeeded by	Richard Fisch
Personal details
Born	Bradley Scott Owen (1950-05-23) May 23, 1950 (age 75) Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Linda Owen
Children	6
Website	Government website

Biography

Owen was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington. He was a small business owner before entering politics. He was elected as Shelton City Finance Commissioner and to the Washington House of Representatives in 1976 and served in those capacities until 1983, when he was elected to the Washington State Senate. In 1989, he formed a non-profit organization called Strategies for Youth, first as a way to fight substance abuse among Washington's young people and later with a greater emphasis on bullying and respecting diversity. The program concluded in 2011.^{[citation needed]}

Owen in 2000

In 1996, Owen moved from the legislature to the executive branch with his election as lieutenant governor. He was re-elected to that position in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. Following findings by the state's Executive Ethics Commission that Owen improperly used tax-payer resources, which led to a $15,000 fine being imposed against him, Owen announced that he would not seek another term in the 2016 election. Prior to that announcement, three current legislators from his own party had already begun campaigning for his office.^[1] His final term expired in January 2017. He was succeeded in office by Cyrus Habib.

Owen is opposed to abortion, campaigns against drug use and drug legalisation and is described as "lukewarm" on gay rights.^[2] He has received criticism for his work ethic, not working outside of the legislative calendar, conducting remote work and prioritizing his outside business interests ahead of his duties as Lieutenant Governor.^[3] In September 2014, he was fined $15,000 for breaking state law by using state resources to run Strategies for Youth, his personal non-profit group.^[3]

On April 2, 2008, the King of Spain Juan Carlos I bestowed the Order of Isabella the Catholic, or Spanish knighthood, on Owen.^[4]

Electoral history

Washington House of Representatives 24th District, Position 2 Democratic Primary Election, 1976
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen	9,010	51.73
Democratic	Leona Savage Osterman (inc.)	8,408	48.27

Washington House of Representatives 24th District, Position 2 Election, 1976
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen	22,042	62.94
Republican	Irene Conca	12,979	37.06

Washington House of Representatives 24th District, Position 1 Election, 1978
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	18,563	100.00

Washington House of Representatives 24th District, Position 1 Election, 1980
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	26,506	60.51
Republican	Philip Sutherland	17,301	39.49

Washington State Senate 35th District Democratic Primary Election, 1982
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen	9,685	65.07
Democratic	Joyce Jaros	5,200	34.93

Washington State Senate 35th District Election, 1982
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen	18,883	67.01
Republican	Marlin Cronquist	9,295	32.99

Washington State Senate 35th District Democratic Primary Election, 1986
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	8,943	67.10
Democratic	Edward Leaf	3,088	23.17
Democratic	Daniel Sanford	1,297	9.73

Washington State Senate 35th District Election, 1986
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	19,150	70.26
Republican	Wayne Estes	8,107	29.74

Washington State Senate 35th District Democratic Primary Election, 1990
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	8,681	57.19
Democratic	Dan Scott	6,499	42.81

Washington State Senate 35th District Election, 1990
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	16,749	61.54
Republican	David Wood	10,467	38.46

Washington State Senate 35 District Election, 1994
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	24,265	67.40
Republican	Meta Heller	11,736	32.60

Washington Lieutenant Governor Democratic Primary Election, 1996
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen	242,757	40.24
Democratic	Paull Shin	235,461	39.03
Democratic	Bob Owen	44,510	7.38
Democratic	Bambi Lichtman	34,326	5.69
Democratic	Frank Gavaldon	32,658	5.41
Democratic	Harvey Billmaier	13,613	2.26

Washington Lieutenant Governor Election, 1996
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen	1,022,878	48.02
Republican	Ann Anderson	989,661	46.46
Reform	Shawn Newman	78,510	3.69
Libertarian	Art Rathjen	39,277	1.84

Washington Lieutenant Governor Democratic Primary Election, 2000
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	502,523	79.33
Democratic	Lonnie Williams, Sr.	129,966	20.55

Washington Lieutenant Governor Election, 2000
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	1,247,838	54.25
Republican	Wm. "Mike" Elliott	872,853	37.95
Libertarian	Ruth Bennett	179,567	7.81

Washington Lieutenant Governor Election, 2004
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	1,443,505	54.39
Republican	Jim Wiest	1,019,790	38.43
Libertarian	Jocelyn Langlois	117,147	4.41
Green	Bern Haggerty	73,328	2.76

Washington Lieutenant Governor Primary Election, 2008
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	706,641	52.08
Republican	Marcia McCraw	347,551	25.62
Republican	Jim Wiest	193,752	14.28
Democratic	Randel Bell	59,890	4.41
Constitution	Arlene Peck	48,887	3.60

Washington Lieutenant Governor Election, 2008
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	1,718,033	60.80
Republican	Marcia McCraw	1,107,634	39.20

Washington Lieutenant Governor Primary Election, 2012
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	648,110	48.51
Republican	Bill Finkbeiner	325,195	26.36
Independent Republican	Glenn Anderson	229,318	17.17
Independent	James Robert Deal	53,694	4.02
Democracy Independent	Mark Greene	46,534	3.48
Neopopulist	Dave Sumner, IV	6,057	0.45

Washington Lieutenant Governor Election, 2012
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Brad Owen (inc.)	1,575,133	53.68
Republican	Bill Finkbeiner	1,359,212	46.32