Matt Shea

Matt Shea


Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the Position 2, 4th legislative district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 12, 2009 (2009-01-12)
Preceded by	Lynn Schindler
Personal details
Born	Matthew Thomas Shea (1974-04-18) April 18, 1974 Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lisa (Jenn) Shea (2002-2008) Viktoriya (Vinnikova) Shea (2008-present)
Residence	Spokane Valley, Washington
Alma mater	Gonzaga University (B.A.) Gonzaga University (J.D.)
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Christianity
Awards	Bronze Star Medal Meritorious Service Medal Army Commendation Medal (2) Army Achievement Medal (4) Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Combat Infantryman Badge NATO Medal Order of the Spur Order of Saint Maurice
Website	Official
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army Washington Army National Guard
Years of service	1996–2000 2001–2006
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Bosnian War Iraq War

Matthew Thomas "Matt" Shea (born April 18, 1974) is an American politician of the Republican Party. He is a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 4th Legislative District.

First elected in 2008, he voted against the Washington State Gay marriage legislation in 2009. The legislation passed.^[1] In 2011, he joined a coalition of state legislators from various states opposing birthright citizenship.^[2] In 2012, Shea received the National Federation of Independent Business's Guardian of Small Business award for a 100% pro-small business voting record. He was reelected in 2012 with 56.7% of the vote.

Shea endorsed Ron Paul during the 2012 Republican presidential primaries.

In November 2011, Shea "pulled a gun during a confrontation with another motorist...in what police reports describe as a road rage incident."^[3] The driver accused of road rage, by Shea and independent witnesses, stated in the police report that he "did not believe that the driver of the truck pointed a gun at him at any time."^[4] Additionally, the driver admitted that he "slammed on his brakes as the Ford Ranger was following him, in an attempt to cause a collision and potentially disable the truck." However, Shea was found to have let his concealed weapons permit expire "years ago". Although cited by Spokane Police for carrying a loaded firearm in his vehicle without a permit and for displaying the firearm in a manner to alarm others, he was charged in court with a single count of having a loaded pistol in his vehicle without a valid permit, resulting in the city agreeing to a stipulated order of continuance.

Shea is a founding member of COWS, Coalition of Western States, which is concerned with government overreach and which now claims to have over 50 legislative members.^[5] He founded it along with several other local politicians as part of a visit to the Bundy ranch,^[6] related to the Bundy standoff and later to the Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Shea has also been the focus of news articles related to angry outbursts at his legislative office and a report that he was disarmed by a commander while he served in Iraq due to anger management issues.^[7]

Although Shea has been subject to numerous controversies, his district is strongly conservative, and he manages to win by margins in excess of eight points every election cycle, despite a strong attempt to unseat him in 2012 by CPA Amy Biviano, a Democrat, who was able to garner some Republican support. She ended up losing by 13%.

References

↑ Spokesman-Review (Spokane) April 16, 2009
↑ "State lawmakers join debate on citizenship" Seattle Times January 6, 2011
↑ http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/jul/22/legislator-pulled-gun-during-road-incident/ July 24, 2012
↑ PRESS RELEASE: Focusing on the Issues - Focusing on the Truth
↑
↑ http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/republican-gop-politicians-coalition-western-states/
↑ http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2011/feb/05/mccaslin-blasts-shea-as-possible-successor-for/

Members of the Washington House of Representatives

64th State Legislature (2015–2017) Speaker of the House: Frank Chopp (D) Speaker pro Tempore: Jim Moeller (D) Majority Leader: Pat Sullivan (D) Minority Leader: Dan Kristiansen (R)

Derek Stanford (D) Luis Moscoso (D) Vacant J.T. Wilcox (R) Marcus Riccelli (D) Timm Ormsby (D) Bob McCaslin, Jr. (R) Matt Shea (R) Jay Rodne (R) Chad Magendanz (R) Kevin Parker (R) Jeff Holy (R) Shelly Short (R) Joel Kretz (R) Brad Klippert (R) Larry Haler (R) Mary Dye (R) Joe Schmick (R) Norma Smith (R) Dave Hayes (R) Zack Hudgins (D) Steve Bergquist (D) Cary Condotta (R) Brad Hawkins (R) Tom Dent (R) Matt Manweller (R) Norm Johnson (R) Gina McCabe (R) Bruce Chandler (R) David Taylor (R) Maureen Walsh (R) Terry Nealey (R) Lynda Wilson (R) Paul Harris (R) Brandon Vick (R) Liz Pike (R) JD Rossetti (D) Brian Blake (D) Richard DeBolt (R) Ed Orcutt (R) Strom Peterson (D) Lillian Ortiz-Self (D) Chris Reykdal (D) Sam Hunt (D) Sherry Appleton (D) Drew Hansen (D) Kevin Van De Wege (D) Steve Tharinger (D) Melanie Stambaugh (R) Hans Zeiger (R) Jesse Young (R) Michelle Caldier (R) Laurie Jinkins (D) Jake Fey (D) Dick Muri (R) Christine Kilduff (D) David Sawyer (D) Steve Kirby (D) Linda Kochmar (R) Teri Hickel (R) Drew Stokesbary (R) Christopher Hurst (D) Cindy Ryu (D) Ruth Kagi (D) Tina Orwall (D) Mia Gregerson (D) Eileen Cody (D) Joe Fitzgibbon (D) Dan Griffey (R) Drew MacEwen (R) Reuven Carlyle (D) Gael Tarleton (D) Sharon Tomiko Santos (D) Eric Pettigrew (D) June Robinson (D) Mike Sells (D) Dan Kristiansen (R) Elizabeth Scott (R) Kristine Lytton (D) Jeff Morris (D) Tana Senn (D) Judy Clibborn (D) Luanne Van Werven (R) Vincent Buys (R) Brady Walkinshaw (D) Frank Chopp (D) Hans Dunshee (D) Mark Harmsworth (R) Roger Goodman (D) Larry Springer (D) Gerry Pollet (D) Jessyn Farrell (D) Mark Hargrove (R) Pat Sullivan (D) Patty Kuderer (D) Joan McBride (D) Sharon Wylie (D) Jim Moeller (D)

Democratic (50) Republican (47) Washington State Legislature Washington House of Representatives Washington State Senate

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, March 19, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.