Tim Sheldon

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Tim Sheldon has served two terms as a Democrat in the Washington State Senate, representing the 35th district, after serving four terms in the state House of Representatives.^[1] In November 2006 he was re-elected to a third, four-year term.^[2]

In 2006, Sheldon was the Vice Chair of the International Trade and Economic Development Committee and a member of the Agriculture and Rural Economic Development and Transportation Committees.^[3]

[edit] Conflicts with Democratic Party

Sheldon is frequently in conflict with the Democratic Party. On many votes he has sided with the Republican caucus, giving them a majority to defeat Democrat-supported legislation. In 2005 Sheldon was one of two Democrats (the other being Senator James Hargrove) to vote against HB 1515 (providing gays and lesbians with protection from discrimination in housing, employment and insurance). With the Democrats holding a 26-23 majority in the Senate, the bill failed by a single vote.^[4] The following year, Republican Senator Bill Finkbeiner broke ranks with his own caucus to vote for a similar bill, HB 2661, which passed the senate by one vote and became law on June 7, 2006.^[5]

In 2004 Tim Sheldon chaired the Democrats to elect Bush committee in Washington. This outraged many Democrats.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, the Mason County Democrats contributed money to Senator Sheldon's Green Party opponent, Marilou Rickert^[6], but did not endorse a candidate in the race. In 2006, the Washington State Democratic Party, as well as several county Democratic parties openly supported Senator Sheldon's primary election opponent, Kyle Taylor Lucas[1], contributing both money and endorsements.^[7]^[8]

Sheldon often responds to unhappy Democrats by saying that he represents his district before he represents his party. Critics claim he is not honest with his constituents about what principles he supports.^{[citation needed]}