Mike Padden

{{Short description|American politician from Washington}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Mike Padden

| image = Mike Padden.jpg

| caption = Padden in 2017

| state_senate = Washington

| district = 4th

| term_start = {{Start date|2011|11|29}}

| term_end = {{End date|2025|1|13}}

| predecessor = Jeff Baxter

| successor = Leonard Christian

| office1 = Spokane County District Court Judge, Position 3

| term_start1 = {{Start date|1995|03|23}}{{cite web|url=http://m.spokesman.com/stories/1995/mar/24/commissioners-judge-padden-is-best-conservative/ |title=Commissioners Judge Padden Is Best Conservative Legislator Appointed To Fill Vacancy On District Court Bench; Will Resign From House Immediately |publisher=spokesman.com |date=March 24, 1995 |access-date=January 15, 2015}}

| term_end1 = {{Start date|2007|01|08}}{{cite web|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2007/jan/07/judges-clout-cost-citizens/ |title=Judge's clout cost citizens |publisher=spokesman.com |date=January 7, 2007 |access-date=January 15, 2015}}

| predecessor1 = Raymond Tanksley Jr.

| successor1 = John O. Cooney

| state_house2 = Washington

| district2 = 4th

| term_start2 = {{Start date|1981|01|12}}

| term_end2 = {{Start date|1995|03|28}}

| predecessor2 = Walt O. Knowles

| successor2 = Mark Sterk

| birth_name = Michael John Padden

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|11|13}}{{cite web|url=http://www.khq.com/story/19400451/city-attorney-for-deer-park-1977-1980-member-of-the-state-house-of-representatives-from-1981-1995-spokane-county-district-court-judge-1995-2007 |title=Mike Padden (R) - Candidate for WA State Senate - Dist. 4 |publisher=khq.com |access-date=January 15, 2015}}

| birth_place = Portland, Oregon{{cite web|url=https://leg.wa.gov/LIC/Documents/Historical/Legislative%20Manuals/Legislative%20Manual%20-%20Red%20Book%202021_ONLINE.pdf|title=Legislative Manual, 2021-2022|work=Washington Legislature|year=2021|access-date=2021-12-24}}

| party = Republican Party

| spouse = Laura Joanna (Derr) Padden

| children = 5

| residence = Spokane Valley, Washington

| alma_mater = Gonzaga University (BA, JD)

| profession = City Attorney
State Representative
County District Court Judge
State Senator

| website = [http://mikepadden.src.wastateleg.org/ Official]

| signature = Mike Padden Signature.jpg

}}

Michael John Padden (born November 13, 1946) is a lawyer and politician from Spokane Valley, Washington. He was a member of the Washington State Senate representing Washington's 4th Legislative District.

Padden is well known as a "faithless elector", a presidential elector who casts his vote for someone other than for whom he has pledged to vote. In the 1976 U.S. presidential election, Gerald Ford, the Republican candidate and incumbent, had lost the race to Democrat and former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter. Rather than vote as pledged, for President Ford, Padden instead cast his vote for Ronald Reagan, who had lost the Republican nomination to Ford earlier that year.{{cite news|title=Should Presidential Election System Be Reformed?|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=Dec 27, 1976 |first=Matt |last=Pinkus |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z6YrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3_wFAAAAIBAJ&dq=mike%20padden%20faithless%20elector&pg=7128%2C5158523}}{{cite news|title=Washington Officially Casts Its 11 Electoral Votes For Kerry |author=Staff & News Services |date=Dec 13, 2004 |newspaper=Komo News|url=http://komonews.com/archive/washington-officially-casts-its-11-electoral-votes-for-kerry|access-date=Jul 21, 2016 }}

He entered the Washington House of Representatives in January 1981 and served there until 1995 when he was appointed to serve as a district court judge in the Spokane County District Court.{{cite web|url=http://www.abanet.org/jd/nhtsa/liaison_bios.html|title=NHTSA Judicial Outreach Liaisons - National Conference of Specialized Court Judges [ABA Judicial Division]|date=2000-01-01

|publisher=American Bar Association}} On June 13, 2006, Padden announced he would not run for re-election as judge.{{cite news|newspaper=The Spokesman Review|date=Jun 14, 2006|first=Jim|last=Camden|title=District judge to step down|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2006/jun/14/district-judge-to-step-down/}} In 2007, evidence surfaced that Padden used his influence as a judge to help direct more than $7.5 million in fees and interest payments to a former employer.{{cite news|newspaper=The Spokesman Review|date=Jan 7, 2007|first=Thomas |last=Clouse|title=Judge's clout cost citizens|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2007/jan/07/judges-clout-cost-citizens/}} At Padden's request, the state Commission on Judicial Conduct has issued a statement confirming that it examined complaints about Padden's 1999 selection of a former client as the official collection agency for District Court but found nothing to support an ethics violation. The commission typically acknowledges complaints only if it imposes discipline or sanctions. The agency, however, refused to disclose how it arrived at its conclusion or what the initial examination entailed.{{cite news|last=Clouse|first=Thomas|title=Padden takes on ethics issue|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/may/13/padden-takes-on-ethics-issue/|access-date=27 August 2011|newspaper=The Spokesman-Review|date=13 May 2011}}

Padden was elected to the Washington Senate in November 2011.