Dennis Lynn Heck (born July 29, 1952) is an American entrepreneur and politician serving as the 17th
lieutenant governor of Washington. A member of the
Democratic Party, he previously served as the
U.S. representative for
Washington's 10th congressional district
Washington's 10th congressional district is a congressional district in western Washington. The district is centered on the state capital, Olympia, and includes portions of Thurston and Pierce counties (including parts of Tacoma). It was cre ...
from 2013 to 2021 and as a
state representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United S ...
from 1977 to 1985.
Born and raised in
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...
, Heck attended
The Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a p ...
in
Olympia. Following his service in the state house, Heck served a term as Chief Clerk of the House and then as Deputy Chief of Staff/Chief of Staff to Governor Booth Gardner. Upon Governor Gardner's retirement in 1995, Heck and a friend and colleague, Stan Marshburn, co-founded TVW, a nonprofit statewide public affairs network for Washington State patterned after CSPAN. Upon his "retirement" in 2003, Heck concentrated on helping to build a for-profit company he had founded specializing in business oriented education and training programs
Heck served as the host for the TVW public affairs show ''
Inside Olympia'' in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
[''Inside Olympia''](_blank)
TVW. 2022. Accessed March 30, 2022.
In 2010, Heck attempted to return to politics as the Democratic nominee for the
3rd congressional district, but was defeated by
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Jaime Herrera Beutler
Jaime Lynn Herrera Beutler ( ; born November 3, 1978) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. The district is in southwestern Washington, lying across the Columbia River from Oregon's Portland met ...
. Following
redistricting
Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral distri ...
, Washington added a 10th congressional district in which Heck lived representing Pierce, Thurston, and Mason County, and Heck won that seat in the U.S. House in 2012, where he served there from 2013 until 2021. In 2020,
he ran to become the
lieutenant governor of Washington, a position he won and has served in since January 2021.
Early life and education
Heck was born in
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...
, in 1952 and raised in the
Lake Shore area of
Clark County. One day his father did not come back home so Heck's mother took him and his older brother and borrowed money to take a bus back to Vancouver to get her old job back as a telephone operator. Heck's mother divorced and later married a
Teamster
A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada.
Origi ...
truck driver who provided him and his family a better life. Vic Heck, Heck's mother's new husband, later adopted him and his brother Bob. Heck graduated from
Columbia River High School
Columbia River High School is a public high school in Vancouver, Washington, United States. It is part of the Vancouver Public Schools system and opened in 1962. Columbia River has over 1,200 students. Columbia River is a magnet school in the VSD ...
in 1970 and accepted an appointment to the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
at West Point, which he attended briefly before enrolling in and later graduating from
Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a p ...
in
Olympia in 1973. He also attended graduate school
Portland State University
Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two dec ...
from 1974 to 1975.
Early career
Heck was the co-founder with
Christopher Hedrick
Christopher "Chris" Hedrick is an entrepreneur and expert in learning, global health, international development, and technology.
NextStep
Hedrick is CEO of NextStep Interactive, a venture-capital backed company that trains low-wage and unemployed ...
of Intrepid Learning Solutions. He served as a board director of the company from 1999 until 2012. The company specialized in business oriented education and training programs. He helped found Digital Efficiency, which specialized in aiding businesses and medical facilities in transitioning toward an all-digital format. Heck helped found
TVW, the public affairs network for Washington State. TVW provides coverage of the
Washington State Legislature
The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Sena ...
and sessions of the
Washington Supreme Court
The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. Justices must retire ...
.
Heck is the author of ''Challenges and Opportunities: The Transformation of Washington's Schools'', published in 1987, ''Lucky Bounce'' published in 2015, a novel titled ''The Enemy You Know'' published in 2018, and ''Sausage'' an unvarnished behind-the-scenes look at his time in Congress, published in 2022.
Washington House of Representatives
Starting in 1976, Heck was elected to five terms in the
Washington House of Representatives
The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...
, representing the
17th legislative district in Clark,
Skamania, and
Klickitat counties. During that time he was elected House Majority Leader, the second-ranking position in the House. He also co-chaired the Education Committee and wrote the state's historic Basic Education Act.
Heck served as
chief of staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
for Governor
Booth Gardner
William Booth Gardner (August 21, 1936 – March 15, 2013) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Washington from 1985 to 1993. He also served as the ambassador of the GATT. A member of the Democratic Party, Gardner previ ...
during his second term (1989–1993).
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
;2010
In early 2010, Heck announced his candidacy to replace the retiring
Democratic incumbent
Brian Baird. He won the primary with 31% of the vote and faced runner-up
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Jaime Herrera, who won 28% of the vote.
Heck was endorsed by the ''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The newspaper was fo ...
'' on October 12, 2010. Heck lost to Herrera in the general election, 47% to 53%.
;2012
Heck indicated in the spring of 2011 that he would run for Congress again in 2012. Soon after the state's
redistricting
Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral distri ...
commission announced tentative maps, Heck announced that he was running for the newly created 10th district. In the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
on November 6, 2012, Heck defeated
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
challenger
Dick Muri
Richard Walter Muri (born November 30, 1953) is an American politician. He is the appointed Mayor of the Town of Steilacoom after longtime Mayor Ron Lucas stepped down for health reasons in March 2021, before passing away just weeks later. He is ...
to become the district's first congressman.
;2014
Heck won with 54.7% of the vote over Republican
Joyce McDonald
Joyce McDonald (born December 14, 1952) is an American politician from the state of Washington. A member of the Republican Party, McDonald served as a councilor for Pierce County, Washington from 2009 to 2016. She served in the Washington Hous ...
.
;2016
Heck won with 58.7% of the vote over Republican Jim Postma.
;2018
Heck won with 61.5% of the vote over Republican Joseph Brumbles.
Committee assignments
*
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
**
Subcommittee on Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support
**
Subcommittee on Strategic Technologies and Advanced Research
*
Committee on Financial Services
The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees t ...
**
Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
**
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Caucus memberships
*
New Democrat Coalition
The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters.
As of ...
*
Congressional Arts Caucus
*
U.S.-Japan Caucus
Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act
Since 2013, Heck and Representative
Ed Perlmutter
Edwin George Perlmutter (born May 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, his district is located in the northern and western suburbs of the Denver metropolitan area ...
have introduced legislation to improve access to banking and financial services for cannabis businesses. Initially known as the Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act, it was rebranded as the
Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in 2017. On September 25, 2019, the House of Representatives passed the SAFE Banking Act by a 321–103 vote, marking the first time that a standalone cannabis reform bill had passed either chamber of Congress.
Electoral history
State legislature
Lieutenant governor
On December 4, 2019, Heck announced that he would not seek reelection to Congress in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
. On April 3, 2020, he filed to run for
lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
.
Personal life
Heck and his wife Paula Fruci have been married since 1976 and have two sons.
In 2008, he wrote and performed a one-man play, ''Our Times'', to several sold-out audiences. He and his wife, Paula, who directed the play, donated all proceeds to local charities.
Heck has supported numerous organizations within
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, both actively and as a contributor. He has served on the board of trustees for
The Evergreen State College,the board for the
Washington State History Museum., was a member of the Steering Committee for the Washington Learns Commission; a long-term strategy to improve the education system of Washington.
Works
* ''Challenges and Opportunities: The Transformation of Washington's Schools'', Advance Washington (1987)
* ''Lucky Bounce'', Amazon (2015)
* ''The Enemy You Know'', Amazon (2018)
* ''Sausage'', Amazon (2022)
References
External links
Lieutenant Governor Denny Heckofficial government website
Denny Heck for Lt. Governorcampaign website
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heck, Dennis
1952 births
20th-century American politicians
21st-century American politicians
Chiefs of staff to United States state governors
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state)
Evergreen State College alumni
Lieutenant Governors of Washington (state)
Living people
Members of the Washington House of Representatives
People from Vancouver, Washington
Politicians from Vancouver, Washington