Timothy Markham Sheldon (born March 9, 1947) is an American farmer, businessman, and politician serving as a member of the

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympi ...

, representing the 35th District since 1997. The district includes all of Mason County and parts of Thurston and Kitsap counties. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, Sheldon has been caucusing with the Republican-dominated

Majority Coalition Caucus The Majority Coalition Caucus (MCC) was a caucus formed on December 10, 2012, by all 23 Republican members of the Washington State Senate and two Democratic senators. Its membership constituted a majority of the chamber's 49 members, allowing i ...

and afterwards the Republican Caucus since 2012. He previously represented Mason County as a Mason County Commissioner for District 2 from 2005 to 2017 and served as a member of 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 ...

from 1991 to 1997.

Early life and education

Sheldon was born and raised in

Mason County, Washington Mason County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,726. The county seat and only incorporated city is Shelton. The county was formed out of Thurston County on March 13, 1854. Original ...

. He attended public schools until he entered the

Wharton School of Business The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1965, graduating in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. He earned his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Career

Following a decade of work in economic development for Native American tribes, Sheldon began a new career as executive director of the non-profit Mason County Economic Development Council, a post he held for 18 years. First elected to the

for a term beginning in 1991, Sheldon served three terms there before being elected to the State Senate in 1997, defeating incumbent appointed Democrat Lena Swanson. Currently in his fifth four-year Senate term, Sheldon is vice chair of the Energy Environment & Telecommunications Committee, and sits on the Rules and Transportation committees. Sheldon was an opponent of state funding for the Mariners and Seahawks sports stadiums, calling the proposed legislation " corporate welfare." He also voted against budgets when his party supported them. He voted for Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

in 2004 and then Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

in 2008. He was one of three Democratic state senators to vote against the gay-marriage bill. He later expressed regret over the vote and his opposition to LGBTQ rights, saying in a 2022 interview announcing his retirement that he had "tried to make up for it" with his votes in later years. After the 2012 state legislature elections, he and Senator Rodney Tom joined the Republicans in a "

," resulting in a power sharing agreement, effectively giving the two Democrats control of the state senate along with 23 Republicans. The Caucus chaired the most powerful committees (such as ways and means, commerce and labor, and K-12 education, among others) for the 2013-14 session, and a few committees, such as transportation were claimed as "bi-partisan", co-chaired with the Democratic Caucus. Sheldon subsequently became

president pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the Senate, elected by both Democrats and Republicans. He lost this position in 2015 when Democrats withdrew support in favor of Republican

Pam Roach Pamela Jean Roach (née Norris, born April 26, 1948) is an American politician who served as a member of the Pierce County Council from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as a member of the Washington State Se ...

. After Roach won a seat on the Pierce County Council in the 2016 election, Tim Sheldon, once again, became

of the

. Due to the special election held in November 2017, the Senate returned to a Democratic 25–24 majority. Sheldon once again lost his position as President Pro Tempore. Democrat Karen Keiser now occupied the position. The Majority Caucus was subsequently dissolved and replaced by a normal Republican Caucus, which Sheldon, while retaining his Democratic party registration, joined. In March 2022, Sheldon announced that he would not run for reelection.

Awards

* 2014 Guardians of Small Business award. Presented by NFIB.

References

External links

Sheldon's official State Senate pageSheldon's MCC page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Tim Living people Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Farmers from Washington (state) University of Washington Foster School of Business alumni County commissioners in Washington (state) Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators 1947 births People from Shelton, Washington 21st-century American politicians Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni