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Denny Heck
official portrait, 2021
17th Lieutenant Governor of Washington
Incumbent
Assumed office January 13, 2021
Governor	Jay Inslee Bob Ferguson (elect)
Preceded by	Cyrus Habib
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 10th district
In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2021
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Marilyn Strickland
Chief Clerk of the Washington House of Representatives
In office January 14, 1985 – January 12, 1987
Preceded by	Dean R. Foster
Succeeded by	Alan Thompson
Majority Leader of the Washington House of Representatives
In office January 10, 1983 – January 14, 1985
Preceded by	Gary A. Nelson
Succeeded by	Joseph E. King
Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 17th district
In office January 10, 1977 – January 14, 1985
Preceded by	Eugene Laughlin
Succeeded by	Kim Peery
Personal details
Born	Dennis Lynn Heck (1952-07-29) July 29, 1952 (age 72) Vancouver, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Paula Fruci ​(m. 1976)​
Children	2
Education	Evergreen State College (BA)

Dennis Lynn Heck (born July 29, 1952) is an American 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 from 2013 to 2021 and as a state representative from 1977 to 1985.

In 2010, Heck was the Democratic nominee for the 3rd congressional district, but was defeated by Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler. Following redistricting, Washington added a 10th congressional district in which Heck lived representing Pierce, Thurston, and Mason counties. He won that U.S. House seat in 2012, where he served there from 2013 until 2021. In 2020, he ran for lieutenant governor of Washington, a position he won and has served in since January 2021. He won reelection to a second term in 2024.

Early life and education

Heck was born in Vancouver, Washington 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 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 in 1970 and accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, which he attended briefly before enrolling in and later graduating from Evergreen State College in Olympia in 1973. He also attended graduate school at Portland State University from 1974 to 1975.

Early career

Washington House of Representatives

Starting in 1976, Heck was elected to five terms in the Washington House of Representatives, 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.

Following his service in the state house, Heck served a term as chief clerk of the House and then as served as chief of staff for Governor Booth Gardner during his second term (1989–1993).

Private sector

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 C-SPAN. TVW provides coverage of the Washington State Legislature and sessions of the Washington Supreme Court.

Heck was the co-founder with Christopher Hedrick 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.

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.

U.S. House of Representatives (2013–2021)

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 Jaime Herrera, who won 28% of the vote.

Heck was endorsed by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer 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 commission announced tentative maps, Heck announced that he was running for the newly created 10th district. In the general election on November 6, 2012, Heck defeated Republican challenger Dick Muri to become the district's first congressman.

2014

Heck won with 54.7% of the vote over Republican Joyce McDonald.

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
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Caucus memberships

• New Democrat Coalition
• Congressional Arts Caucus
• U.S.-Japan Caucus

Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act

Since 2013, Heck and Representative Ed Perlmutter 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 margin, marking the first time that a standalone cannabis reform bill had passed either chamber of Congress.

Lieutenant governor of Washington (2021–present)

On December 4, 2019, Heck announced that he would not seek reelection to Congress in 2020. On April 3, 2020, he filed to run for lieutenant governor. He defeated Marko Liias in the 2020 general election.

In May 2023, Heck revealed plans to seek reelection. In the nonpartisan primary in August 2024 he led, with 48.65% of the vote, Republican challengers Dan Matthews (23.0%) and Bob Hagglund (16.7%). The general election saw Heck win against Matthews by a margin of roughly 55.7% to 44.2%.

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, 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.

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.

Electoral history

State legislature

Lieutenant governor

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

1. "Meet Denny".
2. "TVW". Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
3. "Digital Efficiency". Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
4. "Intrepid Learning Solutions". Archived from the original on September 18, 2010.
5. "Intrepid Learning Inc.'s corporate learning platform". Archived from the original on October 16, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
6. Inside Olympia. TVW. 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
7. "Denny Heck enters race for Baird's seat". January 7, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
8. Kyle Trygstad (August 26, 2010). "Herrera Up Big in WA-3 Poll". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on August 31, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
9. PI.com: Send Denny Heck to Congress, editorial board, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 12, 2010.
10. "Congressional District 3". Retrieved November 23, 2016.
11. The Seattle Times | Denny Heck signals possible run for new 10th District, Seattle Times", May 23, 2011.
12. Connelly, Joel (December 28, 2011). "A "Denny District" -- new House $$ pitches". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
13. Schrader, Jordan; Shannon, Brad. "Democrats Derek Kilmer, Denny Heck win Congressional races". The News Tribune. Tacoma News, Inc. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
14. "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
15. "Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
16. "Members". U.S. - Japan Caucus. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
17. "SAFE Banking Act Introduced as Congress Looks to Address Cannabis Banking Issue" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: house.gov. March 7, 2019. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020.
18. "Perlmutter, Heck Introduce Commonsense Marijuana Business Access To Banking Act" (Press release). house.gov. July 10, 2013. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020.
19. Wallace, Alicia (April 27, 2017). "New federal bill would allow banking for marijuana businesses". The Cannabist. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
20. "Joint Release: Safe Banking Act Passes U.S. House Of Representatives With Overwhelming, Bipartisan Support" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: house.gov. September 25, 2019. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020.
21. Jaeger, Kyle (September 25, 2019). "House Approves Marijuana Banking Bill In Historic Vote". Marijuana Moment. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
22. Bowman, Bridget (December 4, 2019). "Washington Democratic Rep. Denny Heck not running for reelection". Roll Call. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
23. Drew, James (April 3, 2020). "U.S. Rep. Heck files paperwork to run for state Lieutenant Governor". The News Tribune. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
24. Lacitis, Erik (November 3, 2020). "Denny Heck defeats Marko Liias in Washington state lieutenant governor election results". Seattle Times. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
25. Cornfield, Jerry (May 25, 2023). "Heck launches re-election bid for lieutenant governor". Washington State Standard. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
26. "Denny Heck". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
27. ^ "Official Canvass of the Returns" (PDF). Secretary of State of Washington. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
28. "Denny Heck: Part liberal, part conservative". The Columbian. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
29. "Board of Trustees at Evergreen". Retrieved November 23, 2016.
30. "Washington State Historical Society > Research". Retrieved November 23, 2016.
31. "Washington Learn Steering Committee". Archived from the original on November 3, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
32. "Election Search Results – Elections & Voting – WA Secretary of State". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
33. "Official Canvass of the Returns" (PDF). Secretary of State of Washington. Retrieved December 3, 2024.

External links

• Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck official government website
• Denny Heck for Lt. Governor campaign website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Appearances on C-SPAN

v t e Statewide elected officials and legislative leaders of Washington
U.S. senators	Patty Murray Maria Cantwell
State government	Jay Inslee, Governor Denny Heck, Lieutenant Governor Steve Hobbs, Secretary of State Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Mike Pellicciotti, Treasurer Pat McCarthy, Auditor Hilary Franz, Land Commissioner Mike Kreidler, Insurance Commissioner Chris Reykdal, Superintendent
Senate	Denny Heck, President Vacant, President pro tempore Andy Billig, Majority Leader John Braun, Minority Leader
House	Laurie Jinkins, Speaker Vacant, Speaker pro tempore Joe Fitzgibbon, Majority Leader Drew Stokesbary, Minority Leader
Supreme Court	Steven González, Chief Justice Charles Johnson, Associate Chief Justice Barbara Madsen Susan Owens Debra Stephens Sheryl McCloud Mary Yu Raquel Montoya-Lewis Helen Whitener

v t e Lieutenant governors of Washington
	Laughton Luce Daniels McBride Coon Hay Hart Coyle Johnson Gellatly Meyers Anderson Cherberg Pritchard Owen Habib Heck

• 1952 births
• 20th-century members of the Washington State Legislature
• 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• Chiefs of staff to the governor of Washington
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state)
• Evergreen State College alumni
• Lieutenant governors of Washington (state)
• Living people
• Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives
• People from Vancouver, Washington
• Politicians from Vancouver, Washington