State Representative, Pos. 2
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Shea (R) | 35,555 | 56.74% |
| Amy Biviano (D) | 27,110 | 43.26% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
About the Race
The Fourth Legislative District, which includes Spokane Valley, Millwood, Liberty Lake and much of northeast Spokane County, hasn’t been represented by a Democrat since 1992. This year, however, Democrats believe that the seat held by incumbent state Rep. Matt Shea is in play, in part, because of division in the GOP about Shea’s leadership and the misdemeanor gun charge Shea faces in Spokane Municipal Court for keeping a loaded gun in his pickup without a valid concealed weapons permit. Shea faces Amy Biviano, the former chairwoman of the Spokane County Democratic Party – not a title that’s particularly attractive on a resume for the conservative district.
Legislators are paid $42,106 annually, plus healthcare benefits. House terms are two years.
The Candidates
Matt Shea
- Party:
- Republican
- Age:
- 50
- City:
- Spokane Valley, WA
- Occupation:
- Lawyer
Education: Graduated from high school in Bellingham. Earned bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Gonzaga University in 1996. Earned law degree from Gonzaga in 2006.
Political experience: Elected to state House every two years since 2008. Serves as assistant ranking minority member on the House’s Labor and Workforce and Judiciary committees.
Work experience: Attorney at M. Casey Law since 2013. Formerly handled personal injury cases at Keith S. Douglass and Associates. Co-founded the Washington Family Foundation. Served 4 ½ years in the army, entering as a lieutenant in 1996, including eight months in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Later served 11 months in Iraq as a captain in the Army and Army National Guard.
Family: Divorced and remarried. No children.
Amy Biviano
- Party:
- Democrat
- Age:
- 49
- City:
- Spokane Valley, WA
- Occupation:
- Certified public accountant
AMY BIVIANO
Education: Graduate from Pauls Valley High School in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. Earned bachelor’s degree in anthropology, Yale University, 1997. Earned master’s in business administration from Gonzaga University, 2007
Work experience: Self-employed CPA and accounting consultant, 2009-present. Accountant, Spokane County United Way, 2008.
Political experience: Ran unsuccessfully for state representative in the Fourth Legislative District in 2012. Former chairwoman of the Spokane County Democratic Party. Member, Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce government affairs committee, 2010-present.
Complete Coverage
Shea bill targets electoral voting
OLYMPIA – Changing the way the state casts its Electoral College votes for president would be fairer to Eastern Washington voters, a Spokane Valley legislator said Tuesday. A Democratic leader, however, said the bill is a way Republicans could win the White House through gerrymandered districts without a majority of the popular vote.
Abortion notification bill will get hearing in Senate
OLYMPIA – A proposed law requiring parents to be notified of an abortion for any girl under 18 will get a hearing in a Senate committee this year, and possibly a full debate and floor vote. State Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, told a cheering crowd of anti-abortion activists Tuesday that a parental notification bill will get the first Senate hearing in years sometime during the next few weeks.
Shea gun charge dropped
State Rep. Matt Shea no longer faces a misdemeanor gun charge sparked when he pulled a gun during a road-rage dispute. Shea, R-Spokane Valley, was charged in 2011 for keeping a loaded gun in his pickup without a valid concealed weapons permit.
Amy Biviano applies for Spokane Valley council
Former Washington state legislature candidate Amy Biviano is one of nine people who have applied to fill a vacant position on the Spokane Valley City Council. Biviano lost to Rep. Matt Shea in the November election after a closely watched campaign.
Clark: Friendship, hug are election night surprises
The Presidential Press Posse had just prowled into the Lair of Democrats in the Red Lion Hotel at the Park when a guy I barely know sidled up to me. “Heard there was quite a panic over where the GOP’s partying,” said the man, who identified himself as Rick Lloyd.
Democrats holding edge in Legislature
Democrats appear likely to hold on to both chambers of the Washington Legislature. Republicans had pushed to recapture the state Senate, where the Democrats currently have five more seats than Republicans. Control of the House has not been as much in dispute because Democrats have a wider margin, with 14 more seats than the GOP, and the party appeared to easily maintain a wide majority there.
Biviano vs Shea, Taxes
Amy Biviano, a Democrat, talks about her stance on the requirement for two-thirds votes to approve tax increases. She is running for state House in the 4th Legislative District against incumbent Republican state Rep. Matt Shea, who declined to be interviewed.
Ad Watch: Mix-up in Shea mailer
State Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane, mailed a new ad to voters late last week that sharply criticizes media coverage of him and misrepresents his and his opponent’s positions on key issues. The race between Shea and Democrat Amy Biviano has become one of the most watched in the region, in part because of Shea’s misdemeanor gun charge for possessing a gun in his car without a valid concealed weapons permit and Biviano’s appearance in the “Women of the Ivy League” edition of Playboy magazine when she was a student at Yale University 17 years ago.
Biviano vs. Shea, Abortion
Amy Biviano, a Democrat, talks about her stance on abortion policy. She is running for state House in the 4th Legislative District against incumbent Republican state Rep. Matt Shea, who declined to be interviewed.
Biviano vs. Shea, Energy
Amy Biviano, a Democrat, gives her stance on a state law approved by voters that requires larger power companies to get 15 percent of their energy supplies from renewable sources, not including existing dam infrastructure, by 2020. She is running for state House in the 4th Legislative District against incumbent Republican state Rep. Matt Shea, who declined to be interviewed.
Biviano vs. Shea, Freeway and Sullivan Bridge
Amy Biviano, a Democrat, talks about her stance on the North Spokane Corridor and the Sullivan Road bridge. She is running for state House in the 4th Legislative District against incumbent Republican state Rep. Matt Shea, who declined to be interviewed.
Doug Clark: Amy Biviano vs. Matt Shea, the race that keeps on giving
The tipster called me midday Friday with two eye-popping political developments, namely that 4th District state legislative candidate Amy Biviano appeared topless in a 1995 Playboy magazine spread. Five words immediately came to mind.
Legislative candidate Amy Biviano unfazed by Playboy pic
Amy Biviano, the Democratic challenger in a high-profile battle for a legislative seat representing Spokane Valley, is defending a 1995 topless photo shoot with Playboy magazine as a confidence-building experience while she attended Yale University. In an interview Friday, following a conservative website’s disclosure that Biviano appeared in a “Women of the Ivy League” edition of the popular men’s magazine, Biviano said she doesn’t regret the photo shoot but wouldn’t do it again as a mother.
Biviano vs. Shea, Education: Are higher taxes needed?
Amy Biviano, a Democrat, talks about her position on education funding and taxes. She is running for state House in the 4th Legislative District against incumbent Republican state Rep. Matt Shea, who declined to be interviewed.
Legislative hopeful Amy Biviano posed topless in Playboy
Amy Biviano, the Democratic challenger in a high-profile battle for a legislative seat representing Spokane Valley, is defending a 1995 topless photo shoot with Playboy magazine as a confidence-building experience while attending Yale University.
Biviano vs. Shea, Introduction
Amy Biviano, a Democrat, makes her case about why she feels that she’s the best choice to represent the state House in the 4th Legislative District. Incumbent Republican state Rep. Matt Shea declined interview requests.
Solidly GOP district seeing spirited race between Matt Shea, Amy Biviano
To Republican state Rep. Matt Shea, Americans are on the verge of becoming slaves, and he has a plan to stop it. Among his proposals: The federal government should make its payments to states only in gold or silver. The FBI and other federal officers must get permission from county sheriffs to arrest people. Guns made and sold in Washington should not be restricted by federal law.