Denny Heck
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 from 2013 to 2021 and as a state representative from 1977 to 1985.
Denny Heck | |
|---|---|
| 17th Lieutenant Governor of Washington | |
| Assumed office January 13, 2021 | |
| Governor | Jay Inslee |
| 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 | July 29, 1952 Vancouver, Washington, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Paula Fruci (m. 1976) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Evergreen State College (BA) |
Born and raised in Vancouver, Washington, Heck attended The Evergreen State College 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 C-SPAN. 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.
In 2010, Heck attempted to return to politics as 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 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.