Jay Rodne

Jay Rodne
Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 5th district
In office January 20, 2004 (2004-01-20) – January 14, 2019
Preceded by	Cheryl Pflug
Succeeded by	Bill Ramos
Snoqualmie City Council, Position No. 5
In office January 1, 2002 (2002-01-01) – January 20, 2004 (2004-01-20)
Preceded by	Cathy (Runkle) Reed
Succeeded by	Maria Henriksen
Personal details
Born	Jay Robert Rodne (1966-03-21) March 21, 1966 Minnesota
Nationality	American Bad River Ojibwe
Party	Republican
Spouse	Heidi Lynne Rodne
Residence	Snoqualmie, Washington
Alma mater	Creighton University (BA) Gonzaga University (JD) University of Washington (MHA)
Profession	Lawyer
Website	Official
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1989 – 1993 [4 years] (active) 1993 – present [33 years] (reserve)
Rank	File:US-O6 insignia.svg Colonel

Jay Robert Rodne (born March 21, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician of the Republican Party. He is a former member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 5th Legislative District. Rodne is of Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians ancestry. He was appointed to the House in 2004 and did not seek reelection in 2018.

Career

Rodne was the primary sponsor for 13 bills in the 2015–2016 session. His most recent co-sponsored bill was HB 2453 that passed unanimously and is designed to improve oversight at state mental hospitals. His committee assignments included Transportation, Health Care and Wellness, and Judiciary, where he was the ranking minority member.

Rodne is a Colonel in the USMC Reserve. He has been the commanding officer of 4th Landing Support Battalion, headquartered in Fort Lewis, Washington. He deployed overseas as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. During his active duty years, he deployed to Operation Restore Hope in Somalia and Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf War.

Comments about Islam

Following the November 2015 Paris attacks which ISIS claimed responsibility for, Rodne made a Facebook post claiming that President Obama "wants to import 1.5 million Muslims into the U.S." The Seattle Times found Rodne's claim to be false. After receiving criticism for his comments, Rodne said, "The majority of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims are peaceful and want nothing more than to live in peace. And if they are here in America, they want nothing more than to live and enjoy our freedoms."

Lobbying career

In April 2019, he registered as a foreign agent to consult and lobby for the Kingdom of Cambodia. His consulting company co-owned with state senator Doug Ericksen will be paid $500,000 a year to arrange official visits between the countries and business leaders.