About Michael Golden
Michael Golden was born in 1964, the youngest of six children. His father was an Air Force Master Sergeant and his mother put herself through college to become a school teacher. Growing up in Pullman, Mike worked in the fields summers and during harvest, both as a field hand and as a grain truck driver. He graduated Pullman High School in 1982, then spent several years working in the woods of Northern Idaho as a logger and truck driver. He then returned to town and became a mechanic, first at local gas stations, then at a local Ford dealership.
Mike was married in 1990, which was the same year he returned to school. He and his wife both graduated WSU in 1993, she with a degree in Pharmacy and he with a degree in Political Science. Mike enjoyed college, graduating Summa Cum Laude, with Honors, Phi Beta Kappa. He was also a member of the Phi Kappa Phi and Golden Key national honor societies.
Mike and Lisa moved to Pierce County in 1993, where he entered the University of Puget Sound Law School. The school changed its name to Seattle University School of Law, and Mike graduated Cum Laude in 1996, having earned first-in-class honors in Criminal Law and Contract Law.
After graduation, Mike worked in private practice in the Tacoma area and served as a contract prosecutor for the City of Sumner. His work focused on civil rights litigation in both State and federal court, as well as contract law, insurance defense, criminal defense and criminal prosecution. Joining with the firm of Monte Hester, Inc., P.S., Mike continued to focus on civil rights and employment litigation, and assisted other lawyers in the firm on criminal cases. In private practice, Mike worked on numerous high profile cases, such as the Wenatchee Sex Ring and O.K. Boys Ranch cases, which involved complex and complicated litigation in state and federal court.
In 2002, Mike was hired as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Lewis County, where he became the County's primary civil litigator. As part of his job, Mike advised elected officials, including the Board of County Commissioners, on legal issues and day to day operations. He also served as the Risk Management deputy and provided legal advice and defense on personnel, employment, labor and general civil issues.
In 2006, Mike's boss (Jeremy Randolph), announced that he was going to retire. Mike and a former Deputy Prosecutor both ran for the position, and Mike won the election by nearly a two-to-one margin. Since January 1, 2007, Mike as been the elected Prosecuting Attorney for Lewis County. His focus has been to protect the community from the most violent offenders while increasing the emphasis on those who commit property crimes. He has also put a new focus on the Growth Management and flooding issues, working endless hours to ensure that the property and property rights of the citizens of Lewis County are also protected.
Mike's motto is that Lewis County should remain a great place to live and a bad place to commit crime, and the record shows that he continues to do a great job. He lives near Chehalis with his wife and two young children, and is currently running for his second term.