November 11, 2008
New Faces in the Legislature in 2009
The Senate will have three new faces in 2009. In the 41st district, Mercer Island to New Castle, Fred Jarrett (D) will move over from House to replace retiring Senator Brian Weinstein (D).
In the 40th district, Mt. Vernon to Bellingham and the San Juan Islands, retiring Senator Harriet Spanel (D) will be replaced by Kevin Ranker (D). Ranker, of Mount Vernon, is currently a San Juan County Councilmember. He has a degree from the Evergreen State College in Coastal Ecology and is the former Chair of the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council.
In the 2nd district, Spanaway to Eatonville, Senator Marilyn Rasmussen (D) of Eatonville lost to Randi Becker (R) also of Eatonville. Becker is retired from the medical industry. She lives on a 20 acres hobby farm. Both she and her family have been active in 4-H. Senator Rasmussen was chair of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. It is too soon to know who the new chair will be.
The changes give the Senate Republicans a net gain of one seat for a new total of 31 Democrats and 18 Republicans.
There will be many more changes in the House.
Eastern Washington will have five or six new Representatives, depending on how the 6th district in southwest Spokane County settles out. Incumbent Rep. Don Barlow (D) lost to Kevin Parker (R) who owns three coffee shops in Spokane. Incumbent Rep. John Ahern (R) is trailing John Driscoll (D) by 63 votes as of this writing.
In the 4th district in northeast Spokane County, Rep. Lynn Shindler (R) retired. She will be replaced by Matt Shea (R) who grew up in Spokane Valley and graduated from Gonzaga Law School. Shea's family has lived in Eastern Washington for four generations and ran the first stagecoach from Walla Walla to Colville.
The 7th district, covering the northeast corner of Washington will be represented by Shelly Short (R) of Addy in Stevens County. Short is a paralegal who most recently worked for Rep. Joel Kretz. She replaces the retiring Rep. Bob Sump (R).
In the 8th district, representing the Tri-Cities retiring Rep. Shirley Hankins (R) will be replaced by Brad Klippert (R) of Kennewick who is currently a Benton County deputy sheriff.
Rep. Mary Skinner (R) is retiring form the 14th district in Yakima. She will be replaced by Norm Johnson (R) who is currently a Yakima City Council Member and formerly a teacher and principal in Toppenish.
Western Washington will have nine or ten new representatives pending the final count in the 44th district. In a race too close to call, incumbent Liz Loomis (D) is trailing challenger Mike Hope (R) to represent the 44th district which includes Snohomish to Marysville.
In the 17th district in Vancouver, Rep. Jim Dunn (R) lost in the primary. He will be replaced by Tim Probst (D) who is currently the CEO of the Washington Workforce Association, the organization representing all of the Workforce Development Councils throughout the state. He holds a degree in government and international affairs from the University of Notre Dame.
The 25th district, Puyallup, will be represented by Bruce Dammeier (R) who owns a small printing business. Rep. Joyce McDonald (R) retired.
In the 26th district, representing parts of Kitsap County, Rep. Pat Lantz (D) retired. Her replacement will be Jan Angel (R) who is currently a Kitsap County Commissioner.
The 33rd district includes Kent, Des Moines and SeaTac. Rep. Shay Schual-Berke (D) retired. She will be replaced by Tina Orwall (D) of Normandy Park. Orwall trained as a social worker and currently works as a strategic planner for the City of Seattle Housing Office.
The 35th district, from Elma to Bremerton was represented by Rep. Bill Eickmeyer (D) who is retiring. He will be replaced by Fred Finn (D) of Belfair. Finn is an attorney who is currently self-employed as a real estate renovator.
Rep. Helen Sommers (D) represented the 36th district coving the area west of downtown Seattle for decades. Following her retirement, the area will be represented by Reuven Carlyle (D). Mr. Carlyle was supported by the Sierra Club and Washington Conservation Voters. His focus is on clean technology with an emphasis on plug-in electric hybrid cars.
In the 41st district, Mercer Island to Newcastle, Rep. Fred Jarret (D) moved to the Senate. In a very close race, Marcie Maxwell (D) of Renton won the seat. She is a self-employed realtor.
In the 46th district, covering the Northgate to Laurelhurst areas of Seattle, Rep. Jim McIntire (D) left to run successfully for State Treasurer. He will be replaced in the House by Scott White (D) who is a lecturer in the UW, Evans School of Public Affairs and a consultant to environmental, economic and community development organizations. He is also a former state House committee staffer.
In the 49th district in Vancouver, Rep. Bill Fromhold (D) retired. He will be replaced by Jim Jacks (D) who is currently head of business development an engineering and planning firm.
If current totals hold, House Republicans gain one seat for a new total of 63 Democrats and 37 Republicans.
Now that the election is over, the caucuses will fill vacant seats in leadership and on committees.
In the Senate, retiring Senator Spanel was majority caucus leader. Senator Weinstein chaired the Consumer Protection and Housing Committee and Senator Rasmussen chaired the Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. The caucus is expected to fill the leadership position at a meeting on November 15. It is too soon to know when new committee chairs will be selected or if committees will be reorganized.
Changes in House committees could be even more interesting. Rep. Helen Sommers had chaired the Appropriations Committee for decades. Rep. Fromhold chaired the Capital Budget committee. Rep. Pat Lantz chaired the Judiciary committee. All three retired. New chairs will be announced sometime before the legislative session starts January 12, 2009. It is likely that there will also be other changes in committee structure.
For more information on election results, see: http://vote.wa.gov/elections/wei/
