State Senate
Hansen will succeed Rolfes in Washington state Senate
Democratic state Rep. Drew Hansen of Bainbridge Island was appointed to the state Senate Wednesday by the Kitsap County Commission. He replaces Christine Rolfes, who resigned after getting named to the county commission in June. Hansen will serve the remainder of her term, which runs through the end of 2024. He represents the 23rd Legislative […]
Washington agency under fire for chopping down a memorial tree next to the Capitol
All that’s left of a Kwanzan cherry tree planted near the state Capitol in honor of the late Cal Anderson, Washington’s first openly gay lawmaker, is a stump. The plaque honoring the trailblazing social activist from Seattle is stored away. And legislative leaders are very angry that no one from the Department of Enterprise Services […]
Lead state Senate budget writer will leave Legislature for local government
The top lawmaker on the state Senate’s main budget-writing committee will be leaving behind the Legislature for a local political post on the Kitsap Peninsula. Sen. Christine Rolfes, a Democrat, on Monday won an appointment to a seat on the three-member Kitsap County Board of Commissioners, after the other board members voted to select her. […]
House lawmaker announces run for Mullet’s Senate seat
State Rep. Bill Ramos, D-Issaquah, will run for state Sen. Mark Mullet’s seat, following Mullet’s announcement Thursday that he would run for governor in 2024. Ramos since 2019 has represented the 5th Legislative District, which sprawls east of Seattle, toward Snoqualmie Pass and to the south stopping just shy of Enumclaw. He said in a […]
Top state Senate budget writer may land new political job
An influential state senator will make her case for a new political gig Wednesday morning. Sen. Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island, is among three finalists to fill a vacancy on the Kitsap County Commission. She, Brynn Felix, general counsel for Peninsula Community Health Services and Greg Nance, founder and chief executive officer of Run Far Foundation […]