Dear Neighbors,

We’re just about three months out from the 2026 legislative session, and it’s been busy! Keep reading for an update on how I’ve been preparing for the 2027 session, meeting with stakeholders, and connecting with community members and leadership.

Community events

I attended Tukwila Mayor Tom McLeod’s State of the City Address in April, where Mayor McCloud updated the community on the current state of Tukwila, what the future looks like, and how we get there together. It was a wonderful gathering of neighbors charting a path forward. Tukwila is a vibrant, diverse, and growing community of about 22,000 residents, but it balloons to about 170,000 during the day due to all the commerce in the city. Southcenter, major employers, warehouses, hotels, and transportation hubs make it one of the largest daytime populations in the Puget Sound region. This all creates unique issues for the city and I’ll continue to work hard to address those issues and represent it well in Olympia.

I also attended a meeting about the proposed Boeing Access Road infill station. The station would add a Link light rail station to the existing 1 Line near South Boeing Access Road in Tukwila, adding an important stop between the Rainier Beach and Tukwila International Boulevard Stations in addition to 300 parking spaces. This station was promised in two voter approved Sound Transit ballot measures, yet we still have to fight for our south end representation to demand fairness and equity.

You may have heard that Sound Transit is facing a budget shortfall and is looking for ways to deliver the planned projects in Sound Transit’s most recent funding package (paid for by you, the taxpayers). I’m working with local elected officials and advocates to ensure Sound Transit delivers this station as originally planned. This station, and the similarly promised Graham Street Station, would serve some of the most diverse and economically disadvantaged residents in King County. Public transit should be accessible for everyone, and postponing or cancelling this station would impact some of our most vulnerable residents whose only option now is to pay exorbitantly high gas prices.

Bill development

I’ve continued to work to establish equitable, universal healthcare in Washington. I’ve met with the universal healthcare work group to fine-tune bills and strategy for this coming session—keep an eye out for more details!

Public bank work group

In a big win for a state bank, there was a $300,000 proviso included in the operating budget for a work group to develop an implementation plan for our publicly owned depository bank. We’re in the process of making appointments to the group and look forward to meeting soon! The proviso requires the Director of our Dept. Of Financial Institutions to Chair the nine-member work group, which will also be comprised of the State Treasurer, Auditor, Insurance Commissioner, a member of the Senate and House, and three banking experts.

Other updates

Here are some additional updates from my office:

  • I’ve long talked about how Washington’s part-time legislature poses several problems for Legislators and constituents alike. I had the opportunity to talk to KUOW about the matter, as well. You can read the article here.
  • The World Cup is almost here! The legislature dedicated funds in the capital budget to Starfire Sports Complex and the City of Renton in anticipation, and I’m excited to see the district on the world stage. The real bonus, though, is that we get to enjoy the facilities for years to come.

If you have ideas for policies you think I should introduce next session or improvements to any bill you saw this session, please reach out! I’m sure you’ve thought, “There ought to be a law to …”

Contact

Below are some great ways to contact and keep in touch with my office.

Phone: 360-786-7616 (during regular business hours; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Email me!

Sign up for my introduction sheet distribution list to see the new legislation introduced every day.

If you’d like to schedule me to speak with your organization to talk about my important initiatives on public banking, social housing, universal health care, or other issues, please schedule something with my executive legislative assistant  and scheduler, Sarah Reuben, at sarah.reuben@leg.wa.gov.

Thank you for reading and following along this session and trusting me in this role to represent our 11th District.

Talk to you soon.
Bob