This piece is being published in coordination with Sister District, an organization working to build progressive power in state legislatures. Critical and life-altering policies, including abortion access, trans rights, voting rights, fair wages, and conditions for working people and families are increasingly coming from often overlooked state legislatures rather than Washington, DC. Our Historic Firsts Series uplifts inspiring, historic firsts among recently elected state lawmakers, with a focus on women, people of color, young folks, LGBTQIA+ folks, and folks from nontraditional backgrounds.
You’re a queer Latina who works at Planned Parenthood? Don’t you think you’re too much for your district?
I’ll always remember the way it felt to hear that “advice” from a political operative as I considered running for office. I was furious. Not just for myself, but for the more than 400,000 LGBTQ+ people in Washington State. Were we all “too much”? Was it too much for us to expect a representative democracy?
That interaction lit a fire under me. I became even more determined — not only to run, but to win.
My 2018 campaign for the Washington State Senate was the hottest race in the state that year. We raised more money than any other legislative candidate. We knocked on tens of thousands of doors. We engaged people who hadn’t considered themselves political before, meeting them where they were. Most exciting to me were the queer high school students who found their way to the campaign. Many of them couldn’t yet vote. Many of them were still figuring out their labels and their politics. But they felt welcome on our team. They made friends and learned to organize and build power.
The first time I “came out” in the legislature was in front of the committee on state government. I was sitting at the low desk looking up at my new colleagues on the dais, testifying in support of my bill to create an LGBTQ veterans coordinator at the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs. One of them asked what the Q meant, and why we weren’t using LGBT. I found myself, at work, talking about my romantic life. Explaining to my coworkers, live on TVW (our version of C-SPAN) that if I weren’t already with my amazing partner, Alison, I might fall in love with any gender of person. It was surreal. And the kind of personal question I’d counsel a friend in any other field was inappropriate to have to answer at work.
But, as a lawmaker, and the first out queer woman elected to the Washington State Senate (alongside Claire Wilson, the first out lesbian), I recognize that coming out is a privilege and a responsibility. It’s safe for me to come out. My family is supportive. I’m in a position of power. Every time I come out, I make it safer for the next person. And making it safer matters more than ever, when right-wing zealots in state legislatures across the country are trying to erase us. Trying to drive LGBTQ+ folks back into the closet. To make it illegal for us to exist.
To be out and visible in the marble halls of the Capitol building, I wear brightly colored dresses instead of gray suits. I have an asymmetrical haircut. I wear big hoop earrings. I decorate my office with bold, welcoming, queer and feminist art. I want young, queer Washingtonians to see themselves in my office, and in the legislative process, the same way they did in my campaign.
Representation isn’t just symbolic. Having queer and trans people in office saves lives. While 558 anti-trans bills have been introduced in state legislatures around the country in the first half of 2023 alone, the 2023 legislative session in Washington State was full of victories. We updated the rules for legal name changes, strengthening safety and privacy protections for trans and nonbinary people, refugees, and survivors of domestic violence. We required all contracts for public works and goods or services to contain comprehensive antidiscrimination clauses. We passed health-data privacy protections and a shield law to protect individuals seeking abortion or gender-affirming care in Washington from prosecution or persecution in their home states. And we ensured that trans youth who are not supported at home have access to safe accommodations.
But, as I told my neighbors and constituents at the first big, public Pride celebration ever held in the city of Gig Harbor last month, we can’t be complacent just because we live in a state like Washington. The extremist group Moms for Liberty and their ilk are organizing in our communities and in our schools. They are peddling anti-trans propaganda and staging a referendum campaign to repeal SB 5599, which does nothing more than help youth in crisis.
We can combat this hate by organizing, by building power in our communities, by advocating for good policy, by voting — and by electing more LGBTQ+ candidates up and down the ballot.
If you’re a queer or trans person thinking about running — whether it’s for your school board or city council, state legislature or US Congress — know that there are so many of us out there cheering you on. We need your voice and your experience, and we’re ready to support you. You are not too much.
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