Welcome to my new website!

Dear Friend,

My priorities and vision as a state senator flow from my early years growing up in the Pacific Northwest in the 1960s and 1970s. Maybe there's something in the soil: I was shaped by the land, just as I was anchored by the values of my parents and six siblings.

As a kid, I was inspired by my dad who put himself through business school while working in the steel mill at the foot of West Seattle. My parents struggled financially, but they had dreams and in dreams begins responsibility, as Yeats wrote.

It was a time and tradition that, year after year, taught me the value of service to others, especially regarding the poor and those in the shadow of life.

Like so many of my generation, I was drawn to public service by President Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy. In addition, my commitment to social justice was made whole by the writing of Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.

We're all a part of those we've met. Before college, I worked for a year in a peace program in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the land of my forefathers. Conflict wasn't an abstraction in Northern Ireland. The blood was real and as deep as the feelings that drove the violence. I had family on both sides of the divide, and I quickly learned that politics, like conflict, is complex. It's a lesson I carry with me.

Later on, I served in the campaign at the University of Portland to divest from South Africa in the era of Apartheid. I'm proud of that.

Over the years, I've changed tires for a living, washed dishes, worked with emotionally disturbed children, labored in a Public Defenders' office on trial preparations, managed paralegals for a large law firm, and served the citizens on the staff of the Seattle City Council.

Together these experiences informed my values and deepened my commitment to public service.

Actions trump talking points, so I'm grateful to be known in Olympia as a lawmaker who delivers. Please take time to review my website and learn more about legislation I've written and helped shepherd into law.

You'll see that I fight and work hard to ensure social justice, civil rights, and marriage equality; that I fight and work hard to preserve our environment; that I fight and work hard to create living wage jobs; that I fight and work hard to establish a sensible, farsighted transportation policy for Washington; and that I fight and work hard to improve education and increase affordable housing.

My approach to public service is both pragmatic and long term: Deeds, not words. All the while, I'm grounded by the values I learned as a Northwesterner. Blame it on the soil.

Public office is a sacred trust, and I take seriously the burden and the privilege. I'm very honored to serve the citizens of the 43rd District.

Sincerely, Ed