Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Thibaudeau out, Murray in

Ed Murray wants to represent the 43rd District as its state senator, and it looks like he now has an open path:
Democratic State Sen. Pat Thibaudeau said today she will not seek re-election this year in Seattle's 43rd District.

That clears the way for state Rep. Ed Murray, who announced earlier this spring that he would run against Thibaudeau in the Democratic primary.

Thibaudeau, 73, was first elected to the state House in 1992 and then to the Senate in 1995. She has served in the past as chairwoman of the Senate Health Care Committee, but currently chairs no committees.

Thibaudeau was appointed last week by Gov. Christine Gregoire to serve as co-chair of a new commission that is supposed to craft a five-year plan to tackle the soaring costs of health care.

Murray is looking to fill the seat once held by his mentor, Sen. Cal Anderson, the Legislature's first openly gay member. After Anderson's death, Murray lost to Thibaudeau in the race for the open seat.
The race to replace Murray in the House, on the other hand, has turned into an interesting competition, with quite a few individuals vying for the nomination, including Dick Kelley, Bill Sherman, Jim Street, Stephanie Pure, Lynne Dodson, and Jamie Pedersen. No doubt the field will become narrower as September approaches, but there will, in all likelihood, be a competitive primary.

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