Sen­a­tor Sharon Nel­son (D‑34th Dis­trict, Mau­ry Island) has been select­ed by her col­leagues to serve as the new leader of the Wash­ing­ton State Sen­ate Democ­rats, the cau­cus announced today. She suc­ceeds Ed Mur­ray, who, as of next Tues­day, will offi­cial­ly be the May­or-elect of the City of Seattle.

Nel­son, six­ty-two, rep­re­sents West Seat­tle, Burien, Vashon Island, and Mau­ry Island in the Sen­ate. She pre­vi­ous­ly served as chief of staff to Dow Con­stan­tine, when he was a coun­ty coun­cilmem­ber. She lat­er ran for state House when Joe McDer­mott moved over to the Sen­ate, and then took McDer­mot­t’s seat in the Sen­ate when Joe took Dow’s seat fol­low­ing his elec­tion as coun­ty executive.

Nel­son is known for her pro­gres­sive work eth­ic. She is kind and treats peo­ple with dig­ni­ty. She is also smart and capa­ble. She’s clear­ly earned the respect of her col­leagues. Four years ago, when she was in the House, she was hon­ored by House Demo­c­ra­t­ic leg­isla­tive aides as Leg­is­la­tor of the Year. That award speaks to her bridge-build­ing skills and her abil­i­ty to draft and improve legislation.

“I am hon­ored to have been elect­ed as leader by the Sen­ate Democ­rats,” Nel­son said in a state­ment released not long after cau­cus staff tweet­ed the results of the lead­er­ship elec­tion, held today in Olympia.

“We have a diverse cau­cus, but I believe I was elect­ed by my col­leagues because my fore­most goal is to do what I was sent here by my con­stituents to do — work for them. I demon­strat­ed my inclu­sive lead­er­ship style dur­ing the bud­get nego­ti­a­tions last year, and I intend to make that a focal point of my tenure as leader.”

We at NPI extend our con­grat­u­la­tions to Sharon on her elec­tion as Leader. In the past, we have worked with her on leg­is­la­tion to help vic­tims of shoddy/negligent con­struc­tion, and we found her to be an excel­lent lis­ten­er and an able leg­is­la­tor. We’re pleased to see that she will be tak­ing the helm of the Sen­ate Demo­c­ra­t­ic cau­cus, and we com­mend her for pledg­ing to be tough but fair.

About the author

Andrew Villeneuve is the founder and executive director of the Northwest Progressive Institute, as well as the founder of NPI's sibling, the Northwest Progressive Foundation. He has worked to advance progressive causes for over two decades as a strategist, speaker, author, and organizer. Andrew is also a cybersecurity expert, a veteran facilitator, a delegate to the Washington State Democratic Central Committee, and a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps.

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One reply on “Sharon Nelson chosen to succeed Ed Murray as new Senate Democratic Leader”

  1. Pingback: Seattle News Journal | Senate Democrats elect a new leader – KOMO News

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