Kilmer Announces Candidacy for Congress
State Senator Derek Kilmer, the Vice President of the Pierce County Economic Development Board, today announced the endorsements of more than two dozen civic leaders throughout the 6th Congressional District. Kilmer announced his candidacy on Monday to succeed retiring Congressman Norm Dicks.
Kilmer remarked, “I’m honored and touched to be given this support by so many dedicated leaders in our region. This campaign has just begun and I look forward to meeting people in every county, but this is a great start. We all know that Washington D.C. is broken. If we’re going to change Congress, we need to send them a leader who will continue Norm Dicks’ legacy of fighting for good jobs and has a strong track record of delivering meaningful change and real results.”
Kilmer announced the endorsement today of the following leaders from the Greater Tacoma area:
- Brian Sonntag, Washington State Auditor
- Pat McCarthy, Pierce County Executive
- Debbie Regala, 27th District Senator
- Laurie Jinkins, 27th District Representative
- Steve Kirby, 29th District Representative
- Connie Ladenburg, 29th District Representative
- David Boe, Tacoma City Council Member
- Anders Ibsen, Tacoma City Council Member
- Ryan Mello, Tacoma City Council Member
- Jake Fey, Tacoma City Council Member
- Mike Crowley, Former Mayor of Tacoma
- Bill Baarsma, Former Mayor of Tacoma
Kilmer announced the endorsement today of the following leaders from Kitsap County:
- Patty Lent, Mayor of Bremerton
- Cary Bozeman, Former Mayor of Bremerton
- Russ Hauge, Kitsap County Prosecutor
- Steve Bauer, Former Kitsap County Commissioner
- Fred Finn, 35th District Representative
- Kathy Haigh, 35th District Representative
- Phil Rockefeller, Former 23rd District State Senator
- Lary Coppola, Former Mayor of Port Orchard
- Carolyn Powers, Port Orchard City Council Member
- Robert Putaansuu, Port Orchard City Council Member
- John Clauson, Port Orchard City Council Member
- Fred Chang, Port Orchard City Council Member
- Carol Arends, Bremerton City Council Member
- Roger Zabinski, Bremerton Port Commissioner
Kilmer announced the endorsement today of the following leaders from Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula:
- Larry Seaquist, 26th District Representative
- Pat Lantz, Former 26th District Representative
- Chuck Hunter, Mayor of Gig Harbor
- Steve Ekberg, Gig Harbor City Council Member
- Derek Young, Gig Harbor City Council Member
- Jill Guernsey, Gig Harbor City Council Member
- Todd Iverson, Pen-Met Parks Commissioner
- Andrew Morrison, Pen-Met Parks Commissioner
Kilmer announced the endorsement today of the following leaders from Olympic Peninsula:
- Lynn Kessler, Former 24th District Representative and Former House Majority Leader
- Mike Doherty, Clallam County Commissioner
- Dean Takko, 19th District Representative
Washington State Auditor, Brian Sonntag said, “Derek Kilmer has a track record of making government work better. I trust Derek to fight for our best interests.”
Pierce County Executive, Pat McCarthy commented, “As incredibly difficult as it seems for anyone to replace Norm Dicks, we could hardly have done better than Derek if we had launched a national search.”
Tacoma State Senator Debbie Regala added, “His dedication to building healthy community is well known. Derek was the primary sponsor of the effort to enable the construction of Saint Anthony Hospital which created 400 new jobs and improved access to quality healthcare for thousands of people.”
Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent said, “Derek Kilmer gets it. He’s always stood up for veterans and passed a law to help veterans start their own businesses when they’re done serving. We could use that kind of leadership in Washington D.C.”
Former Kitsap County Commissioner Steve Bauer concluded, “Derek’s parents were both school teachers and he understands how important strong schools are to helping our kids get the jobs of the future and getting employers to create more jobs here in the Puget Sound. He has the right values to bring change to Congress.”
Kilmer grew up in the Olympic Peninsula and graduated from Port Angeles High School. He works in Tacoma for the Pierce County Economic Development Board. He represents in the State Senate portions of Kitsap and Pierce counties, including Bremerton, Port Orchard, and Gig Harbor. Kilmer lives in Gig Harbor with his wife, Jen, and their two daughters Sophie and Tess.
He was elected to the State Senate in 2006 with 59.9% of the vote and re-elected in 2010 with 58.8% of the vote, despite representing the most Republican legislative district of any Democrat in the Washington State Senate. The Tacoma News Tribune wrote, in their 2010 endorsement of Derek’s State Senate campaign, that Derek was “one of the best legislators to show up in Olympia in recent years…” The Seattle Times wrote, in their 2010 endorsement of Kilmer’s State Senate campaign, that, “Every candidate this year is talking about jobs, but with Kilmer it is more than talk…He knows what policies attract them and what ones do not.”