Democratic Sen. Guy Palumbo resigns, leaves office early
May 24, 2019, 10:14 AM | Updated: 5:45 pm
Washington State Senator Guy Palumbo. (Washington Senate)
(Washington Senate)
Democratic State Senator Guy Palumbo announced his resignation from office Friday morning.
Palumbo represents the state’s 1st District, which covers the communities of Bothell, Kirkland, Mountlake Terrace, and Maltby where he resides.
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Palumbo was elected to office in 2016. In a statement Friday, he said that he is leaving office early to return to the private sector and spend time with his family.
Representing the residents of the 1st Legislative District has been the distinguishing honor of my professional life. As rewarding as it has been to serve in the Senate, the role I cherish most is being a husband and father. I am returning to the private sector so I can be closer to my home and young family and my small business.
I ran in 2016 promising to address transportation and infrastructure problems in our community. In three short years, investments in our district have grown exponentially compared to the prior two decades with $720 million in transportation investments and another $180 million in capital construction investments.
While the work isn’t finished, I feel like I am leaving our district and our state in better shape than when I took office. I am proud of leading on climate change and passing the nation’s strongest 100 percent clean energy bill as well as the Solar Fairness Act to ensure we promote installations of rooftop solar in our state.
This past session, we worked to guarantee free college tuition for lower-income students. We created the nation’s first Long Term Care Trust to ensure that Washingtonians will have the care they need later in life. Our state continues to lead and make progress on key policy issues that will make people’s lives better.
I am proud of what was accomplished during my time in the legislature. It was an honor to serve my community and to serve with my colleagues in the Senate and House.
Palumbo will now head to Amazon, where he will serve as the company’s director of public policy.
The senator ran afoul with party leaders earlier this year and was censured by Washington state Democrats. Tensions arose with his colleagues due to his support of charter schools, and support for public funding of them.
Before leaving office, Palumbo squeezed in one last bill encouraging the development of waste energy in Washington state.
