Frank Chopp won’t seek reelection after 30 years in WA House

Rep. Frank Chopp, speaker of the Washington House for 20 years, has announced he will not be seeking reelection after 30 years representing Seattle in the state Legislature.

The Democratic leader has focused his tenure in state government on housing, behavioral health care and education. His signature policy achievements included: providing free college and university tuition for low-income students; health care and housing for low-income families and unhoused people; the state Housing Trust Fund; increased funding for early learning; the legalization of same-sex marriage; Washington’s Voting Rights Act; and more state money for homes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“I’ve always been driven by the belief that everyone deserves a foundation of home, health, and hope,” Chopp said in a statement. “As I leave legislative office, I am excited for the next generation of leaders carrying on this work, as I continue to advocate and organize efforts in the public interest as a public citizen. As people know about me, I am not the retiring type.”

In his “spare time,” Chopp has continued his work as a community organizer and advocate for low-income housing.

Chopp, 70, was first elected to the House in 1994, representing Seattle’s Capitol Hill, the U District, Wallingford and Fremont neighborhoods. He was House minority leader from 1997 to 1998 and was elected co-speaker with Clyde Ballard during the 1999-2001 legislative sessions when Democrats and Republicans split the House 49-49. He was elected sole speaker in 2002 when the Democrats won a majority of the House, which they have not lost since.

His counterpart in the Republican party, Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox of Yelm, also recently announced he would not be running for reelection after 14 years in the House.