Koster says he’ll seek a 39th District state House seat

John Koster is done thinking about running for a seat in the Legislature.

He’s doing it.

Wednesday morning the Arlington Republican with a long political resume announced he will seek a seat in the 39th Legislative District. Rep. Elizabeth Scott, R-Monroe, holds the seat but is forgoing re-election to run for Congress.

A victory this fall would return Koster to Olympia, where his lawmaking career began two decades ago.

Koster said the reason he’s running now is no different than it was then.

“I want to serve. I feel like it’s a calling, a call to duty,” he said.

The former dairy farmer said the issues he’ll tackle aren’t much different today, either: prioritize spending, erase burdensome regulations and restore accountability to state government.

While his motivation and agenda are unchanged, the 64-year-old social and fiscal conservative said he’s not the same guy that won a seat in the state House of Representatives in 1994.

With six years in Olympia and 12 years as a Snohomish County Councilman he’s gained a clearer understanding of how decisions made in the state Capitol affect those entrusted with steering local governments.

“With age comes a little experience, and a little wisdom, and the ability to navigate issues,” he said. “And as someone that has conservative credentials and can get along with people on both sides, I think I can help bring people together.”

In a press release issued Wednesday, he described government as “too big and too intrusive.”

“Olympia politicians have gone to taxpayers to bail out their poor decisions and we’re rapidly destroying the free enterprise system that made America the most productive economy in the world,” he wrote in the release.

Koster’s announcement didn’t surprise Democrats.

“We’ve known for some time now and with great certainty that Koster was going to run,” Richard Wright, chairman of the Snohomish County Democratic Party, wrote in an email.

“Additionally of no surprise will be his typical right-wing campaign, I’m sure: anti-government and anti-tax. All whilst campaigning to become part of the government so that he can draw a taxpayer-financed paycheck.”

Koster is arguably the best known and most popular Republican in Snohomish County.

In the Legislature, he carried the torch for the party’s conservative voices in the county and around the state.

Koster then spent three terms on the Snohomish County Council, after which he joined the administration of former Democratic county Executive John Lovick in 2014.

He served as the county’s first ombudsman but didn’t get re-appointed amid concerns about his penning of an anti-union fund-raising letter for the Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank led by a former Koster campaign advisor. Koster has filed a claim for wrongful termination.

Along the way, Koster lost three races for Congress. The last, in 2012, sapped him, and he took a break from the rigors of seeking political office. The time-out is over.

“I needed a little break from politics. I’m ready to get back in the saddle,” he said.

No Democrat has entered the race, but Koster doesn’t expect to go unchallenged.

Neither does Wright.

“The people of the 39th deserve real representation that not only understands their needs, but won’t waste time with the same tired right-wing anti-this anti-that platform, which in the end gets nothing accomplished,” Wright wrote.

Such rhetoric isn’t going to faze a veteran politician like Koster, who pronounced himself fit for the coming political battle.

“I don’t relish getting into campaigns,” he confided. “But once I’m in, I’m all in.”

Political reporter Jerry Cornfield’s blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. Contact him at 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com and on Twitter at @dospueblos.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Lynnwood
Crash in Lynnwood blocks Highway 99 south

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, fully blocked southbound lanes. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.