Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

OLYMPIA — At 17, Steve Hobbs wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, grandfather, aunts and uncles.

But enlisting in the Army required his parents’ permission. Dad agreed, Mom refused.

Fortunately, only one signature was needed, so he got his wish. Hobbs eventually served two tours of duty in Kosovo and Iraq.

He’s now in his fourth decade of military service as a lieutenant colonel in the Washington National Guard.

“I know this sounds cheesy, but it’s true. I wanted to serve my country,” said Hobbs, the former state senator for the 44th Legislative District, which includes Lake Stevens, Mill Creek and Snohomish. Elected three times, he served from 2007 to 2021.

In 2021, Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Hobbs as Secretary of State after Republican Kim Wyman left to work in the Biden Administration.

With that move, Hobbs became the first Asian American to serve in that office. A year later, he was elected to the post.

Hobbs is the winner of the Henry M. Jackson Award, named for the former U.S. senator from Everett.

Established in 1977, the award honors someone who demonstrates exemplary service to the community and is committed to the business interests of the region.

This person drives local, state and regional business initiatives; promotes civic, social and cultural programs; and participates in programs that expand the potential and quality of life in the county, according to the Economic Alliance Snohomish County which presents the award.

For Hobbs, it’s a fitting honor.

“Scoop Jackson is a hero to me. He’s a moderate Democrat, and I’m a moderate Democrat,” Hobbs said. “He tried to help people in the state and country in a bipartisan way. Because of that he sometimes found himself sideways with his party.”

In the past, Hobbs has clashed with other Democrats over climate change and fiscal policies. As chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, he blocked adoption of a low-carbon fuel standard sought by Inslee for several sessions.

“Steve Hobbs has served the public and business interests of Snohomish County since his election to the State Senate in 2006,” a nominator wrote. “He is the quintessential pro-business Democrat.”

The nominator noted The Seattle Times editorial board wrote: “As a moderate Democrat, Hobbs thinks long and hard before voting for any type of tax. Yet when he hasn’t liked other lawmakers’ ideas for taxing carbon emissions or paying for transportation projects, he hasn’t just said no. Rather, he’s introduced his own middle-of-the road plans aimed at finding consensus. That type of thinking is becoming too rare in politics.”

In 2006, Hobbs, born and raised in Lake Stevens, decided to run for state senator.

“One of the things I noticed was that my district and Snohomish County was not getting a lot of love from the Legislature,” he said.

“I love Snohomish County,” Hobbs said. “It was where I was born, where my kids went to school.”

As secretary of state, he leads programs to counter election misinformation, ensure greater election security and expand the voter rolls for people of color and rural communities.

“If our elections are threatened, our democracy is threatened,” Hobbs said.

It’s one of the most diverse state-government offices, responsible for managing state and local elections, corporation and charity filings and supervising the state library, the Talking Book and Braille Library and the state archives, Hobbs said.

“People joke that we’re the junk drawer of state government,” he said with a chuckle.

Raised by a single parent, Hobbs was the first person in his family to go to college, he told UW News in 2007.

His mother worked two jobs — in a factory during the day and at a Mexican restaurant at night — to raise Hobbs and his sister, he told The Daily Herald in 2021.

Hobbs graduated from Lake Stevens High School and attended Everett Community College before transferring to the University of Washington, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1994. He returned to the UW in 2011 to earn a master’s degree in public policy.

He has been married to his wife Pam since 1995. Together they raised three boys: Gavin, Truman, and Winston. Gavin and Winston attend University of Washington and have enlisted in the Washington Army National Guard. Truman, a Special Olympics Athlete, won a bronze medal in swimming at the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games.

“Some people are just prone to go into the public sector,” Hobbs said. “I’m one of them.”

Janice Podsada: 425-339-3097; jpodsada@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @JanicePods.