You can call her congresswoman now.
Democrat Suzan DelBene of Medina took the oath of office as the new representative of Washington’s 1st Congressional District just after 4 p.m. PST.
DelBene will complete the term of Democrat governor-elect Jay Inslee who resigned from Congress earlier this year. She also will serve a full two-year term starting in January.
DelBene defeated Republican John Koster of Arlington for the short- and full-term in this month’s election. She will be working out of Inslee’s former quarters in the Rayburn House Office Building.
U.S. Reps. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., and Doc Hastings, R-Wash, spoke briefly after DelBene took the oath office holding a Bible given her by her grandmother.
“It is a great privilege to represent the people of Washington’s 1st District, both the current and future versions of it,” she said in brief remarks. “I will work hard to meet their expectations and serve them well.”
Remarks of Suzan DelBene as prepared for delivery:
Thank you to Congressman Dicks for the kind introduction.
Mr. Speaker, Leader Pelosi, members of the Washington Delegation, members of the 112th Congress, it’s truly an honor for me to be here today.
I’d first like to thank all those who have supported me throughout this journey, in particular my family, my husband Kurt, who’s up in the gallery and my children Rebecca and Zachary who are both in college. I’m grateful to share this moment with them.
It is a great privilege to represent the people of Washington’s 1st District, both the current and future versions of it. I’m honored to have been given this opportunity by the voters of Western Washington and I appreciate their support. I will work hard to meet their expectations and serve them well. I look forward to working with all of you and I’m honored to be able to serve alongside the distinguished members of Washington’s delegation.
I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work right away.
Remarks of Rep. Norm Dicks as prepared for delivery:
Mr. Speaker. It is a great pleasure for the Washington Congressional Delegation to welcome our newest Member, Suzan DelBene, who has the distinction of winning not just ONE, but TWO elections last week. She was elected in a Special Election to fill the remainder of Congressman Jay Inslee’s term, and she was ALSO elected last week to be the Representative of a newly-configured First District in the 113th Congress.
Throughout her campaign Suzan was able to successfully connect with voters because of her upbringing and because of her experience. She spoke of the struggles her parents went through in raising her family… and of working her way through college. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Reed College in Portland, and received an MBA from the University of Washington.
Following her academic work Suzan had a very successful career at Microsoft and at two high tech startup companies and then was appointed Director of the Washington State Department of Revenue.
Suzan is a high-energy person… someone who will work well with our Delegation and with all of her colleagues here in the House in the next Congress. At this time I would yield to the gentleman from Washington’s 4th Congressional District, who joins me in welcoming our newest Member.
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