William George Ramos III (April 6, 1956 – April 19, 2025) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Washington State Capitol, Legis ...

representing the state's 5th district from January 2025 until his death in April 2025. He previously served in the Washington State House of Representatives representing the 5th district from 2019 to 2025. Before his legislative career, Ramos was a member of the Issaquah City Council from 2016 to 2018.

Career

Ramos was born in the East Oakland region of

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to salon owner Lupe Arizu and Bill Ramos in a Mexican and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

family. Prior to serving in the Washington State House of Representatives, Ramos was a member of the Issaquah City Council from 2016 to 2018. Ramos won election to the State House on November 6, 2018 from the platform of the Democratic Party. He secured fifty-two percent of the vote while his closest rival Republican Chad Magendanz secured forty-eight percent. Ramos won re-election to the State House on November 3, 2020. After Mark Mullet's announcement that he was running for governor, Ramos announced that he would seek Mullet's Senate seat. He won election to the State Senate in November 2024, defeating Republican Chad Magendanz with 51.9% of the vote.

Personal life and death

Ramos was married to

Sarah Perry Sarah Grace Perry (born 28 November 1979) is an English author. She has had four novels published: ''After Me Comes the Flood'' (2014), '' The Essex Serpent'' (2016), ''Melmoth'' (2018) and ''Enlightenment'' (2024). Her work has been transla ...

, herself a politician and county councilmember in

King County, Washington King County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of counties in Washington, most populo ...

. Ramos died on April 19, 2025, at the age of 69, while out running on a trail near his home in

Issaquah, Washington Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the " Issaquah ...

.Washington State Senator Bill Ramos dies unexpectedly Saturday night
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References

1956 births 2025 deaths Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators 21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature American politicians of Mexican descent American people of Spanish descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Washington (state) {{Washington-WARepresentative-stub