Jamie D. Pedersen (born September 9, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a member of the
Washington State Senate, representing the
43rd district since 2013.
["Democrats Choose Rep. Jaime Pedersen To Replace Sen. Ed Murray"]
KUOW-FM, December 3, 2013. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
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, he previously served as a member of the
Washington House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013.
Early life and education
Pedersen grew up in
Puyallup, Washington and attended Puyallup High School. He graduated
summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
in
American Studies from
Yale and received his
J.D. degree from
Yale Law School. Pedersen was an active member of the
Yale Russian Chorus while an undergraduate and law student, and remains active in the alumni of the Yale Russian Chorus. He clerked for Judge
Stephen Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Career
Law practice
Pedersen joined
Preston Gates & Ellis in 1995, working on corporate mergers. His pro bono work during this time focused on gay rights issues and he was
Lambda Legal's lead attorney on the state's
same-sex marriage case – ''
Andersen v. King County
''Andersen v. King County'', 138 P.3d 963 (Wash. 2006), formerly ''Andersen v. Sims'', is a Washington Supreme Court case in which eight lesbian and gay couples sued King County and the state of Washington for denying them marriage licenses und ...
''. In 2012 he was hired by McKinstry, a Seattle-headquartered construction firm, as
General Counsel.
Washington State Legislature
Pedersen was elected to the
Washington House of Representatives from
Washington's 43rd legislative district in downtown
Seattle in 2006. He won a very competitive six-way Democratic primary election on September 19, 2006 with 23-percent of the vote. His nearest competitor, former Seattle City Council President Jim Street, was only 229 votes behind with 22-percent. The race was the most expensive House contest in Washington state history, with the six Democratic candidates raising almost $500,000 among them. His election campaign won the support of the
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which provided financial and strategic assistance. In the general election, he faced only nominal
Republican opposition, defeating his opponent by a margin of more than four-to-one. He was re-elected unopposed in 2008, 2010 and 2012.
Pedersen was one of a number of Washington legislators who were briefly the subject of controversy in 2013 over expense claims uncovered in an
Associated Press investigation. Pedersen had used $384 in tax funds to purchase art for his office; Pedersen explained that legislators receive an allowance for furnishing their offices and he had, typically, not used his entire allotment.
Political positions
Pedersen has been a supporter of increased firearms regulation in Washington. In 2013, he introduced legislation that would require private gun dealers to request a background check from a local law-enforcement agency.
In the legislature, Pedersen has been a key proponent for the replacement of the
Evergreen Point floating bridge and has introduced legislation to block the state's department of transportation from capping spending on the project.
In 2012, Pedersen publicly endorsed both
Washington Initiative 502 and
Washington Referendum 74
Referendum 74 (R-74 or Ref 74) was a Washington state referendum to approve or reject the February 2012 bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. On June 12, 2012, state officials announced that enough signatures in favor of the ...
, which legalized the retail sale of marijuana and same-sex marriage, respectively.
In January 2020, Pedersen introduced a bill to mandate local school districts create individualized learning programs for students who are selected to participate in gifted programs before those programs are terminated.
Personal life
Pedersen is
openly gay and is one of several
LGBT members of the
Washington State Legislature
The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senat ...
, alongside Sen.
Marko Liias (D–
Mukilteo) and Reps.
Jim Moeller (D–
Vancouver),
Nicole Macri (D–Seattle),
Christine Kilduff
Christine J. Kilduff (born 1966) is an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, she served in the Washington House of Representatives January 12, 2015 to January 11, 2021. She was elected in 2014, narrowly defeating Paul Wagemann of the Republi ...
(D–
University Place),
Joan McBride
Joan Leslie McBride (born 1951 or 1952) is an American politician. A Democrat, she was the mayor of Kirkland, Washington, from 2010 to 2013, after which she was elected to the Washington House of Representatives
The Washington House of Repres ...
(D–
Kirkland),
Laurie Jinkins (D–
Tacoma) and
Sklyer Rude (R-Walla Walla).
Pedersen is married to Eric Cochran Pedersen, a high school assistant principal
whom he met in 2004 while attending Seattle's Central Lutheran Church.
Pedersen and his husband have four sons:
Trygve Cochran Pedersen, and a set of triplets—Leif, Anders, and Erik—born in early 2009.
The children were all given traditional
Norwegian names by Pedersen who is ethnically Norwegian.
References
External links
Elect Jamie Pedersenofficial campaign website
Washington State Legislature - Rep. Jamie Pedersenofficial WA House website
Project Vote Smart - Representative Jamie Pedersen (WA)profile
*''Follow the Money'' - Jamie D. Pedersen
2008 campaign contributions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedersen, Jamie
Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives
1968 births
Living people
Gay politicians
LGBT state legislators in Washington (state)
Politicians from Seattle
Politicians from Puyallup, Washington
Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators
21st-century American politicians