Sharon L. Wylie (born July 12, 1949) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. She is a member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

, representing the 49th district since 2011. Wylie previously served in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

from 1993 to 1997, representing the 22nd district.

Career

Wylie has a bachelor's degree in political science from the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

, and moved to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

to become the

city administrator A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

of Tukwila in 1981. She was later employed by the

King County King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle ...

government and moved to

Gresham, Oregon Gresham ( ) is a city in the Willamette Valley, Located in Multnomah County in the U.S. state of Oregon, bordered by Portland to the northwest and partially in the southwest. It was first settled in the early 1850s by the Powell brothers. It ...

. Wylie was an aide to two

Multnomah County Commission Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The state's smallest and most populous county, its ...

ers and helped organize the Gresham

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...

. She filed her intent to run for the 22nd district seat in the

in February 1992. The incumbent representative from the 22nd district, Ron Sunseri, withdrew from the race in August 1992 and left Wylie running against a last-minute Republican opponent. She won the seat by a large margin, defeating Francis Martinez in the general election. Wylie won re-election in a "heated" 1994 rematch with Martinez that included attack ads and over $125,000 in funds raised by both campaigns ahead of the general election. In December 1995, Wylie announced that she would not run for a third term. Her husband, Ted Gathe, was hired in 1994 as city attorney of

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

, leading to speculation that Wylie would move out of Oregon; she would remain eligible to serve in the Oregon House unless expelled by a vote. Wylie served the remainder of her House term while living in Gresham and moved to Vancouver with her husband and children in 2002. She was hired by the

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

government in 2001 to serve as a government relations manager and lobbyist to the state legislature. On April 13, 2011, Wylie was appointed by the

Clark County Commission The Clark County Commission is the governmental organization that governs and runs Clark County, Nevada, providing services to the unincorporated areas. Its offices are located at the Clark County Government Center in Downtown Las Vegas. Compos ...

to a vacant

seat from the 49th district. She took office later that day in Olympia to finish the remaining months of the term. Wylie ran for a permanent term and defeated her Republican opponent by a margin of 13 percent in the November 2011 general election. She is the chair of the Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee and a member of the House Finance Committee. Wylie is also a member of the Washington State Arts Commission and the Washington Economic Development Finance Authority.

Personal life

Wylie is married to Ted Gathe, the former city attorney of Vancouver. They have two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wylie, Sharon Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature Living people Women state legislators in Washington (state) Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Women state legislators in Oregon 1949 births University of California, Riverside alumni Politicians from Vancouver, Washington 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly 20th-century American women politicians People from Tukwila, Washington American city managers People from Gresham, Oregon