King County Council picks replacement for resigning WA state lawmakers

Emily Alvarado moved from the House to the Senate in the Washington state Legislature on Tuesday after the Metropolitan King County Council appointed her to replace Joe Nguyen, whom Gov. Bob Ferguson tapped last month to lead the state Department of Commerce.

Alvarado, a Democrat, was sworn into the Senate shortly after the council selected her for the seat in the 34th Legislative District, which includes West Seattle, Vashon Island, White Center and part of Burien.

Alvarado was elected to the House in 2022. She has worked as an executive with an affordable housing nonprofit and previously served as the director of Seattle’s Office of Housing. 

“I believe we all have a shared obligation to provide high-quality public services to our communities,” Alvarado said. 

The council also approved Brianna Thomas as Alvarado’s replacement in the state House of Representatives. 

Thomas currently works as the senior policy and labor adviser for the Seattle mayor’s office and previously was chief of staff for then-Seattle City Councilmember M. Lorena González.  

“I’m not here for a power grab, I’m here to hold the door open for the same people that held the door open for me so more folks like me have those opportunities,” Thomas said. 

The council also chose Janice Zahn to replace Tana Senn, former state representative for the 41st Legislative District, whom Ferguson picked to lead the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

Zahn is the chief engineer at the Port of Seattle and has been serving on the Bellevue City Council since being elected in 2017. 

“I bring unique perspectives as an immigrant, engineer, elected and staffer, with extensive and broad experience at every level of government,” Zahn said. 

Senn first joined the Statehouse in 2013 when the Metropolitan King County Council appointed her to the seat in the 41st District, which covers parts of Bellevue, Issaquah, Mercer Island and other communities.

Both the House and Senate positions will be on the ballot in a special election in November, with the winners serving through 2026.

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