Legislature news: Rep. Mosbrucker will not seek sixth term

Mosbrucker was first elected to the 14th District in 2014 and served five two-year terms. She is dedicated to finishing her current term, which ends in January.

“Serving the citizens of the 14th District has been one of the greatest honors in my life,” she said. “I truly felt a calling to the Legislature a decade ago to make positive changes for my local communities and the citizens of this state. With the guidance of God, the support of citizens, and the help of an amazing legislative staff, I believe we have made a tremendous difference. However, I feel the time is right to put a pause on politics and return home to the people, friends, family, and the community I love and have been blessed to serve.”

During her tenure, Mosbrucker prime-sponsored and co-sponsored more than 50 bipartisan bills that became law. Many of Mosbrucker’s adopted laws inspired similar bills in other states.

Mosbrucker’s first term began with her “Yes Vets” bill in 2015, which has helped to support employment for thousands of Washington veterans. Other prominent bills included the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons legislation — the first of its kind in the nation — closely followed by her measures on domestic violence and rape kit reform. Passage of her Travis Alert Act, named after Travis King, a young boy with autism, has helped first responders identify individuals with special needs during emergency calls. Recently, her anti-fentanyl bills included Ivan’s Law, named in honor of Ivan Howtopat, a young Native American man who committed suicide in the Klickitat County jail during fentanyl withdrawal. The entire Yakama Tribal Council attended Gov. Jay Inslee’s signing of that bill into law.

Mosbrucker held numerous leadership positions in the state House. In 2016, she was named ranking Republican on the House Community Development, Housing, and Tribal Affairs Committee. Later, she became the ranking Republican on the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee. She served four years as deputy chair of the House Republican Caucus. For the past four years, she’s been the ranking member on the House Public Safety Committee, now known as the House Community Safety, Justice and Reentry Committee, where she helped negotiate a stronger “Blake Fix” drug possession law in 2023 with greater accountability and treatment options for drug addicts. She has also served on the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission, and the Governor’s Indian Health Advisory Council, and co-chaired the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) Best Practices Advisory Group.

As a member of the House Capital Budget Committee, Mosbrucker brought in millions of dollars in capital budget projects to her district, including some of her favorite projects, such as funds for a new roof for the Senior Center in Goldendale, American Legion Hall improvements, the Centerville School and Grange, the Lyle Community Center, the High Prairie Fire Department, a domestic violence center in Goldendale, a Klickitat County animal shelter, and mental health facilities at Camp Hope for homeless individuals in Yakima.

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Lou Marzeles, Goldendale Sentinel, contributed to this article.