An Update from the 2014 State of Washington Legislative Session
Rodney Tom
State Senator and Senate Majority Leader 48th District, State of Washington
Senator Rodney Tom will discuss the results from the recently ended legislative session. However It is also important to recognize the platform he is supporting. That is below:
“I’ve long said that people in our area care more about the bottom line than the party line. That’s why I am proud to be the Leader of the Majority Coalition Caucus, a bipartisan group of State Senators who formed a coalition last year to lead the State Senate. The original group of 25 Coalition members agreed to 5 common principles of our Caucus:
- Budget sustainability
- Promoting job creation
- Reforming and enhancing education
- Protecting the vulnerable while prioritizing middle class Washingtonians
- Holding government accountable
We set out to operate like Washington State, not like Washington D.C., giving members of the opposing caucus a seat at the table and opportunities to chair committees. Fundamentally, we began with–and continue to focus on–policy before politics, solutions instead of partisanship.”
About the Speaker
On March 2, 2012, Tom joined with fellow Democratic Sens. Jim Kastama and Tim Sheldon and 22 Senate Republicans to push through a revised budget bill. It assumes changes in state-employee pension programs that will save the state $133 million in the short term and $2.3 billion over the long haul. Most education spending was spared. He justified his actions by saying, "Since before this legislative session began, the message from my constituents has been loud and clear. Another budget that is unsustainable, relies upon accounting gimmicks and sets our state up for a perennial deficit is simply unacceptable. If we ever want to get ahead of our budget crises, our state needs wholesale government reform and a budget that reflects our commitment to sustainable governing.”
Tom earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington in 1985 and went on to earn his MBA from the University of Southern California in 1988. A year later he began a career as a realtor, and remains one to this day, presently affiliated with Windermere Real Estate. He resides with his wife Deborah in Medina. The couple have two children.