Kevin Ranker

Kevin Ranker
Washington State Senate District 40
Incumbent
In office
2009 - present
Term ends
January 9, 2017
Years in position	4
Party	Democratic
Leadership
Assistant Majority Whip, Washington State Senate
2011-2012
Compensation
Base salary	$42,106/year
Per diem	$90/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	2008
Next election	November 8, 2016
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
San Juan County Commissioner
Education
Bachelor's	The Evergreen State College
Personal
Place of birth	Orcas Island, WA
Profession	Principal, Coast Consulting Group
Websites
Office website
Personal website
Campaign website

Kevin Ranker is a Democratic member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 40 since 2009. He previously served as Assistant Majority Whip.

Ranker's political experience began with his service as chair of the Board of County Commissioners in 2004. He went on to become a council member for San Juan County and he served in this position from 2004 to 2008.

Ranker earned his BS in Coastal Ecology and Community Development from The Evergreen State College.

Issues

Campaign themes

2012

Ranker's website lists the following issues:

• Environment

Excerpt: "During the last four years as your senator, I have championed key environmental legislation. We now have one of the strongest oils spills protection program in the country and are significantly reducing the amount of deadly toxins in our Puget Sound and ocean due to a ban on the use of toxic copper in bottom paint and brake pads. I played a key role in securing legislation eliminating toxics in baby bottles and toys."

• Economy

Excerpt: "Like all other areas of the economy, public employees have shared in the cut-backs in an effort to balance our budget. However, public sector jobs represent thousands of family wage jobs for our friends, neighbors and families in our communities and, as such, are part of the solution to our long-term economic recovery. I have worked tirelessly to protect these jobs to the greatest extent possible and ensure that the important services they provide to the citizens of Washington are maintained."

• Transportation

Excerpt: "The state must view our ferry system with the same degree of attention and commitment that it views every other part of our public transportation system. Not only are ferries critical to the everyday lives of residents of San Juan and Skagit Counties, but they are also a significant economic driver for our $11 billion state tourism economy as they are consistently recognized as a major draw for visitors. Ferries should be acknowledged as a benefit to our state economy in addition to being an expenditure within our transportation budget."

• Healthcare

Excerpt: "In this economic climate, major cuts to every program in our budget was an unfortunate reality. As your Senator, I heard your calls to protect and prioritize health care for the neediest in our communities. I have been a vocal and consistent supporter for protecting and minimizing cuts to Apple Health for Kids, Basic Health and programs providing services to our disabled and seniors."

• Education

Excerpt: "Education is sometimes talked about as an economic burden. I cannot disagree more. Every dollar we invest in education pays enormous dividends down the road. ...Our K-12 Education systems have taken the brunt of the hits over the last several years. Having made these cuts, now we need to decide what caliber of education we want in this state and how we are going to fund it. ...We need to close tax loopholes, raise new taxes, while also fixing existing ones such as B&O. I believe that we want an exceptional educational system and therefore we must be bold in reforming our tax system to prioritize education. ...My father, mother and grandmother all taught at the University level, so education was always a priority in my home. As your State Senator it has also been a priority for me in Olympia."

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Ranker served on the following committees:

Washington Committee Assignments, 2013
• Energy, Environment & Telecommunications
• Ways & Means

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Ranker served on the following committees:

Washington Committee Assignments, 2011
• Environment, Water & Energy
• Natural Resources & Marine Waters, Chair
• Transportation

Elections

2012

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2012

Ranker won re-election in the 2012 election for Washington State Senate District 40. Ranker advanced past the blanket primary on August 7, 2012 and defeated John Swapp (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.

Washington State Senate, District 40, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kevin Ranker Incumbent	62.9%	40,677
	Republican	John Swapp	37.1%	23,959
Total Votes				64,636

Washington State Senate, District 40 Blanket Primary, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kevin Ranker Incumbent	59.6%	18,684
	Republican	John Swapp	34.4%	10,791
	Independent	Jim Cozad	5.9%	1,864
Total Votes				31,339

2008

On November 4, 2008, Ranker was elected for the 40th District of the Washington State Senate receiving 38,200 votes.

Ranker raised $197,000 for his campaign.

Washington State Senate, District 40 (2008)
Candidates		Votes
Kevin Ranker (D)		38,200
Steve Van Luven (R)		27,028

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2008

In 2008, Ranker collected $197,000 in donations.

Listed below are the top four contributors to his campaign.

Donor	Amount
Washington State Democratic Party	$25,958
Senate Democratic Campaign CMTE of Washington	$9,773
San Juan County Democratic Central CMTE	$6,000
Skagit County Democratic Central CMTE	$5,500

Personal

Ranker and his wife have two children.

Scorecards

Freedom Foundation

See also: Freedom Foundation's Big Spender List

The Freedom Foundation releases its Big Spender List annually. The Institute ranks all Washington legislators based on their total proposed tax and fee increases. To find each legislator’s total, the Institute adds up the 10-year tax increases or decreases, as estimated by Washington’s Office of Financial Management, of all bills sponsored or co-sponsored by that legislator.

2012

Ranker proposed a 10-year decrease in state taxes and fees of $7.45 billion, the 45th highest amount of proposed new net taxes and fees of the 46 Washington state senators on the Freedom Foundation’s 2012 Big Spender List.

Recent news

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This section displays the most recent stories in a Google News search for the term "Kevin + Ranker + Washington + Senate"

All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.

Kevin Ranker News Feed

• Governor signs three bills supported by Washington Attorney General Bob ... - Access Washington
• Whatcom County's senators try unity, end up in discord on environment - Bellingham Herald
• Over greens' objections, state Senate overhauls toxics act - Crosscut
• Senator: GOP bill would be a 'License to hate' - KING5.com
• Interagency team launches new website for coastal and ocean planning - Access Washington
• Hospitals' proposed affiliation with Catholic systems opposed - The Seattle Times (blog)
• Legislature approves new courthouse protections at AG Ferguson's request - Access Washington
• Ecology Department's office in Bellingham threatened with closure - Bellingham Herald
• How Boy Scout bigotry affected my family - San Diego Gay & Lesbian News

External links

Suggest a link

• Ranker on the Washington State Senate website
• Office website
• Legislative profile of Ranker on Project Vote Smart
• Biographical profile of Ranker on Project Vote Smart
• Campaign Contributions: 2008
• Campaign website
• Ranker on Facebook
• Washington Votes profile of Ranker

References

Political offices
Preceded by '	Washington State Senate District 40 2009-present	Succeeded by NA