Ross Hunter
Ross Hunter is a former Democratic member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing District 48-Position 1 from 2002 to September 8, 2015.
On August 31, 2015, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) appointed Rep. Hunter as the new Director of the Department of Early Learning. Hunter started his new job on September 8.[1]
Biography
Hunter earned his B.S. in Computer Science from Yale University in 1983. His professional experience included working as a program manager for the Microsoft Corporation from 1984 to 2000.[2]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Hunter served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Appropriations, Chair |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Hunter served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Appropriations, Chair |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Hunter served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Ways & Means, Chair |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Hunter served on the following committees:
| Washington committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Education Appropriations |
| • Finance, Chair |
| • Ways & Means |
Issues
Debt negotiations
Hunter is one of the members of a bipartisan group organized by the National Conference of Legislatures called the Task Force on Federal Deficit Reduction (TFFDR). Consisting of 23 state lawmakers from 17 states,[3] the group went to Capitol Hill on September 21, 2011 to urge the Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to cut the nation's debt but not impose severe budget cuts on the states.
TFFDR urged the Committee to consider new revenue as a possibility, instead of just focusing on budget cuts as House Speaker John Boehner has proposed. The group specifically proposed passage of the "Main Street Fairness Act," which would allow states to tax online retailers.[4]
Sponsored legislation
Elections
2014
Elections for the Washington House of Representatives took place in 2014. A blanket primary election took place on August 5, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 17, 2014. Incumbent Ross Hunter (D) and Bill Hirt (R) were unopposed in the primary. Hunter defeated Hirt in the general election.[5][6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Ross Hunter Incumbent |
69.5% | 26,168 | |
| Republican | Bill Hirt | 30.5% | 11,473 | |
| Total Votes | 37,641 | |||
2012
Hunter won re-election in the 2012 election for Washington House of Representatives District 48-Position 1. Hunter was unopposed in the blanket primary on August 7, 2012, and defeated Bill Hirt (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ross Hunter Incumbent |
69.3% | 39,362 | |
| Republican | Bill Hirt | 30.7% | 17,463 | |
| Total Votes | 56,825 | |||
2010
Ross Hunter was re-elected to the Washington House of Representatives District 48-Position 1. He ran unopposed in the August 17, 2010, primary. In the November 2, 2010, general election he defeated Republican Diane Tebelius.
| Washington House of Representatives, District 48-Position 1 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Ross Hunter (D)
|
24,981 | |||
| Diane Tebelius (R) | 21,283 | |||
| Washington House of Representatives, District 48-Position 1 Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Ross Hunter (D)
|
14,142 | 54.96% | ||
| Diane Tebelius (R)
|
11,590 | 45.04% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Democrat Ross Hunter won re-election to the Washington House of Representatives, District 48-Position 1 receiving 64.32% of the vote (32,586 votes), defeating Republican Larry Cooney who received 35.68% of the vote (18,074 votes).
| Washington House of Representatives, District 48-Position 1 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Ross Hunter (D)
|
32,586 | 64.32% | ||
| Charles A. Lapp (R) | 18,074 | 35.68% | ||
Campaign themes
2012
Hunter's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[10]
Ensuring a Balanced Budget
- Excerpt: "It’s our constitutional requirement to produce a balanced budget, and we did so with relatively little drama and with no significant budget gimmicks."
Jobs
- Excerpt: "I propose focusing on growing sectors that require a highly-educated workforce and pay well."
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2015.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Greater Spokane Incorporated — Legislators from the greater-Spokane area are scored on if they voted for/against funding for projects in the Spokane area.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Washington Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2014.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Children's Campaign Fund — Legislators are scored on their votes for or against CCF's position.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their stances on small business issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Washington Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2013.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Children's Campaign Fund — Legislators are scored on their votes for or against CCF's position.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their stances on small business issues.
- Washington Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2012.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Washington Community Action Network — Legislators are scored on their votes on 25 bills identified by WCAN to have "the most direct impact on racial equity."
- Washington Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Washington Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WCU's position.
- Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Washington State Legislature in 2011.
- Association of Washington Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the state’s business community.
- Washington Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Washington State Labor Council — Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against WSLC's position.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Hunter and his wife, Tricie, have two children.
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google News search for the term "Ross + Hunter + Washington + House"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Washington State Legislature
- Washington House of Representatives
- Washington House of Representatives Committees
- Washington Joint Committees
- Washington state legislative districts
External links
- Ross Hunter's campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Profile by Vote-USA
- Project Vote Smart legislative profile
- Project Vote Smart biography
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002
- Ross Hunter on Facebook
Footnotes
- ↑ nwprogressive.org, "Governor Jay Inslee appoints 48th LD’s Ross Hunter as new Director of Early Learning," accessed September 4, 2015
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed April 17, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Task Force on Federal Deficit Reduction," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Stateline, "State legislators want revenue on table in debt talks," September 22, 2011
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2014 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 20, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 5, 2014, Official Primary Results," accessed August 5, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Official general election results, 2014," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑ C-SPAN, "AP Election Results - Washington State House of Representatives," accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Candidates," accessed July 16, 2012
- ↑ rosshunter, "Official Campaign Website," accessed April 17, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Washington House of Representatives District 48-Position 1 2003–2015 |
Succeeded by Patricia Kuderer (D) |
