Whatcom Republicans begin work on filling state Sen. Ericksen’s 42nd District seat
The death of Washington State Sen. Doug Ericksen on Dec. 17 will have the local Republican party busy during the holidays to fill the seat before the legislative session begins next month.
The Washington Senate Republican Caucus announced Ericksen’s death on Dec. 18. Ericksen, R-Ferndale, served in the state House from 1998 to 2010 and in the Senate since 2010, representing the 42nd Legislative District. It was reported that he was diagnosed with COVID-19 while visiting El Salvador.
According to an obituary announcement, a funeral service for Ericksen will be held at Christ the King Bellingham, 4173 Meridian St. at noon on Wednesday, Dec. 29.
Members of the Whatcom Republican Party were still in shock on Monday, Dec. 20, as they began the task of selecting suggestions for Ericksen’s replacement, said John Ramsey, chairman of the Whatcom Republican Party. According to the rules in place, Ericksen’s seat will be filled by the Whatcom County Council, whose members will vote from a list of three candidates submitted by the Whatcom Republicans.
“It’s a huge role to fill... Doug was a great man and will be sorely missed. It’s still mind-boggling and we are praying for his family,” Ramsey said in a phone interview.
Ramsey said work is already underway and they are looking at “some good options” to replace Ericksen. The criteria is finding someone the party thinks will represent the 42nd District well as it continues the recovery process from last month’s flooding, Ramsey said.
With the legislative session scheduled to begin on Monday, Jan. 10, Ramsey said they will be getting a list to the Whatcom County Council “very soon,” and is already in communication with the council with how the process will work.
Filling a vacant state legislative seat right before a legislative session happened recently in this region involving the Democratic Party. In January 2020, Alex Ramel of Bellingham was chosen to replace Democratic 40th District Rep. Jeff Morris of Mount Vernon, who resigned late in 2019 to accept a job in private industry. Since the 40th district represents parts of other counties, a joint meeting of the county councils of San Juan, Skagit and Whatcom was held to make the selection from three candidates nominated by the 40th District Democrats.
Whatcom County councilwoman Kathy Kershner, a republican who represents the 4th District, said the council should be able to select a replacement in time for the start of the new legislative session. While she wouldn’t comment on who could be nominated, she did agree with Ramsey that addressing the flood recovery efforts should be a high priority. She would expect the nominated person to be well-rounded in other issues as well so they can quickly get up to speed.
Kershner said that in addition to the district losing a strong advocate in Ericksen, particularly when it came to jobs and agriculture, it is a big blow to the community to take in during this pandemic.
“This is such a devastating loss to the family,” Kershner said.
No matter who the replacement is, the 42nd District Senate seat will be on the ballot for the general election in November 2022. State Rep. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, said earlier that she intends to seek that 42nd District Senate seat.
This story was originally published December 20, 2021 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Whatcom Republicans begin work on filling state Sen. Ericksen’s 42nd District seat."
