Thank you for the honor of working on your behalf in the state Legislature.

With your support, I hope to continue the fight for justice and a sustainable future for all Washingtonians. During a time when reproductive freedom and clean air and water are threatened, and when we face hard work to address racial injustice and income inequality, we need experienced leaders with a track record of delivering progressive change in Olympia.

Accomplishments

Over the past four years, Washington has passed the most ambitious package of climate legislation of any state. I sponsored many of them and managed getting all the rest of them through the House and into law.

Taking on the Climate Crisis

The climate crisis poses an existential threat to all our communities. Over the past four years, Washington has passed the most ambitious package of climate legislation of any state. I sponsored many of them including a clean fuel standard, phasing out dangerous greenhouse gasses used in refrigeration and stronger appliance efficiency standards, permitting for clean energy projects, improvements of organic waste management to expand composting and reduce food waste. With the help of my colleagues, I managed to get many more passed into law including Cap and Trade legislation, 100% clean electricity, and zero emissions vehicles. I will continue fighting to preserve the livability of our planet for future generations.

Climate legislation
sponsored by Joe:

  • HB 1091  (2021), clean fuel standard;
  • HB 1112 (2019) and HB 1050 (2021), phasing out dangerous greenhouse gasses used in refrigeration;
  • HB 1812 (2022), improving permitting for clean energy projects;
  • HB 1799 (2022), improving organic waste management, reducing food waste, expanding composting;
  • HB 1619 (2022), adopting stronger appliance efficiency standards

Climate Legislation
Joe helped pass:

  • SB 5126 (2021), Climate Commitment Act (cap & trade)
  • SB 5116  (2019), 100% clean electricity
  • HB 1257 (2019), clean buildings
  • HB 2311 (2020), stronger state greenhouse gas reduction goals
  • SB 5722 (2022), clean buildings
  • HB 1663 (2022), landfill methane emissions
  • SB 5811 (2020), zero emission vehicles

I am also working to maintain parks and green spaces which help regulate the temperature in areas where people live, serve as community gathering places, and carbon sinks. Last year, I passed HB 1034 which saved the Vashon Parks Department from closing.

Housing and Affordability

As the Seattle area has expanded, we have seen Seattle communities get pushed outward and young people become increasingly disconnected from a place they can’t afford to set up roots in. I am committed to addressing our housing and affordability crisis head on. I have sponsored two of the largest housing affordability bills that have passed in recent years, HB 1923 (2019) and HB 2343 (2020), which make strides to combat the housing shortage we are facing. I have also helped pass tax reform to tax the rich and invest in schools and health care. I will continue to support investments in education, healthcare, housing, and transportation.

Transportation

Safe, affordable, smart transit development is vital to growing our communities while ensuring our access to work, greenspace, and to each other. In the legislature, I have passed legislation to improve transportation access and safety for bicyclists and pedestrians including HB 2258, HB 1793, and HB 1700.

Investments in public transit are also imperative to lessening our reliance on fossil fuels and combating the climate crisis. I am proud to have sponsored legislation that helped save West Seattle transit and Vashon ferries from the chopping block and of passing. I will continue to fight for accessible transportation that doesn’t leave any community behind.

About

Joe Fitzgibbon was born in Kirkland and grew up moving often as part of a Navy family. His home is in Burien, where three generations of his family have resided. Joe attended high school and college in the St. Louis area before returning home to begin his work in politics.

After college, Joe worked as an intern for the League of Conservation Voters, for the Washington Democratic Coordinated Campaign, and for (now Attorney General) Bob Ferguson on the King County Council. He became a Legislative Assistant for state Rep. Sharon Nelson, served as member and chair of the Burien Planning Commission, and advocated for bike and pedestrian safety in the city of Burien.

In 2010, Joe beat out a crowded Democratic field and was elected as a Representative for the 34th Legislative District, the youngest member of the legislature and a voice for young people in Washington State.

While representing the 34th LD in Olympia for the last twelve years, Joe has been a champion for policy addressing climate change, sponsoring and helping to enact laws reducing Washington’s greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electricity, refrigeration, and buildings; improving marine habitat protections for salmon, orcas, and forage fish; and promoting smart growth and transit-oriented communities. Joe has also prioritized legislation to address voting rights, tax reform, criminal justice reform, public employee pensions, and transportation systems such as buses, trains, and ferries.

Joe now lives in the Highland Park neighborhood of West Seattle. He enjoys hiking, biking, cooking, gardening, traveling, and spending time with his dog.

Boards and committees:

  • Chair, House Environment & Energy Committee (2014-present)
  • Chair, Washington House Democratic Campaign Committee (2015-present)
  • Board of Directors, National Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (2019-present)
  • House Appropriations Committee
  • House Rural Development, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Committee
  • Select Committee on Pension Policy (chair, 2019)
  • Climate Legislative and Executive Workgroup (2013)
  • Joint Committee on Energy Supply & Energy Conservation (2019-present)
  • Joint Legislative Task Force on Water Resource Mitigation (2018-present)
  • Joint Legislative Committee on Water Supply During Drought
  • Board of Directors, Futurewise (2016-2019)
  • Burien Planning Commission (2008-10)