Morgan Irwin was appointed to the 31 District Position 2 seat in the Washington State House of Representatives upon Phil Fortunato’s elevation to the state Senate in January.
Now the Enumclaw City Council member and Republican is running for the position in his own right.
“Washington is a strong and vibrant state that deserves a strong and vibrant government,” Irwin said in a press release on his web site. “We need a government that promotes personal freedoms while protecting the state’s future.
“As a father of three girls, making sure our communities are safe and that we have an education system second to none are top priorities of mine,” he said.
The 31st Legislative District encompasses the cities of Auburn, Bonney Lake, Buckley, Edgewood, Enumclaw and Sumner.
Irwin’s top campaign issues are education, transportation and public safety.
Fixing a failing transportation infrastructure not only enhances public safety, he said, it also allows families to spend more time together at home rather than being stuck in a car.
Irwin, the son of George and Paddy Irwin, grew up in Enumclaw Washington on his family’s cattle ranch, and graduated from Enumclaw High School in 2001.
He attended Washington State University, where he studied agribusiness and economics.
After graduation from WSU, Irwin took a job with Northwest Farm Credit Services, working in Colfax and Spokane writing loans to farmers and large agribusiness firms.
A few years later he and his wife, Melissa, moved back home to Western Washington, where he continued to work in finance and Melissa continued to work as an emergency room nurse.
He lives in Enumclaw with his wife and their three daughters.He enjoys hunting and fishing and camping in the central Cascades.
Democrat files
Edgewood City Councilmember and Democrat Nate Lowry has filed to run for state Representative from the 31st Legislative District.
“The residents of the 31st District deserve strong leadership,” Lowry said. “They deserve someone who will go to Olympia and stand up for their schools, their health care, their pocketbook and their community’s small businesses. Our district has lost that voice, and I will go to Olympia and fight for our residents.”
From 2012 until his election to the Edgewood City Council in 2015, Lowry was on the City of Edgewood Planning Commission, which he served as vice chair from 2013 to 2015.
On the City Council, Lowry said, he has worked to protect small businesses along Edgewood’s development corridor and saved taxpayers $230,000 on the refinancing of city hall. He said he has also worked to improve public safety in the area by adding police officer coverage in the community.
Born and raised in the North Hill/Edgewood area, Lowry attended Puyallup public schools. After working his way through college and earning his bachelors in Landscape Architecture from Washington State University, Lowry went to work for several design-build companies out of college, eventually moving up to work for a Top 150, nationally-recognized, multi-disciplinary engineering firm.
He earned his Landscape Architect license in 2010. He started two small businesses during the recession, specializing in commercial fencing and landscape architecture design. After weathering the worst of the recession and creating jobs with his small businesses, Lowry said, in December 2014, he returned to full-time work at a landscape architecture design-build firm.
In kicking off his campaign, Lowry announced a series of mini town halls he’ll host throughout the district to hear directly from constituents on the issues they want addressed in Olympia, ranging from making the tax system fairer to education funding and fixing transportation.
The first town hall is at 10 a.m., Saturday, June 3, at Urban Timber Coffee, Microbrew & Wine in Sumner.
“People are frustrated with their government. They do not feel heard or represented,” Lowry said. “I want our residents to know I am responsive, dedicated, and will be a strong voice in Olympia for the people of the 31st district.”
