Tina Orwall chosen for vacant state Senate seat in South King County

The Metropolitan King County Council unanimously chose state Rep. Tina Orwall to be the newest state senator in South King County, replacing Sen. Karen Keiser who is retiring in the middle of her term.

Orwall will make the jump from state representative to state senator, representing the 33rd District, which covers Burien, SeaTac, Des Moines and Kent.

Keiser, a Democrat who served in the Legislature for 30 years, and in the state Senate for more than 20, announced her retirement earlier this year, even as her term runs through 2026.

The King County Democratic Party nominated three potential replacements to fill Keiser’s seat, ranking them in order: Orwall, state Rep. Mia Gregerson and Melissa Chaudhry, who just ended an unsuccessful campaign for Congress. Democratic precinct committee officers in the 33rd District voted to determine and rank the nominees.

All three Democrats said they would push for more progressive forms of taxation in Olympia.

It’s up to the County Council to choose from the three nominees. The council usually, but not always, follows the preference of the county party.

In this case, they did, choosing Orwall after conducting brief public interviews with all three candidates in the council chambers and then discussing the matter in private for about 25 minutes.

Orwall, a social worker, has been in the state House since 2009. Among her legislative highlights are helping pass a law to clear the backlog of untested rape kits, implementing the state’s 988 mental health crisis line and passing mitigation measures for those affected by the Port of Seattle.

“It’s about partnerships and relationships and how we can work together so that everyone in our community feels safe and gets the services they deserve,” Orwall told the County Council.

Councilmember Dave Upthegrove, who previously represented the 33rd District with Orwall when he served in the Legislature, called her “thoughtful, respectful and kind.”

“She works hard, she’s grounded in community,” Upthegrove said. “She approaches this work with a sense of place, very proud to represent South King County.”

Upthegrove will soon need a replacement himself, as he will take office as state lands commissioner early next year.

After it was clear Orwall was the pick of the council members, but before they officially voted to appoint her, the council took a two-minute recess so Orwall could email the governor, officially resigning from the state House.

The County Council then unanimously chose Edwin Obras, a strategic adviser with the Seattle Human Services Department and board president of the Filipino Community of Seattle, to fill Orwall’s newly vacant House seat.

Obras was the second choice of the county Democratic Party, after Sam Méndez, a lawyer for the state Health Care Authority, but he was the overwhelming choice of the dozen or so public commenters who spoke to the County Council.

There will be special elections for both the Senate and House seat in 2025, in which Orwall and Obras will likely run for election.

The County Council will soon consider a replacement for state Sen. Patty Kuderer, who represents Bellevue and Redmond and was recently elected state insurance commissioner.