Sen. Deb Krishnadasan Seeks First Full Term

We, as a government, need to be working as hard as our people,”

Candidate Gary Parker

Despite repeated attempts, Key Peninsula News could not arrange an interview with Gary Parker, Sen. Krishnadasan’s opponent, in time for this issue.

For nearly two years, Sen. Deb Krishnadasan (D-26th) has been learning the rhythms of the Washington Senate. She has experienced firsthand how relationships are built, how legislation moves, and how seemingly straightforward ideas can run out of time before they run out of support.

Now the Gig Harbor Democrat is asking 26th Legislative District voters for something she hasn't had yet: a full four-year term.

Krishnadasan was appointed to the Senate in December 2024, succeeding Emily Randall after Randall was elected to Congress. She brought with her years of service in local organizations, including two elected terms on the Peninsula School District Board of Directors and service as its president. Today, she represents a politically competitive district spanning parts of Pierce and Kitsap counties, including the Key Peninsula.

She said the transition to Olympia came with a steep learning curve.

“I learned how to navigate the system, get things passed, and deliver for the district,” Krishnadasan said. Central to that, she said, was something familiar from her previous community work: building relationships.

“Building relationships is the key to getting things accomplished,” she said. “It helps to get bills passed and capital projects approved.”

Krishnadasan hopes constituents have also come to see her as a legislator willing to listen across ideological lines.

“The 26th district is purple; it elects both Democrats and Republicans,” she said. “Best solutions come from working across the aisle to find common ground and focusing on what works for the people that we serve.”

Her legislative record includes measures addressing child care, emergency medical treatment, and property tax relief.

In 2025, Krishnadasan sponsored Senate Bill 5655, intended to make it easier to establish child care centers in existing multi-use buildings by changing how occupancy limits are calculated. The measure passed both chambers unanimously and was signed into law. The new occupancy limits have benefited child care centers on the Key Peninsula. 

Another bill she sponsored, SB 5557, established state protections for pregnant patients receiving emergency medical treatment, including when termination of a pregnancy is medically necessary. It passed both the Senate and the House before being signed into law in April 2025. Regardless of federal changes, SB 5557 guarantees protections under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. It ensures every pregnant patient facing a medical emergency receives stabilizing care in Washington.

Affordability, Krishnadasan said, remains one of the most consistent concerns she hears throughout the district.

“Affordability needs to be something that we think about with every decision we make in Olympia,” she said.

In addition to child care, she pointed to property taxes, particularly for seniors and others living on fixed incomes. Krishnadasan was the prime sponsor of 2026 legislation expanding Washington’s property tax relief program for qualifying seniors, people with disabilities, and veterans. Once the legislation became law, it expanded eligibility while exempting qualifying participants from the state property tax levy.

“We need to give that relief and help to our most vulnerable people so that they can stay in their homes and the communities that they’ve built their lives around,” she said.

For KP residents, Krishnadasan said effective representation requires attention to the area’s geographic isolation and often limited services.

She compared that responsibility to her time on the school board, when she said she worked to ensure investments reached both sides of the district. Krishnadasan helped lead the 2019 Peninsula School District bond campaign that funded four new elementary schools and modernized and expanded two middle schools, including Evergreen Elementary and Key Peninsula Middle School. 

In Olympia, Krishnadasan said she has supported funding for the Key Peninsula’s rural transportation pilot program and projects involving The Mustard Seed Project. She is also participating in conversations surrounding the future of Lakebay Marina and local water system concerns.

If elected to a full term in November, Krishnadasan said one of her biggest priorities will be the state budget and balancing support for public programs with concerns about taxes, government efficiency, and Washington’s business climate.

“We have a lot of important work ahead to balance our state budget,” she said. “We need to strengthen accountability for how taxpayer dollars are spent and ensure sustainable funding for services and programs that Washington families rely on.”

She said that work should include local governments and voices from both parties to keep jobs and encourage businesses to invest in Washington.

Krishnadasan plans to return to work aimed at making state government more efficient. Among her efforts during the 2026 session was legislation designed to streamline state processes for permitting and licensing. She also pursued legislation to eliminate outdated or duplicative reports required of state agencies. These two pieces of legislation did not make it through the House before the session ended.

“We, as a government, need to be working as hard as our people,” she said.