Rodney Tom

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Rodney Tom is an American politician, currently representing Washington's 48th Legislative District in the state Senate and a member of the Democratic Party by defeating incumbent Republican Luke Esser with 53% of the vote^[1]. In early 2006, after the legislative session ended, then Representative Tom switched parties to caucus with the Democrats and challenge Luke Esser for his Senate seat. This earned him the moniker "Turncoat Tom" in local Republican circles.

In 2002, he was first elected to the state House of Representatives by defeating Democrat Connie Espe by a 52 to 42% margin with 5% going to a third-party candidate.

In 2004, Tom won re-election by edging out Democrat challenger Debi Golden with a 51.76% to 48.24% margin (1816 votes).

1 Biography
2 Political Career
3 External Links
4 References

[edit] Biography

Tom took a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington in 1985 and went on to earn his MBA from the University of Southern California in 1988. A year later he began a career as a realtor, and remains one to this day, presently affiliated with Windermere Real Estate. He resides with his wife Deborah in Medina. The couple have two children. ^[2]

[edit] Political Career

In 2002, Tom ran for and won his seat in the legislature as a Republican. He was reelected in 2004. On March 14, 2006, Tom announced that he was switching to the Democratic Party and challenging Esser ^[3]. This announcement caused no small amount of controversy, as Tom's 2004 Democratic opponent, Debi Golden, had already declared her intention to run for the state Senate in the 48th district, raising the prospect of a Tom vs. Golden rematch in the primary. However, two weeks later, Golden ended her candidacy, citing the expense and futility of a primary battle, leaving Tom unopposed for the Democratic nomination. ^[4]