Christine Rolfes will be new Kitsap County commissioner, resign from Senate

State Sen. Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island, will join the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners following an appointment to the board.

In an interview with the Kitsap Sun, Rolfes said she planned to step down from her seat in the Senate later this summer, which would set off another appointment process to name a new senator to represent the 23rd District.

Current county commissioners Charlotte Garrido and Katie Walters approved the appointment Monday morning. Rolfes will take over the District 1 seat on the board following the departure of Rob Gelder last month.

Bainbridge's Christine Rolfes: In the middle of Olympia's biggest issues

Rolfes noted that her professional career began as an intern in Kitsap County's Department of Community Development.

"For me," she said, "it's an opportunity to return to my roots and continue to serve the county by working on the 2024 comprehensive plan and using my connections and all of my relationships around the county to do good things."

She added: "I love being in the Senate, I loved serving in the Legislature, but this is my 17th year, and I'm excited to try something new."

Rolfes pointed to work on the county's comprehensive plan, as well as efforts targeting affordable housing and homelessness as priorities.

Rolfes has served in political roles in Kitsap County since 2000, first in a seat on Bainbridge Island City Council before she won a job in the House of Representatives and then was appointed to her current seat in the Senate, where she has served as the Senate’s chief budget writer since 2018.

Said Rolfes, summarizing her time in the Legislature: "I had a real impact on school funding and kids in general in Olympia the whole time I was there. I've been an environmental champion the entire time I was here too. As budget writer, I have us on sound fiscal footing going forward, and I am confident that my colleagues will be able to carry on with the priorities that I have brought to the table."

Kitsap County Democrats named Rolfes, Brynn Felix and Greg Nance as finalists for the commissioner position and sent the three names on to Garrido and Walters for a final decision.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: State Sen. Christine Rolfes named Kitsap County commissioner