Democratic state Sen. Steve Conway, a liberal lion and unapologetic voice for labor throughout a 34-year career in the Washington state Legislature, announced Wednesday he will not seek reelection this fall.
“This will be my last session in the Legislature, and I can tell you, it was a hard decision,” he told colleagues on the Senate floor. “I have to turn the page, start a new chapter. I love all of you. I have loved this place.”
Conway, 81, of south Tacoma, has represented the 29th Legislative District in Pierce County since winning a special election in 1993. He spent 18 years in the House before winning the Senate seat in 2010 following the retirement of Rosa Franklin. He is the longest actively serving Democrat in Washington’s state Legislature, according to the Senate Democratic Caucus.
Democratic state Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, confirmed late Wednesday she would run for the seat.
“She has my full support,” said her district seatmate, Rep. Melanie Morgan, D-Spanaway.
Morgan, who is in her eighth year and one of the caucus’s senior members, said the two lawmakers did discuss the situation. “We thought that would be best for the district,” she said.
The strongly Democratic district encompasses south and east Tacoma, Parkland, parts of Spanaway and east Lakewood. The reservation of the Puyallup Tribe is partly in the district.
Conway is vice chair of the Labor and Commerce Committee and serves on the Ways and Means and Rules Committee. He is also Senate president pro tem.
His announcement was anticipated as he had not raised any money toward reelection since July 2024. In December, he told the Standard he would make his decision public at the end of this year’s legislative session.
On Wednesday, as he walked off the floor, he said he knew people were talking and wanted to make it public. He’s hanging up his legislative cleats to be with family, knowing he would be 86 years old if he did another term.
“My wife needs me. My family needs me,” he said.
Conway graduated from the University of Oregon and served as a Fulbright fellow at the London School of Economics.
Prior to entering elected office, Conway worked as a labor relations specialist for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 81.
In the Legislature, he’s been a stalwart voice for workers, helping develop the state’s collective bargaining laws, unemployment insurance program, workers’ compensation system, apprenticeship program, and Paid Family and Medical Leave program.
Conway also serves on the legislative committee that provides oversight for the state’s pension system and on the Joint Committee on Veterans’ and Military Affairs.
In his tenure, he’s abetted efforts to expand the University of Washington Tacoma, build the LeMay Car Museum, the UW Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, and most recently, the Asia Pacific Cultural Center.
Conway and his wife, Georgia, a retired children’s specialist for the Tacoma Public Library system, have two sons and four grandchildren.
