Rinehart To Quit Senate, Head Democratic Staff Senate Leader Had Been Mentioned As Candidate For Seattle Mayor

Nita Rinehart, the most powerful woman in the Legislature, said Tuesday she will resign her Senate seat to become Democratic staff director for the upper house.

A one-time candidate for governor, she had been prominently mentioned as a candidate for Seattle mayor or for the King County Council. But she said in an interview that her days as an elected official are probably over.

Rinehart, a 17-year legislative veteran, will succeed Dean Foster in one of the Senate’s top administrative posts. Foster, who also served as chief clerk of the House and as top aide to then-Gov. Booth Gardner, is retiring.

Rinehart, 57, will resign her 46th District seat next Tuesday, the same day she begins her new post.

The job pays between $70,000 and $80,000 a year, a raise of between 147 percent and 182 percent over the legislative salary of $28,300. It also will greatly boost the pension checks she can draw at age 65.

She has been chairwoman of the influential Senate Ways and Means Committee, which writes all budget and tax legislation and acts as a gateway for all legislation with a price.

A year ago, Rinehart announced that she would challenge a politically wounded Democratic Gov. Mike Lowry in this year’s gubernatorial primary. But when Lowry later bailed out, two stronger Democrats emerged - King County Executive Gary Locke, the eventual winner of the primary and general elections, and Seattle Mayor Norm Rice. Although she had picked up a number of endorsements and more than $200,000 in contributions, she decided to abandon the race.

Her party lost the Senate majority in last month’s elections, meaning Rinehart was about to lose her chairmanship.

Rinehart said she had begun to think about finding a new challenge when she got word of Foster’s departure.

“I was spending a lot of time working on a new job description for the position and it suddenly dawned on me that I would like it myself,” she said.

The staff director oversees the partisan staffers who will work for the 23 Democratic senators, and keeps in regular contact with the non-partisan policy staff. Foster also has been a key strategist and adviser to the Democrats.

Rinehart said the decision to step down from the Legislature wasn’t wrenching.

“It was a pretty natural decision,” she said. “Everyone was pretty surprised, and it was a surprise to me when it first crossed my mind.”

Senate Majority Leader Sid Snyder, D-Long Beach, said her colleagues were stunned, and delighted, with her decision to seek the job.

“When our caucus found out, you could have knocked people over with a feather,” he said. “We’re absolutely thrilled to death. We couldn’t find a better person to take Dean Foster’s place. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the position. When she told me she was interested, that ended our search.”

Rinehart was appointed to the state House in 1979 and elected to a full term in 1980. In 1982, she moved to the Senate, where she has been re-elected three times.