Holmquist is youngest woman to join Senate

OLYMPIA — Senator JanŽa Holmquist, 31, is the youngest woman elected to the Washington state Senate.

Holmquist was sworn in Dec. 6 in the Senate chamber room. She served more than five years in the House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate. She was the youngest woman elected to the House too.

“It is very humbling to me that the 13th District voters would put their trust and hopes in me. I never want to forget what an honor this is and I plan on keeping the voters’ trust at the forefront of my decision-making process while in Olympia,” Holmquist said.

One of her first projects is to support legislation for a rainy day fund.

“With a $1.9 billion surplus, now’s the time to make the move and begin putting money away in preparation for the inevitable downturns in the economy,” Holmquist said.

If approved, the fund would be Washington’s first constitutionally protected rainy day fund. A simple majority would be needed to use it during bad economic times, she said.