State Rep. to retire at end of his term

Published 1:30 am Monday, April 6, 2026

PORT TOWNSEND — When the rest of the world feels chaotic, focus on what you can control locally.

That’s the advice state Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Port Townsend, said he wanted to share with constituents.

“There’s a lot you can do and a lot of security you can build around yourself locally,” he said.

“It’s a matter of people getting engaged, getting curious and engaging, and looking for solutions at a local level, so you can build roads, improve water systems, improve rivers.

“Work with local groups like the Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCA that are helping kids. It’s an old saw, but think locally.”

Tharinger will not seek reelection to represent the 24th Legislative District, which includes Clallam and Jefferson counties and a portion of Grays Harbor County. His term will end at the end of December after 16 years in office.

He previously served three terms as a Clallam County commissioner while he lived in Dungeness.

Tharinger, 76, said he made the decision not to run again prior to his diagnosis of Squamous cell carcinoma on his tongue last fall.

“It was time for someone else,” he said. “Sixteen years is a good run.”

Tharinger, who chairs the Capital Budget Committee, did not attend this year’s legislative session in person because he was receiving medical care, but he did work and vote some remotely.

His “prognosis is pretty good, but treatment is pretty painful,” he said.

Since he began treatment, Tharinger said he’s received a lot of support from residents across the North Olympic Peninsula, in Grays Harbor County and Olympia.

“Hopefully, I’ll be through this in a few months,” he said.

In October 2004, Tharinger started treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma and announced in November 2005 it was in remission after multiple treatments.

State Sen. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, who served alongside Tharinger while both were county commissioners and state representatives, said they’ve worked nonstop together for 26 years.

“He’s one of the finest public servants I’ve had the opportunity to know,” Chapman said.

“He’s of the highest integrity and work ethic … he’s always one to roll up his sleeves, find a solution and listen to all sides.”

Chapman said he loves Tharinger like a brother and that, despite seeing him battle health issues before, Tharinger never complains.

Sue Ellen Riesau, former publisher of the Sequim Gazette, worked on Tharinger’s county commissioner campaign that he won in 1999 after he was unsuccessful in his first attempt in 1995. She took a leave of absence as the newspaper’s general manager to help him run.

“The thing I admired most about him and still do is that he still believes in what he says and what he does,” Riesau said.

“Steve has a really strong sense of himself and a strong sense of what he believes.”

Russ Mellon of Sequim has known Tharinger since 1980 through sports, business and volunteering. Mellon was a Sequim Sunrise Rotary charter member in 1986, and Tharinger has been a longtime member too.

Mellon said they sometimes disagreed on issues, but Tharinger’s strength was being a good listener and representing both sides of the political aisle.

“He had a balanced perspective on issues and takes a position in the best interest of all the citizens he’s representing, and I really appreciate that,” Mellon said.

Tharinger was elected to the state Legislature in 2010, and he said he’s particularly proud of increasing healthcare access and infrastructure to the district. He served on the Health Care and Wellness and Appropriations committees, and for his role as chair of the House Capital Budget Committee, he helped write Washington’s capital investment budget that helps build schools, colleges, parks and other state facilities, while making investments in natural resources.

Pat McCauley, a friend of Tharinger’s for 30-plus years in Sequim and through the Sequim Sunrise Rotary Club, said in his chairman role he’s helped the Peninsula countless times with funding, and he also helped secure a grant for the Joe Rantz Rotary Youth House project to help homeless teens in Sequim.

“He was always a good volunteer, and that, to me, makes a world of difference,” McCauley said.

She said Tharinger has the “right heart for it.”

“That’s important to me to have someone who represents you and has the same philosophy of taking care of people,” McCauley said.

Prior to his time in politics and Sequim, Tharinger earned a political science degree from Colorado College in 1971. He traveled some before he moved to Seattle in 1976 to build homes, and then to Sequim two years later. He started Dungeness Woodworks with his then-wife Yvonne.

Tharinger said his journey into politics progressed naturally, starting in the early 1990s with land and agricultural committees before joining Clallam County’s Planning Commission.

Looking back at his time as a county commissioner, Tharinger joked he’s too old to remember. But he listed the development of the Elwha Bridge and expanding the Olympic Discovery Trail as some of the biggest accomplishments during his tenure, as well as maintaining the county’s budget with Chapman and former commissioner Mike Doherty.

Chapman said the county was going through tough times when they were first elected, but they and staff brought it into a good standing before they moved on.

Over Tharinger’s time at the state level, Chapman said helping to secure funds for Field Arts & Events Hall, Shore Aquatic Center, various medical clinics and the Sequim Library were some of his biggest contributions.

“The district has been well served with him as chair of the capital budget,” Chapman said. “I’ll do my best to pick up the slack.”

Chapman said Tharinger built real friendships with people and the next legislative session will be more difficult without him.

Three candidates — Aiden Hamilton, R-Port Angeles, Kaylee Kuehn, D-Sequim, and Patrick DePoe, D-Neah Bay — have stated their intent to run for Tharinger’s seat. Filing week begins May 4.

Tharinger’s advice to his successor? Be accessible and listen.

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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.