OLYMPIA — Jim Hargrove announced his retirement on the floor of the state Senate on Thursday.
The longtime Democratic Senator from Hoquiam represents the 24th Legislative District, which includes Clallam, Jefferson and parts of Grays Harbor County.
Term expiring
Hargrove’s current term expires at the end of this year.
“Thanks for what you did for our state, senator, and thanks for your faith,” Gov. Jay Inslee said on a live TVW feed.
Inslee said Hargrove, 62, combined a “heartfelt passion” for the less fortunate with the “ability to recognize what really works.”
Hargrove was a major advocate for mental health and chemical dependency treatment funding.
He received the 2015 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, Champion award for his work to provide assistance to families struggling with poverty.
Hargrove, a ranking member of the Ways & Means Committee, was among those who hammered out a budget compromise in 2015.
His fellow senators were continuing to express their appreciation late Thursday afternoon.
Hargrove served in the state House of Representatives from 1985 to 1992 and the Senate from 1993 to the present, a total of 32 years in the state Legislature.
A business owner and forester, he and his wife, Laurie Hargrove, have three children.
