Reuven Carlyle

Carlyle announced that he is not seeking re-election in 2022. The Seattle Times lauded Carlyle's public service.[1]

Carlyle announced he would not seek reelection on January 24, 2022.

In 2019, Carlyle successfully prime sponsored comprehensive clean energy legislation, SB 5116, to require all electric utilities in Washington to transition to a 100-percent, carbon-neutral electricity supply by 2030 and to 100-percent carbon-free electricity by 2045. The bill was a cornerstone of Gov. Jay Inslee's climate agenda.

Carlyle serves as chair of the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee, as well as a member of the Ways & Means and Rules Committee. Carlyle was re-elected in 2018 for a four-year term with 89.3% of the vote against Libertarian Bryan Simonson.

In 2018, he was one of only seven senators to vote against the Legislature's public records bill that was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Jay Inslee following a public outcry by the state's media and the public.

In 2013 Carlyle was appointed chair of the House Finance Committee and as a budget writer. During his three years as Finance chair, Carlyle sponsored legislation to provide transparency into Washington's tax structure. He also passed major legislation to reinstate Washington's estate tax as well reform the state's telecommunications taxation. In the Finance role, he was a prime sponsor and a supporter of the accountability and transparency provisions of the Boeing tax package, widely considered the largest state tax incentive package in U.S. history. Carlyle was publicly critical of the abbreviated process of the special session.

Carlyle was named in 2012 as "one of 12 legislators in the nation to watch" by Governing Magazine. He was named one of the most "tech savvy" legislators in the nation by GovTech. He was named by the progressive organization Fuse as a champion of tax reform. In 2016 he was awarded the Ballard/Thompson Award by the Washington State Coalition for Open Government, the state's premier organization for open government and public access to government information. In 2017, he received legislator of the year award from Washington Conservation Voters.

Carlyle was first elected to the Washington House of Representatives in 2008, representing the 36th legislative district as a Democrat. He was appointed to the state Senate in 2016 to succeed veteran Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles who was elected in 2015 to the King County Council.

Carlyle's legislative priorities have been centered around budget policy and tax transparency, foster youth, higher education, energy and environmental priorities. In 2007, prior to his election, Carlyle authored the Passport to College Promise Program which was ultimately created by the Legislature.

Prior to his election, Carlyle was appointed by Governor Chris Gregoire in 2004 as a member of the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. He crafted legislation in 2007 as a citizen activist for foster youth, Passport to College Promise, a scholarship program. Carlyle was a citizen co-founder of the Seattle/King County Chapter of City Year, a national AmeriCorps program.

Reuven Michael Carlyle (born August 10, 1965) is an entrepreneur and American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Washington State Senate representing the Washington's 36th legislative district since 2009. The district spans the Seattle neighborhoods of South Lake Union, Belltown, Queen Anne, Magnolia, Greenwood, Ballard, Crown Hill, Blue Ridge. It is home of the Space Needle in the Seattle Center, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and PATH as well as global companies including Amazon, Expedia and more.