Rep. Alex Ybarra appointed as newest member of Washington House

January 16, 2019

The newest lawmaker representing the 13th Legislative District was sworn into office this week. John Sattgast reports from Olympia.

SATTGAST: Meet Alex Ybarra (EE BAHR' AH) – former rocket scientist, Quincy School Board member, vice president of the Washington State School Board Association – and as of this past Monday afternoon — his new title – state representative.

YBARRA: “It's been a weird 36 hours, because I sit at my office, and people come in and they introduce themselves, and I say 'Well, I'm Alex Ybarra,' and they're going, they already know my name and they know what I look like.”

SATTGAST: Ybarra was appointed by commissioners in Kittitas, Grant, Lincoln and Yakima counties to take the place of Representative Matt Manweller who resigned. Within hours after taking the oath of office in Ephrata, Ybarra was at the state Capitol and on the House floor.

YBARRA: “I walked in the building, the first thing I did was, just like a little kid, was look up. And the first time I ever noticed they had the county names on the building, and I was like, 'Wow, look at that!' And I was looking for Grant, because that's where I'm from. And that was just the beginning!“

SATTGAST: Working as an auditor at Grant County PUD, Ybarra says he knows energy and water issues. In the House, the Quincy Republican will serve on the Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee, and the Consumer Protection and Business Committee. Mostly, Ybarra is looking forward toward solving local issues.

YBARRA: “I've got four counties. I've got Lincoln, Grant, Kittitas and a little bit of Yakima. And we all have similar issues. But not, everybody's got a little bit different issues. So I want to make sure I solve some of those issues for each of the counties in the whole district.”

Alex Ybarra – the newest state representative from the 13th District. John Sattgast, Olympia.