Mayor Larson is running for the open seat to be vacated by Rep. Chad Magendanz, who will be challenging Senator Mark Mullet for his senate seat this year.
Larson is a former small business owner and has served three terms as Mayor of Snoqualmie. He has held various other local 
positions including Mayor Pro‐Tem, City Council member, past chair of the Planning Commission, Parks Board member, and as the elected President of the Sound Cities Association, a regional organization composed of 36 cities throughout King County.
“I have been proud to call East King County my home for over 16 years and look forward to taking my track record of fiscal accountability and regional leadership to Olympia to get results for 5th District residents,” said Larson who helped guide the City of Snoqualmie through a period of unprecedented growth. “Throughout my time as Mayor we have worked to grow our city in a smart way while making sure we protect parks, open space, and maintain high quality police and fire services for local residents.”
The city of Snoqualmie has been one of the fastest growing cities in Washington surging from a population of 1,600 in 1998 to over 13,000 today. Throughout his tenure as mayor, Larson has overseen the building of nearly 4,000 new homes, 38 new city parks, 29 miles of trails, the construction of a new City Hall, library, community center, and public works facility, as well as new police and fire stations to help meet community needs.
Larson’s work earned him the honor of 2012 Elected Official of the Year by the Alliance of Eastside Agencies, an association of more than 50 health and human-services organizations and governments serving East King County. In 2015, Money Magazine selected Snoqualmie as #5 for “Best Places to Live in America”.
“I’m running for the legislature to help forge compromise and get results on the most pressing issues facing our region,” said Larson. “When it comes to traffic congestion, school funding, climate change, and growing our economy we need leaders who can find common ground – it’s time to come together, Republicans and Democrats, to make progress for local families.”
Larson announced his campaign with an big list of early bipartisan endorsements in place, including King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, State Sen. Mark Mullett, State Rep. Larry Springer, State Rep. Joan McBride, Maple Valley Mayor Sean Kelly, Carnation Mayor Jim Berger, Duvall Mayor Will Ibershof, Renton Mayor Dennis Law, Covington Mayor Jeff Wagner, Kirkland Mayor Amy Walen, Woodinville Mayor Bernie Talmus, Sammamish City Council Member and former Mayor Kathy Huckabay, Kirkland City Council Member and former Deputy Mayor Penny Sweet, and President of the Fall City Community Association Ashley Glennon.
Mayor Larson is in the second year of a 4-year mayoral term, having been re-elected for in November 2014. In January 2016, Councilman Bob Jeans was elected Mayor pro tem. If elected, it is assumed, Mayor Larson would vacate his mayoral seat, but is not known yet if there would be a special election to re-place him or if the mayor pro tem would take over.
Larson grew up in a military family and has lived in Washington for the past 30 years. He and his wife Jennifer have been married for 31 years and have four children, ages 18 to 25.
Comments
[…] Falls. Mayor Matt Larson has decided the valley of the moon is not big enough for him, and is now running for the State Senate as a representative of Carnation, Issaquah, Snoqualmie, North Bend, Renton, Maple Valley and Black […]
I believe he has been the best mayor any small city could have. It would have been even more developed if some other mayor was elected. He has done it slowly but surely as it is been inevitable that change does happen. Yes, it is hard to watch as I live in Snoqualmie as well but I also just learned from this article, that this valley has been called ‘The Valley of the Moon’. And yes it does live up to it’s name. I know I have not lived in ‘The Valley of the Moon’ as long as other people have but I have lived here long enough to know ‘that change is hard’ for all of us, whether we lived here for a day or a 100 years or for that matter, longer than 100 years.
Dear Mr. Larson,
You have shown up at our door during voting times and we have voted for your qualifications. Unfortunately, we disagree with one of your projects on the agenda.
I have been involved in hazard material clean up for over 20 years. We are disappointed you are not requiring a phase I on Mill Pond operated by Weyerhaeuser for many years. I have seen the clean up process on other mill sites in other counties and they were not above the law on clean up. There are toxic looking green particles in the pond and the pond is continuously feeding into the Snoqualmie River. I am for growth but feel you are not doing your job for the environmental concerns required on this site.;
Please reconsider doing testing of the water and surrounding areas of the pond for there is no state exemption for future hazards that could be increased without the correct study,
Sincerely,
Lisa Bride
Concerned Citizen