Derek Kilmer

Early life, education, and business career

Kilmer was born and raised in Port Angeles, Washington. Both of his parents were public school teachers. Kilmer earned a BA in public affairs with a certificate in American Studies from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He won a Marshall Scholarship to obtain his PhD in Comparative Social Policy from the Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford.

Kilmer is a former business consultant for McKinsey and Company. He was also a business retention manager for the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County. He is also a trustee for Tacoma Community College and served on the board of Peninsula Schools Education Foundation.

Elections

In 2004, Kilmer challenged incumbent Republican State Representative Lois McMahan of Washington's 26th house district, seat 2. He defeated her 50%-48%, a difference of 1,009 votes.

In 2006, Republican State Senator Bob Oke decided to retire. Kilmer decided to run for Washington's 26th senate district. He defeated Republican Jim Hines 60%-40%. In 2010, he won re-election to a second term, defeating Marty McClendon 59%-41%.

Tenure

In 2007, he was one of just three Democratic state senators to vote against the bill that would allow labor unions to spend non-members' bargaining fees on political causes without first getting their permission.

He sponsored the senate bill that would increase fines to pay for a new $849 million Tacoma Narrows bridge in his district.

Business groups have praised Kilmer for being one of the most pro-business Democrats in Olympia. He is the three-time recipient of the “LEADER Award” from the Washington Economic Development Association. He was named the "Legislative Business Star Award" from Enterprise Washington's Business Institute. He was named “Legislator of the Year” by the Department of Veterans Affairs. He was recognized by the Northwest Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America as “Legislator of the Year”. He was also named “Legislator of the Year” by the Washington Council of Police & Sheriffs. He was named an "Honorary Fire Chief" by the Washington Fire Chiefs.

Committee assignments (State of Washington)

2012 election

After redistricting, Democratic U.S. Congressman Norm Dicks decided to retire. Kilmer decided to run for the newly redrawn Washington's 6th congressional district. He won the endorsements from The Seattle Times, which called him “a problem solver who can be bipartisan.” The News Tribune of Tacoma praised him for having “an uncommon understanding of trade, business taxation, smart regulation, job creation and other fundamentals of economic growth.” Port Angeles, Rep. Kilmer's hometown and an area for which he was elected to represent, suffers from an unemployment rate 2.3 percent higher than the Washington State average, consonant with the rate of increase recorded before he took office. In the November general election, he defeated Republican nominee Bill Driscoll 59%–41%. He won all six counties in the district.

Israel policy

Derek Kilmer was a cosponsor of the United States–Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013.

Kilmer was part of a 37-member congressional delegation that visited Israel. The trip was sponsored by the lobby group, American Israel Education Foundation, with the stated goal of working to strengthen strategic economic and military cooperation between Israel and the United States.

Co-sponsorship of the United States–Israel Partnership Act of 2013

Through his co-sponsorship of the United States–Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013, Rep. Kilmer supports spending U.S. tax revenue to fund Israel's military, and to provide assistance for collaboration in the fields of energy, water, homeland security, agriculture, and alternative fuel technologies.

Legislation

On October 29, 2013, Kilmer introduced the American Savings Promotion Act (H.R. 3374; 113th Congress), a bill that would authorize some financial institutions to conduct a contest, known as a "savings promotion raffle," in which the sole consideration required for a chance of winning designated prizes is obtained by the deposit of a specified amount of money in a savings account or program, where each ticket or entry has an equal chance of being drawn.

Kilmer was ranked as the 33rd most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress (and the third most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington) in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy that ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party).

Committee assignments