Bernbaum, Chapman sworn into state seats

By Jerry Cornfield Washington State Standard • December 18, 2024 1:30 am
State rep elect Adam Bernbaum, D-Port Angeles, was sworn into the House of Representatives to fill Mike Chapman’s seat on Dec. 6.
State rep elect Adam Bernbaum, D-Port Angeles, was sworn into the House of Representatives to fill Mike Chapman’s seat on Dec. 6.

Mike Chapman became Washington’s newest state senator on Dec. 6, a day after resigning from the state House of Representatives.

Chapman, a Port Angeles Democrat, was elected last month to succeed Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, a Sequim area firefighter, who did not seek re-election. Chapman was sworn in to fill the vacancy created when Van De Wege resigned in October.

“It’s humbling. I’ve been an invited guest on the Senate floor and now, to stand here as a senator, it is kind of surreal,” Chapman said a few minutes after Supreme Court Justice Steven Gonzalez administered the oath of office inside the Senate chamber.

With Chapman now a senator, Democrat Adam Bernbaum got an early start on his legislative career. Bernbaum, elected last month to succeed Chapman, took the oath also on Dec. 6. Hannah Wise-Maas, his wife and a public notary, did the swearing-in at the House dais.

“It’s a great honor. I think the gravity of the moment is just settling in,” said Bernbaum, a Port Angeles resident who was Van De Wege’s legislative assistant before stepping down to run for office.

Moments later, House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, and House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, D-West Seattle, came onto the House floor to congratulate the newest member of their caucus.

Chapman and Bernbaum represent the 24th Legislative District encompassing Clallam, Jefferson and Grays Harbor counties on the Olympic Peninsula.

Chapman joins the Senate following four terms in the House. He will be vice chair of the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee after serving as chair of the House Rural Development, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Committee.

He will also be a member of the Senate Health & Long-Term Care and Transportation committees. And he is deputy chair of capital budget assuring his involvement in the writing and negotiating of the Senate’s next capital budget.

Chapman lives in Port Angeles with his wife, Bobbi. They have two grown sons.

Jerry Cornfield writes for the Washington State Standard (statesnewsroom.com), an independent, nonprofit news organization that produces original reporting on policy and politics.

Photos courtesy Legislative Support Services Washington state Sen. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, is sworn into office Dec. 6 by Chief Justice Steven Gonzalez of the Washington Supreme Court.

Photos courtesy Legislative Support Services Washington state Sen. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, is sworn into office Dec. 6 by Chief Justice Steven Gonzalez of the Washington Supreme Court.