Longtime Washington powerhouse politician Frank Chopp is stepping down

Frank Chopp will not run for re-election in 2024, ending a nearly 30-year legislative career in Washington, which includes time as the longest-running House speaker in state history.

Chopp has represented the state's 43rd Legislative District since 1995, which covers Seattle's Belltown through Capitol Hill and Eastlake, up through the U District, Wallingford, and Fremont. In 1999, Chopp became co-House speaker. In 2002, he took on the speaker role alone and held that position until 2019.

RELATED: Washington House Speaker Frank Chopp's tearful story of sister with mental illness

Before becoming an elected official, he worked as a community organizer, working at various nonprofits around Seattle, focused on low-income housing, social services, and food banks. Those issues were priorities while in the House.

“I’ve always been driven by the belief that everyone deserves a foundation of home, health, and hope,” Chopp said in a statement announcing his retirement from the state Legislature. “These are the basic needs for economic success, for better education outcomes, for restoring lives and reaching potential. I am proud to have played a role in helping people throughout Washington gain access to services and support that help them gain independence and realize their dreams."

While speaking with KUOW in 2014, Chopp said that his early life in Bremerton, and his family, highly influenced his desire to support affordable housing and mental health in Washington state. He openly spoke about his sister, a Seattle school teacher, who suffered from mental illness and was helped by various public programs.

“The proudest moment of my service in the Legislature was sitting in the audience when my sister testified to the Senate Health Care Committee in favor of mental health parity," Chopp told KUOW. "I was so proud of her, and we passed the bill. The reason I'm so emotional about this — it is not just my sister, it's thousands of people across the state who need somebody to stand up for them.”

Chop said in his statement about his retirement that he "will continue to advocate and organize efforts in the public interest as a public citizen."

Washington state lawmakers leaving office after 2024

Chopp is now among a handful of state legislators stepping down from office, opening up the House and Senate to new leadership.

In early March, Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, a Democrat from Spokane, announced he would not seek re-election. Democratic Sen. Karen Keiser, Senate president pro-tempore, is also stepping down. Like Chopp, Keiser came to Olympia in 1995 as an appointed lawmaker and won re-election ever since. She is the most senior member of the state Senate.

Republican J.T. Wilcox is also stepping down after 14 years serving in Olympia. During that time, Wilcox was House floor leader for six years, and then House Republican leader for five years.

Wilcox announced his departure in February, and offered parting advice, noting that when he first came to the capitol, despite being in the minority, he had "confidence that leaders, though pursuing different policies, felt a deep commitment to the success of the things they passed and the best function of our state agencies." However, now, he said, "single-party thinking" has deterred much of that commitment. He pointed to political activists' theatrics as an example, and said he has hope that a new generation of lawmakers can "pull our government back together."

Wilcox also noted that Washington's state government has many unsung heroes working to make a difference, instead of being in the spotlight.

"The system right now doesn’t give them as much influence as they deserve and need, but that will change ... there are Democrats with whom I disagree sometimes, but trust to be honest and deeply committed," Wilcox said. "As long as we have Democrats like Larry Springer, Frank Chopp, and Mike Chapman, we will have people who can be partners in the coming reemergence of a government that works."