House Republican Caucus Chair Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish.

OLYMPIA, April 25.—State Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish, is emerging as the top contender for the House minority leader position vacated last week by Richard DeBolt, say key members of the House Republican Caucus.

It may be a couple of weeks before the decision is ratified, but consensus seems to forming around Kristiansen, who has served as caucus chair for the last seven years. So says Joel Kretz, the deputy leader who has temporarily taken over the reins until the 43 Republicans name a new team captain. Kretz says Kristiansen enjoys broad support within the House Republican Caucus.

“I think there is pretty good consensus that Dan would be in the right place at the right time,” Kretz says.

Indeed, things do seem to be falling into place, a week after DeBolt, R-Chehalis, announced that he would be stepping down from the leadership position due to health reasons. Kretz says he hopes to remain in his current position when Republican members hold their reorganizational meeting, currently set for May 10. So does Republican Floor Leader J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, the subject of a fair amount of speculation over the last week. Wilcox told reporters Wednesday he is throwing his support to Kristiansen. “To me that was easy – a good choice,” he says.

And as the new leadership slate appears to be firming up, Kretz says there appears to be sentiment among some Republicans that the reorganizational meeting ought to take place sooner rather than later. “I now have people who wanted to wait coming back and saying, ‘What do we want to wait for?’”

If Elected, He Will Serve

Kristiansen, 50, confirms that he is a candidate for the position and a number of Republicans have thrown him their support. “It wasn’t something I sought,” he says. “It isn’t a ‘bucket-list’ item for me, but I got approached by most of my caucus. DeBolt also asked if I would do it. I went back home and I talked to my wife about it, because obviously an added responsibility goes with it. And I agreed, yes, I would be willing to do this if the caucus would like me to do it.”

Kristiansen, now in his sixth term, was elected in 2002 and served as ranking member on the House Economic Development, Agriculture and Trade Committee before moving into leadership ranks as caucus chair in 2007. “It is the one position that really allows you to know and understand who the members are, what are their strengths and weaknesses among our members, who the people are that should be the focus on certain issues down here,” he says. “I think it is sort of an unusual position of having to sit in here [in the caucus room] – I am the only guy who can’t leave. And when you have done it as long as I have, it gives you a little closer look into the guts of how this place operates amongst the members themselves.”

Kristiansen says the Legislature has become his focus after a career in the construction and building-materials fields, although he continues to invest in and manage commercial properties. His wife Janis, meanwhile, is involved in another family business dealing in manufactured building materials.

Biggest challenge for the House Republicans right now is determining the role they will play in the passage of a budget, he says – clearly not a decisive role, as they are in the minority in the House. But they will be called upon to lend support to the Republican-leaning Majority Coalition in the Senate as it attempts to strike a deal with the House Democrats. Even though the Legislature may be headed into special session, Kristiansen says it can’t be blamed on the divided power at the statehouse this year. Even when Democrats controlled the House, the Senate and the governor’s office, lawmakers routinely found ways to disagree and throw the Legislature into overtime. “There has been a history of logjams here when we supposedly had one-party control,” he says. “We now have for the first time in 11 years what I think is a checks-and-balances system where we can truly have a bipartisan budget in the Senate, passed by 30 votes. And you still have one person, from one party, in the speaker’s office – that seems to be where the logjam is at.”

Spoken like a Republican leader.

Happy to See Him Do It

Kretz says the job of a minority leader is all-consuming and he is glad that Kristiansen is willing to take it on. “I have kind of a life right now and I would like to hang onto it,” he says. “And you know, I don’t think people understand what the leader’s job is. I’ve been having fun for the last week – it has been really interesting, I’ve got a great team to work with. But what people don’t understand is that when you leave here is when the work really starts.

“Richard has been on a plane every week flying around the country or going to events six nights a week a lot of the time. I don’t want to do that. I pretty much would have to live in Olympia, so I’m going to go home and play with my ponies if I get a chance at all. I don’t mind doing some of that, but I don’t want that full-time responsibility.”

Consensus for Kristiansen seemed to develop quickly when DeBolt announced his departure, Kretz says – though of course that leaves a vacancy for the caucus chair position. A number of names are being circulated right now, he says. Kretz says he would be delighted to serve as deputy under Kristiansen. “For me to serve as deputy it has to be somebody that I have complete confidence in, and Dan is in a good position for that,” he says. “And if he is elected leader I am willing to serve as deputy. You have to be in a position where you have complete trust.”

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