Tharinger reflects on service after announcing political retirement

Published 4:30 am Wednesday, April 1, 2026

When the rest of the world feels chaotic, focus on what you can control locally.

That’s the advice State Representative Steve Tharinger (D-Port Townsend) said he wanted to share with constituents in a recent phone interview.

“There’s a lot you can do and a lot of security you can build around yourself locally,” he said.

“It’s a matter of people getting engaged, getting curious and engaging, and looking for solutions at a local level, so you can build roads, improve water systems, improve rivers.

“Work with local groups like the Boys and Girls Clubs and YMCA that are helping kids. It’s an old saw but think locally.”

Tharinger announced on March 10 his plan not to run for reelection representing the 24th Legislative District of Clallam and Jefferson counties and a portion of Grays Harbor County. His term will end at the end of December after 16 years in office.

He previously served as a Clallam County commissioner for three terms while living in Dungeness.

Tharinger, 76, said he made the decision not to run again prior to his diagnosis of Squamous cell carcinoma on his tongue last fall.

“It was time for someone else,” he said. “Sixteen years is a good run.”

Tharinger, who chairs the Capital Budget Committee, did not attend this year’s legislative session in person due to receiving medical care, but he did work and vote some remotely.

His “prognosis is pretty good, but treatment is pretty painful,” he said.

Since he began treatment, Tharinger said he’s received a lot of support from residents across the North Olympic Peninsula, and in Grays Harbor and Olympia.

“Hopefully, I’ll be through this in a few months,” he said.

In October 2004, Tharinger started treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma and announced in November 2005 it was in remission after multiple treatments.

Senator Mike Chapman, who served alongside Tharinger while both were county commissioners and state reps, said in an interview they’ve worked nonstop together for 26 years.

“He’s one of the finest public servants I’ve had the opportunity to know,” Chapman said.

“He’s of the highest integrity and work ethic … he’s always one to roll up his sleeves, find a solution and listen to all sides.”

Chapman said he loves Tharinger like a brother and that despite seeing him battle health issues before, Tharinger never complains.

Sue Ellen Riesau, former publisher of the Sequim Gazette, worked on Tharinger’s county commissioner campaign that he won in 1999 after losing his first attempt in 1995. She took a leave of absence as the newspaper’s then-general manager to help him run.

“The thing I admired most about him and still do is that he still believes in what he says and what he does,” Riesau said.

“Steve has a really strong sense of himself and a strong sense of what he believes.”

Russ Mellon of Sequim has known Tharinger since 1980 through sports, business and volunteering. Mellon was a Sequim Sunrise Rotary charter member in 1986, and Tharinger has been a longtime member too.

Mellon said they sometimes disagreed on issues, but Tharinger’s strength was being a good listener and representing both sides of the political aisle.

“He had a balanced perspective on issues and takes a position in the best interest of all the citizens he’s representing, and I really appreciate that,” Mellon said.

Tharinger was elected to the state legislature in 2010, and said he’s particularly proud of increasing healthcare access and infrastructure to the district. He served on the Health Care and Wellness and Appropriations committees, and for his role as chair of the House Capital Budget Committee, he helped write Washington’s capital investment budget that helps build schools, colleges, parks and other state facilities, while also making investments in natural resources.

Pat McCauley, a friend of Tharinger’s for 30-plus years in Sequim and through the Sequim Sunrise Rotary Club, said in his chairman role he’s helped the peninsula countless times with funding, and he also helped secure a grant for the Joe Rantz Rotary Youth House project to help homeless teens in Sequim.

“He was always a good volunteer and that to me makes a world of difference,” McCauley said.

She said Tharinger has the “right heart for it.”

“That’s important to me to have someone who represents you and has the same philosophy of taking care of people,” McCauley said.

Prior to his time in politics and Sequim, Tharinger earned a political science degree from Colorado College in 1971. He traveled some before moving to Seattle in 1976 to build homes, and Sequim two years later. He started Dungeness Woodworks with his then-wife Yvonne.

Tharinger said his journey into politics progressed naturally starting in the early 1990s with land and agricultural committees before joining Clallam County’s Planning Commission.

Looking back at his time as a county commissioner, Tharinger joked he’s too old to remember.

But he listed the development of the Elwha Bridge and expanding the Olympic Discovery Trail as some of the biggest accomplishments during his tenure, as well as maintaining the county’s budget with Chapman, and former commissioner Mike Doherty.

Chapman said the county was going through tough times when they were first elected, but they and staff brought it into a good standing before they moved on.

Over Tharinger’s time at the state level, Chapman said helping to secure funds for Field Arts & Events Hall, Shore Aquatic Center, various medical clinics, and the Sequim Library were some of his biggest contributions.

“The district has been well served with him as chair of the capital budget,” Chapman said. “I’ll do my best to pick up the slack.”

Chapman said Tharinger built real friendships with people and the next legislative session will be more difficult without him.

As of press deadline, three candidates — Aiden Hamilton of Port Angeles, Kaylee Kuehn of Sequim, and Patrick DePoe of Neah Bay — have shared their intent to run for Tharinger’s seat.

Tharinger’s advice to his successor? Be accessible and listen.