POULSBO — Loretta Byrnes of Poulsbo has announced her candidacy for 23rd District state representative, position 2.
Byrnes, a Republican, ran unsuccessfully for North Kitsap School Board in 2015. She is a former agriculture program officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and former program coordinator for CARE. She has also worked as an economic analyst.
She is running for the position currently occupied by Drew Hansen, D-Bainbridge Island. State representatives are elected for two-year terms. The primary election is Aug. 2, the general election is Nov. 8.
“I am running for state representative as a fiscal conservative because I want to improve government programs to ensure effective service delivery — especially for education,” Byrnes said in an announcement of her candidacy.
“In addition to increasing salaries and improving recruitment, we must enable teachers to focus on teaching. I attend 90 percent of our [North Kitsap School District] board meetings and review all of the data and policies. Too many federal and state mandates are distracting our teachers from providing a rigorous education to our children. Improving our educational system is not just about more money. We need to look at the whole system, reduce the bureaucracy, set priorities, listen to teachers, and increase transparency.”
She added, “Conservative voices are not being heard in our district and that isn’t right. Our legislators are elected to represent all citizens and to work for the greater good of all concerned. We cannot have a strong democracy or good government without honest dialogue and collaboration. As a moderate with vast experience working with diverse groups, I believe that I can bridge the divide between various perspectives.”
Citing her 13 months as a labor market analyst for the state Employment Security Department and six months as the King County WorkSource area director, Byrnes said she has “in-depth experience on how government-funded services can be delivered more efficiently and with greater impact” to meet the unmet demand for skilled workers in Washington.
According to her bio, Byrnes spent more than 15 years in Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda
designing and managing U.S. and European-funded programs to increase agricultural productivity. Her work involved analyzing policies — economic, regulatory, land tenure, environmental and others — with government agencies, private sector, small farmers, and traders.
As a program officer with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she strengthened international and national research systems to work more effectively with the private sector and small farmers, her bio states. She wants to use her skills in program design and performance management to improve efficiency and reduce government bureaucracy.
Byrnes graduated from high school in Olympia and was the first in her family to go to university. She earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy at Washington State University and a graduate degree in natural resource economics from Oregon State University. She married Jim Byrnes, an engineer at the Bremerton Naval Shipyard, and moved to Seabeck in 2009.
Byrnes’ interest in water quality inspired her to join the Kitsap County Surface and Stormwater Advisory Group, on which she served for five years, including serving as chairwoman.
“We need to protect Washington’s natural beauty and water resources with sensible transportation systems and collaborative community development.”
The Byrneses moved to Poulsbo after Loretta went to work for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2010. She now works as an independent consultant.
The Byrneses have eight adult children, four children-in-laws, and two grandsons.
