Jim Kastama

Biography

Sen. Jim Kastama chairs the Senate Economic Development, Trade and Innovation Committee. Representing the 25th Legislative District since 1996, Jim was first elected to the Senate in 2000 after two terms in the House of Representatives.

Jim also sits on the Senate Transportation and Higher Education and Workforce Development committees, and throughout his political career has been the Legislature’s leading advocate for shared parenting. Jim also is a member of the Legislative Committee on Economic Development and International Relations, the State Economic Development Finance Authority Board and the Washington Economic Development Commission.

Jim’s varied civic service and activities include memberships on the Valley Arts United Advisory Board and the Puyallup Main Street Association and the board of Community in Schools. He is a former VISTA volunteer and recipient of a congressional recognition award.

A graduate of Puyallup High School, Jim attended Claremont Men’s College and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a part-time faculty member at the community college and university level—he teaches classes in Organizational Assessment, Strategic Planning, and Managing in a Political and Legislative Environment—and is an examiner for the Washington State Quality Awards.

Jim lives in his hometown of Puyallup with his wife, Barbara, and children Isaac, Anna Laura, Michael, Sarah and Rachel. He is an insatiable skier and cyclist and is a perpetual student of new ways to make businesses more competitive and to create better jobs for Washingtonians.

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