Deborah Krishnadasan

American politician

EducationWestern Washington University (BA)

Deborah Krishnadasan

Member of the Washington State Senate from the 26th district
Incumbent
Assumed office December 11, 2024
Preceded by	Emily Randall

Personal details
Party	Democratic
Education	Western Washington University (BA)

Deborah Krishnadasan is an American politician serving as a member of the Washington State Senate from the 26th district. She was appointed by the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners and the Pierce County Council in 2024 to fill the vacancy left by Emily Randall's resignation following being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.^[1] A Democrat, she previously served as president of the Peninsula School Board.

Krishnadasan grew up in Puyallup and graduated from Western Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in communications.^[2]

Career

Her professional career includes working in communications and human resources for natural resources and tech companies including Burlington Resources, Visio Corporation, and Microsoft.^[3]^[4]

Peninsula School Board

Krishnadasan was first elected to the Peninsula School Board for District 2 in a 2015 special election and won re-election to the seat unopposed in 2017.^[5] She served a two-year term as the board's president from 2019 to 2021.^[4]

Washington Senate

She was appointed by the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners and the Pierce County Council to the Washington Senate on December 11, 2024, to replace Emily Randall.^[6] She is running in the November 2025 special election for the remainder of the term in a competitive race against Republican state representative Michelle Caldier.^[1]

In March 2025, Krishnadasan was one of two Democrats to vote with Republicans against the state budget due to tax increases.^[7] After being sworn in, she sponsored a bill which would amend the state constitution to lower the current 60% voter approval threshold to pass school funding bonds down to 55% of the vote.^[8]^[9]

Personal life

Krishnadasan and her husband Baiya, a Sri Lankan-born cardiothoracic surgeon, moved to Gig Harbor in 2008 and have three kids: Alexander, Audrey, and Gabriel.^[4]^[10]

References

1 2 Demkovich, Laurel (December 11, 2024). "Gig Harbor education leader to become WA's newest Democratic state senator". Washington State Standard. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
↑ Wilson, Conor (December 11, 2024). "Krishnadasan picked as new 26th District state senator". Gig Harbor Now. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
↑ Cafazzo, Debbie (March 23, 2015). "Krishnadasan seeks seat on Peninsula School Board". The News Tribune. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
1 2 3 Thompson, Sara (January 27, 2021). "Deborah Krishnadasan Ends Two-Year Term as PSD Board President". Key Peninsula News. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
↑ Dean, Matthew (October 1, 2017). "Krishnadasan Seeks Re-election to School Board Unopposed". Key Peninsula News. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
↑ "Krishnadasan selected, sworn in as next 26th district senator". Washington Senate Democrats. December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
↑ Johnson, Carleen (March 31, 2025). "WA Senate passes $78.5 billion operating budget, including major tax increases". The Center Square. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
↑ Wilson, Conor (February 3, 2025). "Krishnadasan's agenda in Olympia includes making it easier to pass school bonds". Gig Harbor Now. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
↑ James, Albert (January 17, 2025). "Legislation proposes amending state constitution and lowering threshold to pass school bond measures". KXLY-TV. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
↑ Henry, Christina (March 15, 2024). "Two Peninsula School District seniors earn prestigious scholarships". Gig Harbor Now. Retrieved December 19, 2024.

v t e Members of the Washington State Senate
69th State Legislature (2025–2027) President of the Senate Denny Heck (D) President pro tempore Steve Conway (D) Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen (D) Minority Leader John Braun (R)
▌Derek Stanford (D) ▌Jim McCune (R) ▌Marcus Riccelli (D) ▌Leonard Christian (R) ▌Victoria Hunt (D) ▌Jeff Holy (R) ▌Shelly Short (R) ▌Matt Boehnke (R) ▌Mark Schoesler (R) ▌Ron Muzzall (R) ▌Bob Hasegawa (D) ▌Keith Goehner (R) ▌Judy Warnick (R) ▌Curtis King (R) ▌Nikki Torres (R) ▌Perry Dozier (R) ▌Paul Harris (R) ▌Adrian Cortes (D) ▌Jeff Wilson (R) ▌John Braun (R) ▌Marko Liias (D) ▌Jessica Bateman (D) ▌Drew Hansen (D) ▌Mike Chapman (D) ▌Chris Gildon (R) ▌Deborah Krishnadasan (D) ▌Yasmin Trudeau (D) ▌T'wina Nobles (D) ▌Steve Conway (D) ▌Claire Wilson (D) ▌Phil Fortunato (R) ▌Jesse Salomon (D) ▌Tina Orwall (D) ▌Emily Alvarado (D) ▌Drew MacEwen (R) ▌Noel Frame (D) ▌Rebecca Saldaña (D) ▌June Robinson (D) ▌Keith Wagoner (R) ▌Liz Lovelett (D) ▌Lisa Wellman (D) ▌Sharon Shewmake (D) ▌Jamie Pedersen (D) ▌John Lovick (D) ▌Manka Dhingra (D) ▌Javier Valdez (D) ▌Claudia Kauffman (D) ▌Vandana Slatter (D) ▌Annette Cleveland (D)
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