Former Kirkland mayor now deputy majority leader

State Rep. Larry Springer D-Kirkland of the 45th District has been elected deputy majority leader of the Democratic Caucus in the state House, which will focus on business outreach and engagement.

State Rep. Larry Springer D-Kirkland of the 45th District has been elected deputy majority leader of the Democratic Caucus in the state House, which will focus on business outreach and engagement. As part of caucus leadership, Springer said he will help determine what legislation goes forward and whether a specific bill will be pursued by his party, as well as build relations with business leaders in the state, including Kirkland and Redmond. The main topics that concern businesses, Springer said, are taxation, land use and regulations.

“If you are a business person in Kirkland, if you own a particular business and you have concerns about transportation or healthcare or taxation, I’m the person that would be probably be handling it,” he said.

As a small business owner, having run The Grape Choice in downtown Kirkland for 25 years with his wife and Kirkland City Councilmember Penny Sweet, Springer said his experience allows him to see how legislation directly affects business owners.

“I understand probably better than most of my colleagues the struggles that small business owners face, the day-to-day struggle of keeping your business open and paying employees and dealing with the recession that we’re recovering from,” he said. “That is experience I think that has led to me be a fiscally conservative Democrat because that’s important to the business community. Some of the major issues that the business community is interested in in this area is transportation, getting the transportation package passed so we can finish the 520 project. Transportation is a huge issue for the business community.”

One way he said he intends to help out Kirkland businesses is by pushing through tax exemptions for hi-tech and biotech startups, which have been popping up in recent years on taxes such as the business and occupation tax.

“The argument will be that the state’s giving up money, yet the exemption is important for businesses to give them a foot up on the ground,” he said. “It especially applies, not only to startups in the tech sector, but the biomedical tech sector – it is so heavily into research. They do a lot of research work and it takes a lot time before they make a profit at all. They are ones who deserve a tax exemption until they can make a profit. I sort of view my job as helping businesses get started and lowering their costs and the regulatory burden they take.”

Another way in which Springer intends to reach out to businesses when the legislature is not in session is to host Saturday morning “coffee hours” where people can meet him at a predetermined coffee shop in the area and offer feedback on legislative issues. During the legislative session, Springer said he holds weekly meetings with business lobbyists.

Springer is a former board member of the Seattle/King County Economic Development Council, former president of the Kirkland Downtown Association and mayor of Kirkland. He currently serves as a member of three chambers of commerce working on business development and promotion.

Springer was first elected to the legislature in 2004 and, in addition to his leadership position, currently serves on the Appropriations, Finance and Local Government committees.