Former State Representative Toby Nixon announced today that he will seek election this year to return to the legislature as state representative for the 45th District. Nixon, who served in the state house for five years from 2002 through 2007, will challenge Roger Goodman, who was elected to the seat Nixon vacated when he ran for state senate in 2006.

Reversing an earlier statement that he would not run for office in 2008, Nixon said, "After watching the legislature's failure once again to make any real progress toward solving the major problems in our state -- while continuing their relentless drive toward fiscal disaster -- I am disgusted along with the rest of the people of Washington. The incumbent had his chance and did nothing to change things. I am determined to win this election, return to Olympia, and take the lead implementing the new direction the people of the 45th District demand."

Nixon said that he was urged to run again by many supporters at the recent 45th District Republican caucus and other gatherings, and that legislative leaders and lawmakers from both parties have told him that his leadership, common-sense approach to the issues, and attention to detail have been missed in Olympia.

"This legislature's solution to every problem has been more government control, more regulation, and higher taxes and fees, rather than the free market solutions that would actually work," Nixon said. "Our infrastructure continues to crumble, our schools are going broke, housing and health care are increasingly unaffordable, and even with huge majorities in both the House and the Senate, they accomplished little except to make the government bigger. They need to be replaced."

Nixon has been a consistent defender of civil liberties, limited government, and free markets, and an opponent of bigger and more expensive government. He is known for his ability to work across the aisle to reach bipartisan consensus on issues; throughout his legislative career, he has sought to improve bills before the legislature regardless of who sponsored them or would get credit for the work.

Nixon served as State Representative for the 45th District from January, 2002, through January, 2007. As ranking member of the State Government Operations and Accountability committee during the 2005 and 2006 sessions, he guided through the legislature many significant election reforms in the wake of the 2004 election problems.

Nixon chaired Citizens for Accountable Elections, and led the successful 2007 campaign to pass Initiative 25 to put an amendment to the King County charter on the ballot this year that will make the county Director of Elections an elected non-partisan office.

Nixon is president of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, and an outspoken advocate for open public records and meetings and other measures to improve government accountability to the people. He received the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association's "Freedom's Light Award" in 2006 for protecting and advancing First Amendment interests in Washington.

Nixon has been recognized as a leader on the environment, serving on the boards of Republicans for Environmental Protection and of Heart of America Northwest, one of the leading organizations advocating for cleanup of the Hanford nuclear site. He was one of the sponsors of I-297, requiring cleanup of Hanford before more waste is stored there.

Professionally, Nixon is a fifteen-year veteran of Microsoft, and currently works as Senior Standards Program Manager in the Windows Device and Storage Technologies Group, representing Microsoft in international organizations reaching agreement on technical standards for networked multimedia and smart home technology. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and holds several patents in the area of computer communications.

The 45th District includes Woodinville, Duvall, Carnation, and parts of Kirkland, Redmond, and Sammamish. Nixon and his wife Irene have been married for 25 years; they and their five children reside in the Kingsgate neighborhood of Kirkland.

For more information, visit www.tobynixon.com.