by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard
May 5, 2026
Former Washington state lawmaker Eric Robertson, who served two stints in the Legislature decades apart, died April 24. He was 62.
Robertson, a former House Republican caucus chair, represented the 31st Legislative District from 1995 to 1998 and again for two terms from 2021 to 2025.
Former Rep. Kelly Chambers, a Republican from Puyallup and now regional head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, said on social media that Robertson died “far too soon after a stroke.” She called his death a “tremendous shock.”
“Eric was a big man with an even bigger heart,” Chambers wrote. “He took care of the people around him in quiet, thoughtful ways like grabbing you a drink, making sure you got where you needed to go, always looking out for others. He was ‘steady Eddie,’ someone you could count on to be right there by your side.”
Robertson grew up in Buckley and attended White River public schools and Green River Community College, according to the House Republican Caucus.
The Washington State Patrol hired Robertson in 1983. He rose through the ranks before then-President George W. Bush appointed him U.S. Marshal for western Washington in 2002. He held that position until 2007. He then became an administrator for the Valley Regional Fire Authority until retiring in 2018.
Robertson put that retirement on hold to return to the Legislature via election in 2021. During that time, he helped lead a successful push to roll back Democratic-supported restrictions on vehicle pursuits by police.
Robertson’s former seatmate and current House Republican leader, Rep. Drew Stokesbary, said Robertson “devoted his life to serving others — with integrity, humility, and a deep sense of duty.”
Rep. April Connors, R-Kennewick, recalled Robertson taking her under his wing as the top Republican on the legislative committee handling labor relations.
“He didn’t just teach policy, he taught us how to navigate the process, how to work with the majority, and how to be effective,” Connors wrote on Facebook.
Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, similarly felt welcomed by Robertson as a new lawmaker, saying that he was “was so kind, generous, funny, collaborative, and caring.”
Democratic Rep. Alicia Rule noted she and Robertson often disagreed politically, but that they “moved mountains together” when they found common ground.
“Eventually we landed with the kind of friendship that is all too rare these days,” she said.
Robertson’s passing comes after the deaths of other former state lawmakers in recent weeks.
Former Democratic Sen. Phil Rockefeller, who represented the 23rd Legislative District from 2005 to 2011, died April 15 at age 87. He left the Legislature upon appointment by then-Gov. Christine Gregoire to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. He also served on the state’s Salmon Recovery Funding Board until 2020, according to an obituary.
Rockefeller’s obituary argues his time in the Legislature “added years to his life, so deep was his joy in the legislative process, where he was able to shepherd bills through the process to become laws that improved the health of Puget Sound, protected and restored salmon runs statewide, improved the environment (including phasing out a coal-fired power plant), and strengthened public education.”
Longtime lawmaker Sam Hunt, who represented Olympia in the House and Senate for over two decades, died last month, as well.
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