Tarra Simmons believed to be first felon to win state legislative office in Washington

Tarra Simmons (D), who won election to the Washington state legislature last week, is reportedly believed to be the first person with a felony conviction elected to the state House.

I’m just another human who lived through some hard life stuff… and had a dream. I do appreciate the shout out by @VanJones68 on CNN tonight though! Formerly incarcerated people never need to be imprisoned by the mind, them laws changin’! #LetMyPeopleRun pic.twitter.com/UPa7tT4d2M

— Tarra Simmons (@TarraSimmons5) November 5, 2020

Simmons, a former nurse, told The Washington Post she struggled to find work after her release following drug and theft convictions. 

“I couldn’t get hired as a nurse again, and Burger King was the only place that would give me a job,” she told the newspaper. “My wages were being garnished to pay my court fines, and I was also trying to reunify and catch up with my kids.”

Experiencing these hardships firsthand reportedly led Simmons to apply to Seattle University School of Law, and she graduated with honors in 2017. The Washington State Bar, however, told her that her felony conviction made her ineligible to take the bar exam, leading her to contact her mentor, Shon Hopwood, who himself finished law school after a bank robbery conviction. The state Supreme Court ruled in her favor later that year.

“Tarra understands how the law has a daily impact on the lives of those on the lowest economic rungs of society,” Hopwood told the Post. “That’s the community she grew up in, and she understands those issues better than somebody who grew up with a more privileged life.”

She then decided to run for the state legislature on a platform of prison reform and knocking down the barriers that prevent ex-convicts from rejoining society.

“After my own frustrating experience, I knew that I was lucky to find a way forward,” she told the newspaper. “I wanted to do something to help make it easier for others.”

She added that she hopes to work as a lawmaker on providing supports that will prevent the kind of legal trouble that can deprive people of opportunities.

“Instead of expelling kids who come to school with alcohol and get into fights, let’s figure out what’s going on with their families and invest in ‘wraparound’ services and partnerships to prevent more incarcerations later in life,” she told the Post.