As your newly appointed 34th District State Legislator, Brianna has hit the ground running with common-sense, progressive commitment to public service.

 

Brianna’s career has been defined by public service and progressive advocacy. A University of Washington graduate, Thomas first engaged with state government as a teenage legislative page in 1998 and later as an intern and legislative aide in Olympia.

 

By the early 2010s, she had already made a mark as a community organizer – she managed the successful SeaTac “Yes for $15” minimum wage campaign, the first $15/hour wage initiative in the nation, and led Seattle’s Honest Elections initiative that created the city’s democracy voucher public-financing system. She also worked as a field director for the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance Action Fund, advocating for affordable housing. 

 

Brianna transitioned to influencing policy from inside government. Seattle Councilmember M. Lorena González – who won that 2015 citywide race – brought Thomas onto her staff, where Brianna eventually became González’s Chief of Staff. In that role, Thomas helped craft legislation and navigate city politics behind the scenes, earning a reputation as a knowledgeable City Hall insider who could “deliver progressive policy…without having to shout from the rooftop that she was there”. - The Urbanist.

 

Brianna later served as a senior policy advisor in the Seattle Mayor’s Office, focusing on labor and public safety issues. Brianna currently serves in the Human Services Division of the Mayor's office. She lives at the junction in West Seattle.