From staff reports:

State Rep. Katrina Asay officially took over the duties of representing residents of the 30th Legislative District. She was sworn-in by Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens at 11 a.m. Dec. 3 in the House Chambers in Olympia. Former State Rep. Skip Priest vacated the seat after being elected and sworn-in to serve as Federal Way’s first elected mayor.

The 30th Legislative District includes Federal Way, Algona, Pacific and portions of Milton, Des Moines and Auburn. Asay is a Republican who served as mayor of Milton for six years before her election to the Legislature. In November, she defeated Democrat Carol Gregory in a close race, winning by 301 votes. Relatively unknown in Federal Way before the August primary, Asay was outspent by Gregory almost 2 to 1.

“I ran for state office because I am discouraged with the direction the majority in Olympia is taking this state,” Asay said in a Dec. 3 news release. “I know difficult decisions lay ahead, but the people of Washington expect each legislator to show leadership in the face of the state’s dire financial situation.”

In an October candidate debate, Asay credited her experience in delivering a balanced budget as mayor of Milton as an example of how she can help at the state level: “I’ve done it in Milton, just with a different number of zeroes on (the budget),” she said. At the same debate, Asay said if there’s a need for a new tax, it needs to go before voters. “I do not support any new taxes at this time until this spending is under control and government goes back to the size it needs to be,” she said.