Born the youngest of three sons to a middle-class Lutheran minister's family, Doug Ericksen learned early in life the importance of faith, family, and the American work ethic.

Rev. Len and Bette Ericksen (a former public school teacher) taught their sons Dave, Don and Doug to work hard in school, to work hard in life, and to take advantage of the opportunities our great nation offers. Dave now is managing partner for a major law firm in California, Don is an orthopedic surgeon in Montana, and Doug is serving his home town community as our state legislator.

Educated at Lowell Elementary, Fairhaven Middle, and Sehome High School, Doug excelled in the class room and on the athletic field. Doug earned six varsity letters at Sehome High School and was named to the All-State Football and Baseball games.

Doug accepted an offer from Cornell University to attend school in Ithaca, New York. At Cornell, Doug earned a degree in Government from one of the top rated schools of government in our nation.

Following graduation from Cornell, Doug took an opportunity to travel to Taiwan, ROC, to teach English. Taiwan made two major impressions upon Doug: the strength and energy of their free markets and the amount of pollution in their air. The Taiwan experience inspired Doug to continue his education with the goal of promoting the positive aspects of the free market while protecting the citizenry from the negative impacts of a polluted society.

Doug enrolled at Western Washington University in the masters program of Political Science and Environmental Policy. After taking time to work for Sen. Ann Anderson in Olympia, Doug received his MA in 1995. "Sen. Anderson served as an excellent role model in the world of politics and taught by example the qualities a legislator should possess." Rep. Doug Ericksen Following his completion of study at WWU, Doug served as campaign manager for Sen. Anderson's bid for Lt. Governor.

In 1998, Doug went to work for the Department of Fish and Wildlife as Legislative Affairs Coordinator. During that time Doug worked with agency staff, Committee Chairman Jim Buck, Republican Floor Leader Dave Mastin, and committee staff to create the 1998 Salmon Habitat Recovery Act. This legislation put in place a grassroots driven methodology to identify salmon habitat recovery projects at the local level, fund them with state and federal dollars, and then monitor the projects for success or failure.

In 1998 Doug left the Department of Fish and Wildlife to run the State Legislature, his first campaign for elected office.

After winning his election, Doug has gone on to serve with distinction as our State Representative standing up the taxpayers, the people who provide jobs, and for protecting our environment.

Doug currently serves as Deputy Republican Leader.

And as a member of the:

Ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee
House Rules Committee
House Technology, Energy and Communications Committee
House Local Government Committee
Legislative Transportation Committee
Legislative Ethics Committee
Numerous sub-committees and work groups