About David

My name is David Taylor and I was honored to receive the appointment to replace Dan Newhouse in the Washington State House of Representatives on March 30, 2009.  A little about myself: my family has a long history in Central Washington.  I am married to Molly and have two children Tiffany who is 13 and Brock who is 13.

I worked for Kittitas County for ten years, five as the Planning Director and two as the Community Development Services Director.  I became employed by Kittitas County during the height of Growth Management Planning efforts and immediately realized the mandated programs established by the Legislature could be used as a tool to erode private property rights.  During the course of my employment, I fought against State Agency and special interest groups’ efforts in order to preserve the rights of landowners.

I was very fortunate in my time with Kittitas County because I was afforded the opportunity to work on legislative issues impacting the citizens of the County.  I gained valuable legislative experience working on a variety of issues, which led to serving on statewide committees.  I left employment with Kittitas County in 2004 and started a private consulting business.  Over the past five years I have represented a variety of private property owners, the Yakima County Farm Bureau, the Yakima County Cattlemen’s Association, the Hop Growers, the Yakima Dairy Federation, the Lower Yakima Valley Association of Realtors, local business owners, and local units of government covering a variety of issues.

My areas of expertise include Growth Management, water resources, property rights, exempt wells, coordination plans, economic development, and agricultural issues.  I have served in a variety of capacities for industry groups, including the President of the Yakima County Cattlemen’s Association, President of the Washington State Association of County and Regional Planning Directors and as the Government Affairs Director for the Lower Yakima Valley Association of Realtors.

Throughout my career, I have relied on my conservative principles and values to represent my clients and the citizens I served.  One of my favorite quotes comes from President Abraham Lincoln, who said, “Important principles may, and must, be inflexible.”  This quote truly represents my belief; my conservative principles may, and must be, inflexible.  There is no middle ground on protecting property rights, seeking smaller government or maintaining local control.

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EDUCATION
Ellensburg High School
Central Washington University, Bachelor of Arts in geography with an emphasis on land studies

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Director, Kittitas County Community Development Services Department
Planning Director, Kittitas County Planning Department
Owner, Taylor Consulting Group, specializing in land-use, water and agriculture issues, policy development and government relations
Owner, Taylor Angus Ranch
Co-owner, D Bar D Custom Fabricators
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Past Yakima County president and vice president, Washington Cattlemen’s Association
Member, Land Use Committee, Washington Cattlemen’s Association
Former member, Board of Directors, Cattle Producers of Washington
State chairman, Land Use Committee, Washington State Farm Bureau
Former member, Legislative Committee, Washington State Farm Bureau
Former board member, Yakima County Farm Bureau
Member, Washington Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation, Class 28
Director, Government Affairs, Association of Realtors, Kittitas County, Yakima and Lower Yakima Valley

CIVIC ACTIVITIES
Cattle in the Classroom
4-H Beef Leader

AWARDS
Washington Farm Bureau Excellence in Agriculture
Washington Farm Bureau Discussion Meet

STATE GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE
State Representative, appointed March 2009

PERSONAL
David and his wife, Molly, a title manager in Yakima, reside in Moxee with their children, Tiffany, 12, and Brock, 10.