From voting rights to wages to housing assistance, these officials advocate for systemic change to reduce incarceration.Simmons is among a handful of formerly incarcerated women elected to public office. All are open about their past convictions and incarceration, and have used those experiences to challenge longstanding “tough-on-crime” policies as well as bolster social resources that best prevent social violence, harm, and poverty.

With lawmakers facing mounting budget pressures and potential cuts to child care and K-12 education, 13 House Democrats urged the finance committee to strip a corporate tax break from the proposed “millionaires tax” before advancing the bill. Rep. Tarra Simmons was among the co-signers of the letter supporting the amendment.

Former State Rep. Sara Eubank of Bremerton praised Simmons: “What stands out most is her humanity. She offers not only legislative solutions, but her time, guidance, and connections to local resources. That kind of steady, personal commitment goes far beyond what is required of a part-time citizen legislator.”

Simmons, the first formerly incarcerated person elected to the legislature, addressed victims’ advocates’ concerns about early release: “I empathize with that position. I was a survivor of crime long before I was incarcerated.” She argued that keeping rehabilitated individuals incarcerated for pure punishment offers neither hope nor incentive to engage in rehabilitation.

Kitsap County Prosecutor Chad Enright wrote: “In this moment of budget shortfalls, lawmakers have the unenviable task of allocating scant resources. Scrutinizing legal aid and other important program funding is not obstruction; it is due diligence. Rep. Simmons is rightly focused on stabilizing our fragile safety net as access to food, housing, and healthcare is on the precipice.”

“But Simmons‚ a Bremerton Democrat, lawyer, civil rights activist and freshman state representative‚ has been a leading figure in the national fight for criminal justice reform for years, breaking barriers in politics and law for people with felonies.”

“Those who showed up included KMHS staff members and leadership, as well as state legislators, Sen. Christine Rolfes and State Rep. Tarra Simmons of the 23rd Legislative District, who help secure a $321,000 state budget to fund the construction. The project was Simmons’s first capital budget request after she joined the Legislature in January 2021, she said.”

“Simmons, one of the bill’s sponsors, knows the impact of disenfranchisement first hand. After being ‘born into generations of addiction and incarceration and poverty and violence,’ Simmons was sentenced to prison in 2011 for selling a small amount of prescription drugs to financially fuel her own drug addiction, which she said resulted from trying to suppress the post-traumatic stress of her childhood.”

“Tarra Simmons became the first formerly incarcerated lawmaker in Washington State’s recent history after she won a seat in the state House in November. Five months later, she is celebrating her first win as a legislator: A bill she sponsored was signed into law yesterday by Governor Jay Inslee, who credited her advocacy. It enables all formerly incarcerated Washingtonians to vote.”

“She led her campaign with her personal story and won both her primary and general election, earning endorsements from Rep. Pramila Jayapal and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.”

“If we create thriving and healthy communities, where people have their needs met and where if they have an issue they have someone to talk to about it and have support, I think we can really reduce crime and our reliance on prisons,” Simmons told The Appeal in October.

“Simmons said she decided to run for public office as a ‘second chance’ candidate focused on prison reform in the hope of helping those with prison records find housing and jobs and start anew with their loved ones.”

“One of the things that really attracted me to this campaign is the understanding of the personal stakes of political choices,” he said. “Life experience is going to affect their take on policy. If you’re going to be making healthcare policy it helps to have the experience of a doctor, or a patient, or somebody struggling with an insurance company, let’s say.”

“I think this is a transformational moment in our overall movement,” said Tarra Simmons, a lawyer and director of the Civil Survival Project, which advocates for previously incarcerated people.

“Simmons drew 45% of ballots cast to Ferguson’s 34%. Daugs drew about 16% of the votes in the contest. Lou Krukar, a Democrat from Kingston, garnered around 3% of the vote.”

Tarra Simmons, an attorney and civil rights activist, was leading in the primary race for Kitsap County’s 23rd Legislative District. If elected in the November general election, Simmons would be the first Washington state lawmaker who was previously incarcerated. Simmons had 45% of the vote, followed by Republican April Ferguson at 34%.

By Jeromy Sullivan, Chairman of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe: “Recent events have taught us that thoughtful, knowledgeable leaders are essential to how we survive and thrive in good times and bad. We believe Tarra Simmons will be a passionate advocate for all and is the best choice to guide our community into the future.”

By Kol Medina, Bainbridge Island City Councilperson: “She is the very definition of a servant leader. A servant leader is a person who leads by finding out what others in her community want and then providing the inspiration, vision, hard work, and relationship-building needed to help people accomplish what they want.”

“I am supporting Tarra Simmons for our state representative in Washington’s 23rd Legislative District. Tarra’s story is inspiring. She faced challenges post-incarceration. She overcame them by going to law school, then appealed to the State Supreme Court for her right to take the bar exam as a former felon ‚Äî and won. This is what second chances should look like.”

“Simmons is one of a new crop of political candidates in 2020 for whom being formerly incarcerated isn’t a disqualifier or a political liability. It’s an identity ‚Äî one they say is vital to represent in state capitals and the hallways of Congress, as lawmakers try to overhaul a system that spends billions to lock up mostly Black and brown people.”

Written by Bainbridge Island resident Mark Hoffman: “She doesn’t just talk about extreme challenges ‚Äî she overcomes them. After graduating from law school with honors, she fought the Washington Bar Association all the way to the state Supreme Court, which ruled that she has impeccable moral character and could sit for the bar exam. She then served on two state boards that advocate for criminal justice reform.”

Written by Andre Henderson: “Of everyone running to represent us, Tarra Simmons has consistently proven her determination to stand with people whose voices are often forgotten. As a mother of two young black men, Tarra has been fighting systemic racism for decades in our community. As a person who overcame generational poverty, she will stand up for the low-income and working families of our community.”

Written by Becky Tatman, this letter to the editor urges the media and critics to look at Tarra’s past in the context of the incredible achievements she has made throughout her life. “She is a civil rights attorney. She is the co-founder of a non-profit organization, called Civil Survival, and has spent the last several years fighting at the state capitol for the rights of all people, not just for the justice-involved community.”

“Tarra has forged friendships in Olympia on both sides of the aisle while advocating for non-discriminatory legislation. She formed Civil Survival. She worked with Rep. Drew Hansen and others to get the New Hope Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform proposal, passed in 2019. Retiring Rep. Sherry Appleton has mentored her.”

Written by Rich Smith, this article lists Tarra’s campaign as one of Washington’s top races to watch. “Tarra Simmons, lawyer and director at the Civil Survival Project, has been campaigning hard for that seat since last October. If elected, she’d be the first former inmate to serve in the Washington legislature.”

Written by Rasham Nassar, Deputy Mayor of Bainbridge Island: “As a lawyer, civil rights activist, and national-level political advocate, she has acquired the professional qualifications necessary to fulfill the requirements and expectations of this position. Her remarkable achievements are uniquely complimented by a diversity of personal experience, instilling in Tarra rare leadership qualities that are universally admired.”

Written by Bremerton resident Darold Bivens: “I ask that you pay close attention to Tarra Simmons, a candidate for 23rd District State Representative. Through her professional and social endeavors, Tarra’s proven she’s capable of creating opportunities for disenfranchised groups to become productive leaders of our community.”

Written by Bainbridge resident Mary Clare Kersten: “Public policies that support public education enabled Tarra Simmons to pull herself out of poverty. Recently, she applied her activism and leadership skills to pass The New Hope Act, a piece of public policy that will help formerly incarcerated people reintegrate into society.”

“I am a formerly incarcerated mother who—because of the help and kindness of so many lawyers who fought for me and educated me throughout my incarceration—am now an attorney and advocate helping to pave the way for the successful reentry of my justice-involved brothers and sisters.”

Tarra Simmons, a candidate for the 23rd District seat in this year’s election, was one of the guest speakers on the steps of the capitol building. Simmons’ story made national headlines after she attempted to become a lawyer following her release from prison. Despite graduating near the top of her class, she was initially denied the ability to take the bar exam. A state Supreme Court ultimately ruled in her favor.”

Simmons is the executive director of Civil Survival. She made national headlines when the state Supreme Court ruled in 2018 she could sit for the bar exam despite a previous drug conviction. She is now running for a seat in the state House of Representatives to represent parts of the Kitsap Peninsula and Bainbridge Island. If Simmons wins her election this year, it would be historic. She would be the first formerly incarcerated person to serve in the Washington state Legislature, at least in modern history.”

Tarra Simmons, of Bremerton, who in 2017 won a Supreme Court fight to sit for the state bar exam, despite her prior criminal conviction, formally announced her candidacy for the state House on Monday. “I’d like to break this concrete ceiling,” Simmons said in an exclusive interview with the public radio Northwest News Network. “I think we would all fare better if we have diverse people with lived experiences running for all kinds of offices.”

“I’d like to break this concrete ceiling,” Simmons said. “I think we would all fare better if we have diverse people with lived experiences running for all kinds of offices.” Simmons co-chaired Washington’s Statewide Reentry Council and played a key role in the bipartisan passage of the New Hope Act during the 2019 legislative session.

Written by Tarra Simmons herself, this essay is rooted in her experience as a formerly justice-involved individual who overcame numerous barriers to become an attorney and advocate. It argues that bar associations should use a conditional-approval process that informs applicants whether the bar intends to admit them before they begin law school.

After the Washington Supreme Court overruled the state bar and allowed Simmons to practice law, she became the unlikely subject of a Republican political mailer attacking a Democratic Senate candidate for supporting her. The backlash was swift — lawmakers from both parties, including a Republican state representative, publicly defended Simmons and condemned the attack.

“All I needed was someone to give me a seed of hope,” says Simmons, who overcame a history of crime and substance abuse to excel in law school, pass the bar exam, and earn her law license. Arguing before the Supreme Court on her behalf, attorney Shon Hopwood told the justices: “Character is not static. People change. And the law should recognize that.”

The Washington Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Simmons could sit for the bar exam, with Justice Mary Yu writing that Simmons “changed her life to a degree that can only be deemed remarkable.” The court’s opinion concluded: “We affirm this court’s long history of recognizing that one’s past does not dictate one’s future.”

Simmons sat down with the New York Times to discuss the challenges facing justice-involved individuals seeking to enter the legal profession. At the time, she had graduated magna cum laude from Seattle University School of Law and won a prestigious Skadden Fellowship, but was fighting the Washington State Bar Association’s denial of her application to sit for the bar exam.

The Atlantic examined the barriers formerly incarcerated people face when trying to enter the legal profession, featuring Simmons’ high-profile fight against the Washington State Bar Association — which had denied her application despite her graduating magna cum laude, earning the Dean’s Medal, and winning a Skadden Fellowship.

“When Simmons graduates from law school on Saturday she will be awarded the Dean’s Medal for the graduating student ‘who has the greatest potential to achieve the legal profession’s most noble aspirations for justice and ethics.’ But despite all the accolades, all the honors, and all the successes Simmons has achieved, she’s just been dealt a major setback: Simmons may not get to join the legal profession ‚Äî at least not right away.”

“Student Tarra Simmons has received a prestigious Skadden Fellowship. She is the first law student from Seattle University to join this elite group of dedicated social justice professionals working on behalf of people who are poor, elderly, disabled, or otherwise deprived of human or civil rights.”