Emily Alvarado moved from the House to the Senate in the state Legislature on Tuesday after the King County Council appointed her to replace Joe Nguyen, who Gov. Bob Ferguson tapped last month to lead the state Department of Commerce.

Alvarado, a Democrat, was sworn into the Senate shortly after the council selected her for the seat in the 34th Legislative District, which includes West Seattle, Vashon Island, White Center, and part of Burien.

The council also chose a replacement for Tana Senn, former state representative for the 41st Legislative District, who Ferguson picked to lead the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

Alvarado was elected to the House in 2022. She’s worked as an executive with an affordable housing nonprofit and previously served as the director of Seattle’s Office of Housing. 

“I believe we all have a shared obligation to provide high-quality public services to our communities,” Alvarado said. 

Nguyen was first elected to the state Senate in 2018 and reelected in 2022. He was the first Vietnamese American elected to the Washington state Senate.

The council also approved Brianna Thomas as Alvarado’s replacement in the state House of Representatives. 

Thomas currently works as the senior policy and labor advisor for the Seattle mayor’s office and previously was chief of staff for former Seattle City Council member Lorena González.  

“I’m not here for a power grab, I’m here to hold the door open for the same people that held the door open for me so more folks like me have those opportunities,” Thomas said. 

The council chose Janice Zahn to fill Senn’s former seat. 

Zahn is the chief engineer at the Port of Seattle and has been serving on the Bellevue City Council, which she was first elected to in 2017. 

“I bring unique perspectives as an immigrant, engineer, elected and staffer, with extensive and broad experience at every level of government,” Zahn said. 

Senn first joined the state House in 2013 when the King County Council appointed her to the seat in the 41st District, which covers parts of Bellevue, Issaquah, Mercer Island and other communities.

Both the House and Senate positions will be on the ballot in a special election in November, with the winners serving through 2026.