Former House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox reflects on his time in leadership as he steps down

In a surprise move this last week, Republican House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox announced that he would step down from his leadership role effective immediately.

“One of the things that I think makes me ready to do this is that I really have a good caucus and easily the highest quality one I’ve ever been a part of,” Wilcox told reporters in his office that day.

Wilcox had said publicly that he would step down if Republicans didn’t pick up any seats in the 2022 election, and he said this decision had been weighing on him since the election. Additionally, as his resignation letter pointed out, he had said it was time for a change if his leadership “didn’t result in better results and a more balanced Legislature” for Washington.

“I don’t go back on my word easily. One of the good reasons for doing this today is that it was a promise,” Wilcox said. “The only way you can have accountability is to have people that are accountable. I like this job, but it was more important to do what I said.”

Wilcox has not yet decided if he will run for re-election to his legislative seat, he told McClatchy.

As the leader of the minority party for the last five contentious, challenging years, Wilcox was the target of much criticism.

In 2019, for instance, Wilcox and other House Republican leaders ousted former Rep. Matt Shea from the House caucus after an investigation outlined Shea’s role in a 2016 armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. Wilcox said he thinks anyone who was involved in that decision to expel Shea is “forever branded.”

“It was important for me to take the blame and credit for that, and not let the caucus get damaged by that, but everyone had to answer for it,” he said. “I wanted to do it in such a way that the bad stuff stuck to me.”

Despite criticism from both those within the Republican party and a large group of folks outside the Legislature for expelling Shea, other caucus leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, appreciated the way that situation was handled.

“One of the things I respect J.T. for is standing up to even people within his own party if he thinks there’s something that he doesn’t agree with, or that isn’t right,” Billig told McClatchy. “That takes a lot of political courage to stand up to your own party and I’ve seen him do that a few times, notably with Matt Shea.”

COVID-19 and the response to it also put strain on Wilcox and the caucus, Wilcox said, although he acknowledged that his Democratic counterparts also were under a lot of pressure at that time.

Billig told McClatchy that he and Wilcox both came into the Legislature at the same time, alongside now House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma.

“I’ve known him for 13 years and always had a positive relationship and enjoyed the time that we spent together and I really respect him,” Billig said. “Even if we disagree sometimes on the strategies to reach a goal, I think we have similar goals to help our communities be prosperous and safe and allow opportunities for people to succeed. We have shared interests and goals regardless of policy differences that we might have.”

Billig told McClatchy that he was surprised to hear that Wilcox would be stepping down, but that he understands his reasoning and respects it.

New minority leader announced

On Monday, April 24, it was announced that Rep. Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, was elected to serve as the new House Minority Leader.

Stokesbary told McClatchy that he too was surprised to learn that Wilcox would step down. He said a number of caucus members then approached him and asked him if he was interested in taking the leadership position.

He said he has enjoyed his time working with Wilcox, and that he appreciates his approach to politics.

“I think it would be fair to say that both of us care more about getting things done than getting attention for things we don’t get done,” Stokesbary said.

While Stokesbary thinks he and Wilcox agree on most things, he said there will be a generational shift. Wilcox is 60, Stokesbary is in his late 30s.

Wilcox said he believes Stokesbary will be good for the role as House Minority Leader because he has a “really good political brain” and understands the job more than most people. He also knows policy better than everyone, Wilcox said.

“A, he’s a unifier inside our caucus, and B, generationally he’s part of the demographic that we need to do better with and I think he reflects voters in Puget Sound well,” Wilcox said.

For Stokesbary to be successful in the role, Wilcox said there are several things he could do.

“The Republican party is very fractured and there’s not one person that can appeal to all parts,” Wilcox said. As a result, Stokesbary should focus on being himself and being authentic.

“That will get you the support of all the sincere people,” said Wilcox. “You shouldn’t have to reflect every opinion that they have, but if they’re sincere they’ll understand that you’re with them on most things. People that think that he’s the face of the Republican party in Washington — that’s just not what that job is. I never aspired to be the face of Republicans in Washington.”

While the minority party is limited in what it can do, he said Republicans use every tool at their disposal to move policy in the directions that they think are best for the people they represent.

When asked by McClatchy if it will be weird for him not to be in leadership, Wilcox said he is really good at putting things behind him

“I happened to draw the cards that were the most tumultuous years politically in Washington history,” he added.

Wilcox’s legacy

Wilcox’s leadership has undoubtedly changed the way some issues are handled, Stokesbary told McClatchy.

“One of his lasting legacies in the state is going to be how the Legislature and how the state thinks about issues involving Tribal sovereignty,” Stokesbary said. “And I think J.T. ‘s leadership there is going to reverberate for a whole generation.”

The Wilcox family farm, where the lawmaker still lives, is on the Nisqually River, and as such the family has worked with the Nisqually Tribe for generations. Wilcox frequently tells the story of how his grandfather and Billy Frank Jr. came to an agreement regarding property and water rights. He often says that’s a big part of why he approaches things the way he does.

“I think both his family business and the Nisqually Tribe think that they’re probably better off for having worked together than having fought each other,” Stokesbary said. “So I think Wilcox took that approach to the Legislature and through his leadership taught several classes of new Republicans who came in after him that you don’t have to agree with the Tribes on every issue, but just because you don’t doesn’t mean you have to be antagonizing them on every issue as well.”

This year, he noted, three Tribes and agriculture groups came together to testify on a riparian buffer bill, although it ultimately did not pass. The only person to testify against the legislation in public hearings was someone from the Governor’s Office.

“That culture of trust and cooperation and a desire to achieve mutually beneficial results I think is a culture that Wilcox helped create, and without Wilcox I don’t think Republicans and farm groups would have taken that approach,” Stokesbary said.