State House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon of West Seattle admits being drunk on the job

Thanks for the tips about citywide-media reports that 34th District State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, who serves as State House Majority Leader, has acknowledged being drunk on the job. We requested and obtained his statement from the State House Democrats‘ office:

I deeply regret and apologize for the fact that I consumed alcohol before the work of the Appropriations Committee was completed on Wednesday, and the result was obvious. This was a serious mistake for many reasons. Being impaired in that situation was harmful to my work and to my co-workers. This was a painful and embarrassing lesson, one I won’t forget, and I will not put myself and others in this situation again in the future. Again, I apologize.

“The result” is visible/audible in video from a hearing, as recorded by TVW (and embedded here).

Fitzgibbon has been in the 34th District’s State House Position 2 for 15 years and has been House Majority Leader for three years. He has filed to run for re-election this year, after winning his current term in 2024 with 84 percent of the vote over Republican challenger Jolie Lansdowne.

We also have received a statement from State House Speaker Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma) about the situation:

We expect professionalism in the workplace, and while Rep. Fitzgibbon did not meet that standard Wednesday night, he has acknowledged that behavior is unacceptable and has apologized. The people of Washington expect and deserve their legislators to be fully focused and clear on the work we are here to do on their behalf, and House Democratic Caucus leadership stands with Rep. Fitzgibbon as he takes whatever steps he needs to ensure his well-being.

We’ll add anything more we find out about fallout.

WSeaProud February 26, 2026 (3:56 pm)

What a shame. I was very happy to vote for Rep. Fitzgibbon and admire his work, particularly on environmental issues, but this behavior is unacceptable for an elected official. The apology is welcomed but needs to be accompanied by a resignation. Our community deserves better representation in Olympia and this man needs help.

Anne February 26, 2026 (4:05 pm)

Maybe he was in a drunken stupor when he came up with the idea of raiding the LEOFF 1 pension fund?

Howard February 26, 2026 (4:07 pm)

Completely unacceptable. While I sympathize with anyone
abusing substances this cannot be tolerated in any workplace, let alone the
leader of the House of Representatives. Drug and alcohol testing is mandatory
for “safety sensitive” positions, I’ve never understood how this has not been
applied to those elected to pass the very laws that govern our lives.

“and House Democratic Caucus leadership stands with Rep.
Fitzgibbon” Where is the pollical party that
stands with the people? The 34th should demand a higher standard from those who represent us.

Alki resident February 26, 2026 (4:11 pm)

I watched the video of him rambling. How embarrassing to put yourself in that position.

Derek February 26, 2026 (4:31 pm)

What a joke. Maybe we can get a progressive challenger to run and win now. Never liked him.

RayC February 26, 2026 (4:31 pm)

Absolutely an irresponsible and unacceptable behavior from an elected official. I would imagine he drove drunk to the hearing, and drove home drunk too?? Wrong on so many levels. Everyone needs to call his office to demand his resignation. Here’s the number to his office:360-786-7952Washingtonians deserve better.

Janet February 26, 2026 (4:32 pm)

Let’s try and be supportive, he may have more personal issues going on, this is not ideal but I’ve known many good people in powerful positions who’ve done the same, glad he’s admitting it. Didn’t vote for him but still can acknowledge that he’s human like all of us. I’ve been drunk at work and have realized how poor that decision was and never did it again, as a school teacher it was highly irresponsible. I had major trauma that week and I don’t excuse my behavior.

Justme February 26, 2026 (5:38 pm)

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Thank you Janet

WSOwl February 26, 2026 (4:33 pm)

I accept the apology.

Brian February 26, 2026 (4:35 pm)

I say let him cook.

Jordan February 26, 2026 (4:37 pm)

Don’t care what your political beliefs or leanings are. This is completely unacceptable. Not only is he a state rep, he is the majority leader in the house and was drunk during a public hearing?! He needs to resign.

jissy February 26, 2026 (4:44 pm)

Hope this is the catalyst for him to move on from office. Never did care for him after meeting with him in his office in Olympia and realizing the kid (yep, he was an early 20’s kid at that time) had never held a job outside of politics. Realized he’d be “mentored” into voting party line regardless of the issues and I was wasting my breath. As a small business owner I set out to try to engage with my neighbor and Rep and discuss actual real word concerns but alas, he’d never had any experience with anything related to my concerns & never would as a lifetime politician. Feels par for the course in the 34th. Oh well, I’m sure Dow’s got some cushy ST job of some kind waiting for him.

K February 26, 2026 (5:07 pm)

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The ageism is unnecessary though, hard to take your complaining seriously.
- jissy February 26, 2026 (7:35 pm)
  
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  Oh please, K… assume much? I was only in my 30’s myself.

Rhonda February 26, 2026 (4:48 pm)

That explains a lot of his bad policies. West Seattle deserves far better than that. It’s time for him to step aside, take care of his health, and let someone else represent the district.

onion February 26, 2026 (5:46 pm)

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I don’t know if Fitzgibbon should resign, but he SHOULD look long and hard in a mirror and acknowledge that he has a problem beyond a momentary lapse in judgement. How he handles — or doesn’t handle — his problem should help determine whether he is worthy of the public’s trust.

Dave February 26, 2026 (4:51 pm)

This is bad, but I will say I’d maybe tolerate it if some personal tragedy (like a close family member dying) had just taken place. Kind of like the pharmacist in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Like Jissy said, Fitzgibbon is so connected, either way he will land on his feet.

A February 26, 2026 (4:53 pm)

The hand ringing in the comments is off the charts. Clearly not a great thing, but I also just don’t think people realize the kind of pressure lawmakers go through during the 60-day session. I think it’s a one-off and we should move on. If it happens again, maybe then we can all be more judgemental.

Derek February 26, 2026 (5:10 pm)

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Don’t think bar is super high to ask someone not to drink on the job. Are you also okay with him driving himself home in that condition?
Jordan February 26, 2026 (5:19 pm)

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The State has a 2 billion dollar budget deficit. It is not serious, it’s not a crisis, it’s now a catastrophe. And our elected rep is in a hearing, drunk, discussing how to solve that. He’s making decisions impaired that affects millions of people’s lives? And you think that’s hand ringing?
WS Person February 26, 2026 (6:08 pm)

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“I think it’s a one off”. Are you kidding me? If you got caught it’s happened a ton of times. I can drink all I want on the weekend or after hours, but I never show up to work drunk. Not in the middle of the day, not when I had to drive there and drive home. Do away with the apologist behavior
Peter February 26, 2026 (6:08 pm)

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Being well compensated for a cushy sit down job isn’t pressure. He wouldn’t last two minutes at my workplace.

KT February 26, 2026 (5:11 pm)

Shameful. He should resign his leadership position immediately.

Admiral2009 February 26, 2026 (5:14 pm)

jissy – agreed!

BDR February 26, 2026 (6:01 pm)

This makes me question. Many things about him. An apology is nice. Seeking some type of treatment might give hope that he is serious about not letting this happen again. He should have been smart enough to realize how wrong it was to show up in that condition. Not sure a simple apology is enough. Show up to any regular job in that condition a person would be fired.

Peter S. February 26, 2026 (7:15 pm)

Here, here. Totally unacceptable. I agree with the majority in saying he should voluntarily or be forced to resign. I seriously doubt he would’ve admitted to it and apologized had he not been forced by obvious evidence. Don’t really care about whatever personal crisis might’ve contributed. Serious lapse of judgement, he should’ve realized he was in no position to think rationally, and excused himself or called in sick. How can his constituents trust his judgement going forward?

For the record, I voted for the guy and am non-partisan when it comes to party. While not the direct threat to life like pilots or other safety-critical jobs, his decision-making affects millions of people. Can you imagine the (rightful) collective outrage if Trump pulled the same stunt?

Martin Stir February 26, 2026 (7:38 pm)

Get a grip, everyone. So he was drunk – how many people died as a result of his actions? How many were wrongfully imprisoned, lost their jobs, homes, health, money as a result of his drinking?Meanwhile, here in the non-pearl-clutching reality, the entire country (and the world, for that matter) is being run by a gang of incompetent sociopaths, self proclaimed alpha males, self-serving billionaires who’d sell their mothers if they could get $3 for them, racist wannabe commandos, and other assorted scum, some drunk, but mostly sober. All of them literally caused deaths of hundreds of thousands with many more to follow. Somehow, they get to keep their jobs. But sure, let’s all get worked up about some guy’s one beer too many. Would someone think of the children!!!

Other Brian February 26, 2026 (7:39 pm)

I agree with Brian. Let the man cook. I didn’t vote for him last time but I will now.

A Musician February 26, 2026 (7:44 pm)

Who does he think he is? A musician??

JUSTIN February 26, 2026 (7:58 pm)

He doesn’t even seem that drunk at all. He just seems loose and conversational, and if anything more relatable. Nothing to fuss over in my humble opinion. Thanks for all that you do, Mr. Fitzgibbon.