Anna M. Rivers (born 1965 or 1966) is an American politician and educator serving as a Republican member of the Washington State Senate from when she was appointed to represent the 18th district in 2012, upon the resignation of Joe Zarelli. Prior to this she was a member of the Washington House of Representatives. In her first full term, a Majority Coalition Caucus was formed, taking control away from the Democrats in the state senate. Rivers was appointed to be majority whip for the session, a rare appointment for a freshman senator. She won re-election for another four-year term in 2012, with 67% of the vote against 32% for her opponent, Ralph Schmidt.
Prior to her holding elected office, Rivers led AMR Consulting, a political consulting firm which aided candidates in their elections for offices, as well as providing political consultation to corporate clients. In 2007, she was on the short list for candidates to be chosen to replace Richard Curtis in the state house, but Jaime Herrera Beutler was chosen instead. Later, Rivers succeeded Herrera Beutler in the house after the latter's election to the United States Congress.
Early life and career
Rivers was born in 1968 in Saint Joseph, Michigan. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Central Michigan University. After graduating in 1990, Rivers worked as a 6th grade teacher. In 2002, she returned to school and graduated from Lewis and Clark College with a secondary teaching certificate.
Though she didn't run for office herself until much later, she helped Bill Williams in his election to the Alaska legislature in 1992, and became his chief of staff. During that election, she founded AMR Consulting, a public relations and government affairs consulting firm, which helped in many political campaigns and provided political consultation for corporations. When Representative Richard Curtis resigned from state house in 2007, Rivers was considered by the Clark County and Lewis County commissions to be a replacement but Jaime Herrera Beutler was chosen instead.
State House of Representatives
Rivers was elected to the Washington House of Representatives in 2010 succeeding Herrera Beutler after Beutler's election to the United States Congress. As a state representative, Rivers was the assistant whip for the House Republican Caucus. She also served on the House's Business and Financial Services Committee, Judiciary Committee, Transportation Committee and Rules Committee. Her website listed communication as being vital as a state representative.
In January 2011, Rivers was selected to deliver the Republican response to governor Christine Gregoire's State of the State address. In the address, she listed economic recovery and employment as well as compromise with Gregoire as being the top priorities of her party.
In February, Rivers submitted a bill to provide more funding for food banks and other charitable causes. The bill authorized public utilities to solicit and collect donations from customers to be put towards food programs for the poor. It also made the donations received by utilities separate from gross income, allowing for it to be tax-free. The bill passed in the State House in Feb. 2011 but failed to make it to the Senate floor.
State Senate
Appointment and elections
In June 2012, about 18 months into her term as a representative, county commissioners appointed Rivers to the state senate to replace Joseph Zarelli, who resigned after 17 years in the senate. Rivers won re-election in the 2012 election to a four-year term, with 67% of the vote, to 32% for her opponent, Ralph Schmidt. She outraised by 30–1, with $150,000, to just $5,000 for Schmidt. Rivers' ideas for improving the economy include making the climate friendlier for business. Her plan includes reducing the burden of worker's compensation costs for businesses, reducing regulations, and reducing permitting fees. Rivers was reelected again in 2016, receiving 63.81% of the vote to Democrat Eric Holt's 36.19%. In 2020, she was reelected with 56.3% of the vote against Democrat Rick Bell.