Chopp at the 2014 debut of 12th Ave Arts

Democratic State Rep. Frank Chopp who helped lead the 43rd District including Capitol Hill for three decades from 1995 to 2025 has died.

Chopp was 71.

“The 43rd District Democrats are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our former Representative, Frank Chopp,” the 43rd District Democrats group said in a statement. “Frank served the 43rd and the people of our State with honor for 30 years, and played a critical role in the betterment of our community.”

Remembered for his help funding the development of affordable buildings across the region, Chopp was a focused housing champion.

“The best approach is to build equity, to own it,” Chopp told CHS as he mounted one of his reelection battles in 2014. “The key is to capture any public land that is available for affordable buildings.”

Lika many of his later races, the 2014 election was an easy win for Chopp as he easily defeated an inexperienced Socialist Alternative candidate. Two years prior, he handily dispatched the protege’s mentor Kshama Sawant. Sawant would turn her political focus to Seattle.

Chopp led in Olympia — with a throwback approach and record of accomplishments that lasted through the years.

“I don’t go out there issuing press releases,” Chopp told CHS. “Because I want to build a team. I see my role as a community organizer.”

Chopp most recent work championed housing initiatives like the Home and Hope project, turning public property spaces into affordable housing units, and the Workforce Education Investment Act, providing full grants for college tuition to low-income students, and partial scholarships for middle-income students.

In a 43rd District Town Hall last year on First Hill, Chopp updated constituents on his work including continuing effort to convert surplus Sound Transit property into affordable housing development along Madison.

The joint project from Plymouth Housing and Bellwether Housing is where Plymouth operates Blake House on floors two through five with a total of 112 studio apartments focused on serving seniors and veterans who have experienced chronic homelessness while Bellwether operates The Rise on Madison on floors six through 17 with “250 homes affordable to families making 60% or less of area median income.”

In 2014, he told CHS one of his proudest accomplishments was helping to create the state Housing Trust Fund. At the time, Chopp counted more than 70 projects in the 43rd District that benefited from the fund, including 12th Avenue Arts development that opened in 2014 with affordable housing, nonprofit office space, and theaters on land formerly home to the East Precinct parking lot.

CHS marked a decade of development, affordability, and theater at the 12th Ave development earlier this year.

Chopp’s Capitol Hill credentials go back to the 1970s when he was among the earliest residents of 16th and Aloha’s PRAG House.

In 1995, he began his first term in the state legislature and became speaker in 1999 before stepping down from the post in 2018 as Washington’s longest-serving House speaker.

In 2024, Chopp announced he had made his last run for his seat in the 43rd and was ready to step aside. He endorsed a candidate who shares many Chopp-like values around affordability, equity, and state ownership. Shaun Scott now continues the long run of an affordable housing champion helping lead the 43rd.

“I’ve always been driven by the belief,” Chopp said in his announcement last year, “that everyone deserves a foundation of home, health, and hope,”

A rendering of the planned rebuild

His death comes only days before the planned groundbreaking ceremony for a new affordable housing and workforce hub in the heart of Capitol Hill that he helped champion. Tuesday, officials and community representatives will gather near Broadway and Pine to mark the start of construction on the Constellation Center job training facility and a neighboring eight story building with 84 affordable apartment units.

Community Roots Housing’s 84 new affordable homes will be a mix of studios and one bedroom apartments. They will be available to those with income between 30% and 50% Area Median Income, which translates to $31,620 and $52,700. Fifteen of those units will be set aside for homeless and at risk youth.

One of his final major initiatives,  Chopp worked to push forward the Constellation Center plan and helped broker swaps of properties between Seattle Central and Sound Transit to secure the corner for the project.

Chopp is survived by his wife Nancy, and three children.

UPDATE: Chopp’s family has issued a statement on his passing. “He would then frequently drive his family around to evaluate locations that could one day provide a home to many families,” they write. “Even after his term ended in January, he was actively working to enact new housing policy and site new housing and community services.”

A celebration of Chopp’s life is being planned for May. His family has suggested donations to the Low Income Housing Institute, Life Support, El Centro de la Raza, and Open Doors for Multicultural Families in lieu of flowers. You can leave a message in his honor and learn more here.

Screenshot

We are mourning Frank’s sudden passing on the afternoon of March 22, 2025, as a result of a cardiac arrest. Up until the day he died, he was doing what he loved and what people loved about him. Frank’s passion in his career as a community organizer, nonprofit executive, and 30-year elected official was intertwined with the kindness and enthusiasm he shared with his wife, children, family, and friends each day. His intellectual curiosity was as boundless as his energy. He woke up every day with a passion to solve problems and make people’s lives better.

 

Frank believed his role as speaker was to serve ‘One Washington.’ He listened to people all over our state describe problems and focused on creative and doable solutions. His approach often included identifying a dedicated funding source that would make sense to taxpayers and a memorable program name like ‘Apple Health for Kids.’ He would then work to bring people together for sustainable change. He inspired, conspired, and cajoled, as needed, to help people see the possibility of a positive impact.

Frank was a transformational figure in our state’s political landscape. He was a champion for a wide range of issues that matter to Washingtonians, including affordable childcare, housing, mental health, and health care. He changed the trajectory for home care workers, employees needing paid family leave, and students seeking job training and higher education.

 

Tens of thousands of low and moderate-income people have roofs over their heads and a warm bed because of Frank. Throughout his career, he advocated for legislation and funding for housing and services for unhoused people. He conceived the ‘Home and Hope’ program, which repurposes unused publicly-owned properties for affordable housing. He would then frequently drive his family around to evaluate locations that could one day provide a home to many families. Even after his term ended in January, he was actively working to enact new housing policy and site new housing and community services.

 

He deeply loved many people he worked with, mentored, and built lifelong friendships with, which brought us a large extended family. We appreciate their kind words and shared remembrances in this difficult time.

 

We are grateful to the public servants in the Seattle Fire Department and EMS services who worked efficiently and with determination to try to bring him back to us. A few hours later, the emergency department team at Swedish Cherry Hill helped us say our goodbyes and transition him off life support.

 

We’ll be planning a celebration of his life for May. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Low Income Housing Institute, Life Support, El Centro de la Raza, and Open Doors for Multicultural Families.”

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