← Sunshine Docket Sen. Jamie Pedersen: McKinstry, State Payments, and Ways & Means

Sen. Jamie Pedersen

D-43 | Senate Majority Leader | EVP & General Counsel, McKinstry Co. | Legislative Ethics Board member

Structural Overlap

The core finding: Pedersen has spent more than a decade championing climate and energy legislation — the Climate Commitment Act, the Clean Buildings Act, and SB 6346 — that directly benefits his primary employer, McKinstry, a Seattle construction and energy services company holding over $29 million in annual state agency contracts. He earns $500,000–$749,999 as McKinstry's Executive Vice President and General Counsel, plus growing equity distributions. His employer's lobbyist — a former Inslee cabinet secretary — has been paid $177,000 to lobby Pedersen's own legislature on McKinstry's behalf. Pedersen also sits on the Legislative Ethics Board that would investigate any conflict complaint filed against him. None of this has been reported.

Income — 2025 F1 (Most Recent)

Source: F1 submission #132680, filed March 24, 2026. Pedersen's salary increased substantially between 2024 and 2025 — from the $200K–$499K range to $500K–$749K — after McKinstry promoted him to Executive Vice President while he continued serving on the Ways & Means Committee and as Senate Majority Leader, positions that give him direct influence over the state operating budget that funds McKinstry's contracts.

Who	Source	Role	Disclosed Income
Filer	McKinstry Co., LLC	EVP & General Counsel	$500K–$750K
Filer	WA State Senate	State Senator	$60K–$100K
Filer	McKinstry Co., LLC	Equity distributions	$30K–$60K
Filer	McKinstry Essention, LLC	Equity distributions	$60K–$100K
Filer	South Landing Investors, LLC	Distributions	$0–$30K
Filer	Oxbow Partners Spokane, LLC	Distributions	$0–$30K
Filer	Emerald Spokane Industrial I, LLC	Distributions	$0–$30K
Spouse	Seattle Public Schools	Teacher	$100K–$200K

The Equity Distribution Growth

Pedersen's equity distributions from McKinstry have grown substantially across three disclosure years, tracking directly with the passage and implementation of legislation he co-sponsored:

Year	McKinstry Co. distributions	McKinstry Essention distributions	Combined floor / ceiling
2022	$0–$29,999	$0–$29,999	$0 / $59,998
2023	$30,000–$59,999	$30,000–$59,999	$60,000 / $119,998
2024	$100,000–$199,999	$30,000–$59,999	$130,000 / $258,999
2025	$30,000–$60,000	$60,000–$100,000	$90,000 / $160,000

The minimum floor of combined distributions grew by at least $130,000 between 2022 and 2024. The 2025 distributions represent a partial reset in the disclosed range but the salary increase from $200K–$499K to $500K–$750K in 2025 more than compensates.

Additional McKinstry-Affiliated Investment Interests

Beyond salary and distributions, Pedersen holds membership interests in McKinstry-affiliated real estate entities, all located at 5005 Third Ave. S. — McKinstry's corporate address — that receive state agency rent payments:

Entity	State agency tenant	Annual rent
South Landing Building A LLC (Catalyst Building)	Eastern Washington University	$4,495,323
Spokane Portland & Seattle LLC (840 Building)	University of Washington	$1,001,384
Great Northern Spokane LLC (SIERR Building)	University of Washington	$91,963

State Agency Payments — $29,119,211 (CY2025)

From Pedersen's own signed F1 disclosure (submission #132680, filed March 24, 2026). All figures represent direct payments from state agencies to McKinstry entities during calendar year 2025:

Amount	Entity	Payer	Purpose
$10,215,522	McKinstry Essention	Dept. of Enterprise Services	Energy services (ESPC)
$6,268,629	McKinstry Co.	University of Washington	Construction
$4,947,789	South Landing Building A LLC	Eastern Washington University	Rent
$2,052,010	Spokane Portland & Seattle LLC	University of Washington	Rent
$1,334,066	Great Northern Spokane LLC	Eastern Washington University	Rent
$1,127,591	McKinstry Co.	Harborview Medical Center	Construction
$878,791	McKinstry Essention	University of Washington	Services
$378,674	McKinstry Essention	WSDOT	Services
$322,082	McKinstry Essention	WSU	Services
$229,092	South Landing Building A LLC	Dept. of Commerce	Rent
Plus 19 additional payments to DOH, DSHS, DOC, DOE, CWU, Criminal Justice Training Center, and others.

Sole-source designations: Multiple McKinstry Essention contracts at the Department of Ecology in the FY2023 Agency Contracts dataset (data.wa.gov, ID mz6y-pfem) are classified "Sole Source" — no competitive bidding, with the state certifying McKinstry as the only qualified vendor. The ESPC program governing the bulk of these energy services contracts also excludes standard competitive purchasing requirements per WA statute.

Legislation Pedersen Authored That Benefits McKinstry

McKinstry Essention's core business is energy performance contracting — retrofitting buildings to meet efficiency standards under ESPC agreements. McKinstry Co. is one of Washington's largest public construction contractors. The following legislation created and expanded the market these businesses operate in:

Clean Buildings Performance Standard (HB 1257, 2019 / expanded 2022): Washington became the first state to mandate energy performance standards for commercial buildings, creating statutory demand for energy efficiency retrofits — McKinstry Essention's core ESPC business. Pedersen voted for both the original bill and the 2022 expansion extending requirements to buildings over 20,000 sq ft. McKinstry published a compliance guide to the law on its own website.
Climate Commitment Act (SB 5126, 2021): Pedersen was a named Senate co-sponsor. The CCA generates $500 million–$1 billion annually through carbon allowance auctions, with funds appropriated substantially to decarbonizing state universities and public buildings — work performed by McKinstry Essention under ESPC contracts with DES. The CCA created and funds the specific revenue stream that flows into the type of energy services contracts reflected in Pedersen's F1 disclosures. McKinstry Essention donated $50,000 to No on 2117, the ballot campaign to defend the CCA from repeal, on September 30, 2024.
Senate Bill 6346 (2025–26 session): Pedersen is the prime Senate sponsor of a graduated income tax projected to generate approximately $3 billion annually, directed substantially at education and infrastructure — the sectors generating McKinstry's disclosed state agency payments. As Senate Majority Leader, he controls the bill's path to a floor vote. McKinstry's lobbyist filed $30,000 in lobbying fees during the current session while this bill is being debated.

The Lobbyist Loop — Bonlender and Lodestar Strategic

Brian Bonlender served as Director of the Washington State Department of Commerce under Governor Inslee from February 2013 through January 2019. Commerce oversees energy efficiency programs, green building policy, ESPC program administration, and economic development — the precise policy areas that shape McKinstry's operating environment. He left Commerce in January 2019 and registered as a lobbyist within weeks. Washington has no mandatory cooling-off period for departing officials before they may lobby their former policy area.

His firm, Lodestar Strategic LLC, has represented McKinstry as its registered lobbyist since 2023.

Total lobbying fees paid by McKinstry to Lodestar Strategic: $177,000 (PDC dataset 9nnw-c693). Fees paid in the current 2026 session alone: $30,000, with the most recent filing dated March 12, 2026 — while SB 6346 is actively being debated and Pedersen is its prime sponsor.

The McKinstry Network — This Is a System, Not an Incident

Pedersen's financial relationship with McKinstry does not stand alone. The same legislation flows through a documented network of current and former legislators, each with financial interests in its continuation:

Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-34) — House Majority Leader

House prime sponsor of the Climate Commitment Act and HB 2724 (income tax companion). Simultaneously paid $30,000–$59,999 as Political Director of No on 2117 — the campaign defending the CCA from repeal. McKinstry contributed $50,000 to that same campaign. The loop: McKinstry funded the campaign defending the law that generates McKinstry's contracts. That same campaign paid the legislator who wrote the law.

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Reuven Carlyle — Former Senate Environment Chair (2017–2023)

Co-authored the Climate Commitment Act, Clean Fuel Standard, and the entire regulatory architecture of Washington's carbon economy. Retired January 2023. Launched Earth Finance the following month, raising $14 million in seed funding. Earth Finance's business model is explicitly built on the regulatory infrastructure Carlyle designed. Washington has no cooling-off period. Earth Finance also secured $10 million in state appropriations through the Department of Commerce to operate the Cascadia Sustainable Aviation Accelerator (CSAA). The CSAA launched January 8, 2026 alongside Governor Ferguson, Senator Liias, Commerce Director Nguyen, Amazon, Boeing, and Alaska Airlines.

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Sen. Marko Liias (D-21) — Senate Transportation Chair

Chairs Transportation Committee, through which all CCA and SAF spending flows. Also sits on Environment, Energy & Technology. Sponsors SB 5601, creating a SAF grant program that Earth Finance's CSAA benefits from. Appeared at the CSAA launch event alongside Earth Finance. His 2024 F1 discloses a $12,287 gift from PNWER through the Legislative Energy Horizons Institute — a program Clean & Prosperous Washington promotes. The University of Washington, McKinstry's largest disclosed state client, also employs Liias as a lecturer ($0–$30K).

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Andy Billig — Former Senate Majority Leader

Played an instrumental role in the 2023 passage of state tax incentives for sustainable aviation fuel producers. Now a senior adviser for SkyNRG, one of the SAF producers directly benefiting from those incentives. Appeared at the CSAA launch event alongside Carlyle's Earth Finance team, Senator Liias, and Governor Ferguson. Washington has produced at least three former legislative leaders who designed clean energy policy and then immediately moved into businesses monetizing it: Carlyle (Earth Finance), Billig (SkyNRG), and Bonlender (McKinstry's lobbyist after directing Commerce).

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Clean & Prosperous Washington — The $722K Hub

Clean & Prosperous Washington (operating as WaBA dba Clean and Prosperous WA) is the organizational connective tissue linking the legislators, advocacy organizations, and corporate donors in this network. It publicly credits Pedersen, Fitzgibbon, Carlyle, and Liias with building Washington's climate legislative agenda. It has paid $722,375 in total lobbying fees to Water Street Public Affairs — its single largest expense and Water Street's largest client — to lobby the legislature those same people lead.

The No on 2117 Engineering Contractor Cluster

Beyond McKinstry's $50,000, the No on 2117 donor list reveals a cluster of engineering and construction firms with active state contracts collectively donating to protect the legislation that funds those contracts:

Contributor	Amount to No on 2117	WA state footprint
ACEC Washington	$100,000	Trade association for WA engineering firms holding state contracts
HNTB Corporation	$75,000	$448,860 in registered WA lobbying fees
WSP USA Inc.	$75,000	Active state contracts
McKinstry Essention	$50,000	$70M+ in state contracts (Pedersen F1)

The LEB Ethics Board Conflict

Pedersen sits on the Legislative Ethics Board — the body that would investigate and adjudicate any ethics complaint filed against him regarding his McKinstry financial interest. He also co-sponsored the 2025 bill that raised the beneficial interest disclosure threshold from 5% to 10%, above his own 1–2% McKinstry equity stake, without adding any recusal requirement. His 1–2% ownership percentages were disclosed in his own written request to the LEB in 2014, quoted in the June 26, 2014 LEB Commission Meeting Minutes.

The 2014 Disclosure Exemption

In June 2014, the LEB granted Pedersen a formal reporting modification exempting him from disclosing McKinstry's private-sector clients on his annual F1, citing competitive harm. The state agency contracts documented here represent only the visible, government-facing portion of McKinstry's business. The full scope of McKinstry's revenue — and therefore the full scope of Pedersen's financial interest in the company's performance — is not publicly visible.

Source: LEB Commission Meeting Minutes, June 26, 2014 — pdc.wa.gov/about-pdc/commissioners/commission-meetings/regular-commission-meeting-june-26-2014

The Applicable Ethics Standard

RCW 42.52.020 prohibits state officers from having a financial interest in conflict with the proper discharge of their official duties. RCW 42.52.330 (the citizen-legislator exception) exempts outside employment unless the legislator's employer is a named, contracted state vendor and legislation specifically benefits those contracts.

LEB Advisory Opinion 1995-No. 6 held that once a legislator's employer holds active state contracts, the citizen-legislator exception does not apply: "the Senator and his employer are no longer similarly situated as others in their business, profession, or occupation. Legislation which affects this select group... would confer a benefit or detriment to the Senator and his employer greater than other members of the business, profession, or occupation."

An important mitigating fact: McKinstry's state contracting relationship with DES predates Pedersen's arrival by at least four years. Contracts appear in public data as early as April 2008; Pedersen joined McKinstry in May 2012. He did not create this relationship from scratch. What is documented is that he authored legislation that substantially expanded the market McKinstry operates in, during the precise period when his personal equity distributions grew substantially.

What Has Not Been Reported

A review of InvestigateWest, Washington State Standard, Seattle Times, KUOW, The Stranger, and Crosscut finds no prior reporting connecting:

Pedersen's McKinstry income and growing equity distributions to his sponsorship of the CCA or SB 6346
The CCA funding stream to McKinstry's specific ESPC contract growth
Bonlender's current role as McKinstry's active lobbyist during the SB 6346 session
The No on 2117 engineering contractor cluster (ACEC, HNTB, WSP) donating $250,000 collectively
Pedersen's membership on the LEB alongside his McKinstry financial interest
The 2025 salary increase to $500K–$750K following his promotion to EVP

The Seattle Times covered Bonlender as a revolving door example in 2020. The Washington Policy Center documented Pedersen's email strategy on income tax legislation in 2018. Neither connected to the McKinstry financial nexus or the broader network described here.

Key Questions for Pedersen

Has he sought a formal LEB advisory opinion on his McKinstry financial interest and his sponsorship of the CCA, Clean Buildings Act, or SB 6346?
Has he recused himself from any votes, committee actions, or appropriations decisions related to ESPC program funding or agency budgets that fund McKinstry's contracts?
Does he believe LEB Advisory Opinion 1995-No. 6 applies to his situation?
Did he play any role in McKinstry's decision to contribute $50,000 to No on 2117?
Is Lodestar Strategic currently lobbying him directly on McKinstry's behalf?
Does he believe it is appropriate to sit on the LEB while holding a financial interest in a company with $29 million in annual state contracts?

Verification

F1 Disclosure (2025, most recent)

data.wa.gov/resource/ehbc-shxw.json?id=132680

F1 Disclosure (2024)

apollo.pdc.wa.gov/financial-affairs/public/-#/public/statement/126636

McKinstry lobbying fees (Lodestar Strategic)

data.wa.gov/resource/9nnw-c693.json?$where=employer_name like '%McKinstry%'

Lodestar lobbyist registration

data.wa.gov/resource/xhn7-64im.json?$where=employer_name like '%McKinstry%'

No on 2117 contributions

data.wa.gov/resource/kv7h-kjye.json?$where=filer_name like '%2117%'

Agency contracts — sole source designations (FY2023)

data.wa.gov/resource/mz6y-pfem.json?$where=vendor_name like '%McKinstry%'

LEB Advisory Opinion 1995-No. 6

lawfilestestext.leg.wa.gov/lawtest/ethics/opinions/ETHICS1995.06.htm

LEB 2014 reporting modification (Pedersen)

pdc.wa.gov/about-pdc/commissioners/commission-meetings/regular-commission-meeting-june-26-2014

Campaign contributions

data.wa.gov/resource/kv7h-kjye.json?$where=filer_name like '%Pedersen%Jamie%'