Add another name to the list of incumbant state legislators who will not return in 2009.
Rep. Shirley Hankins (R-Richland) announced yesterday that she will not seek re-election to her 8th legislative district seat. Hankins becomes the 10th member of the state House who will not run for office this November.
Hankins, 76, has served in the state legislature for almost a quarter century. Only retiring legislator Helen Sommers (D-Seattle) and state Senator Bob McCaslin (R-Spokane) have been around longer. A moderate Republican who sometimes voted with the Democratic caucus, Hankins was involved in some recent controversy involving allegations reported in the Tri-City Herald that she was using her office to promote her daughter’s tire recycling business. After a lengthy investigation, the Legislative Ethics Board levied a fine against Hankins last December.