Rodney Tom (born July 25, 1963) is an American businessman and politician who represented Washington's 48th Legislative District in the state Senate. Education Tom earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington in 1985 and went on to earn his MBA from the University of Southern California in 1988. Career In 1989, Tom began a career as a realtor with Windermere Real Estate. In 2002, Tom was elected to the state House of Representatives as a Republican by defeating Democrat Connie Espe by a 52 to 42% margin with 5% going to a third-party candidate. He was reelected in 2004, edging out Democratic Party challenger Debi Golden with a 51.76% to 48.24% margin (1816 votes). On March 14, 2006, Tom announced that he was switching to the Democratic Party and challenging Luke Esser. This announcement caused no small amount of controversy, as Tom's 2004 Democratic opponent, Debi Golden, had already declared her intention to run for the state Senate in the 48th district, which brought the two together for a rematch of their 2004 race. However, two weeks later, Golden ended her candidacy, citing the expense and futility of a primary battle, leaving Tom unopposed for the Democratic nomination. He defeated incumbent Republican Luke Esser with 53% of the vote. On July 17, 2007, Tom publicly announced his campaign for the 8th District's congressional seat. He soon ended the campaign and endorsed Darcy Burner (D), who was the challenger to Dave Reichert (R) in 2006 and had a major lead in fundraising. On November 2, 2010, Tom ran in the Washington State Senate in the 48th Legislative District to win against Gregg Bennett by 52.55% to 47.30%. In 2012, two Conservative-Democrat Senators, Tom and Tim Sheldon announced they would switch caucuses and join 23 Republicans to form the Majority Coalition Caucus, giving them a 25-24 vote majority over the Democrats. On April 14, 2014 Tom announced he would not seek reelection citing health concerns and the need to take care of his father. On March 29, 2018 Tom announced his intention to run for state senate again in 48th Legislative District, but was not elected. Controversies Budget coup On March 2, 2012, Tom joined with fellow Democratic Sens. Jim Kastama and Tim Sheldon and 22 Senate Republicans to push through a revised budget bill. The revised bill he supports contains significant cuts to public services and public