The longest-serving Democrat in the Legislature will retire in 2024.
Rep. Sue Chew, D-Boise, will step down after 18 years in the House.
Chew, a licensed pharmacist, sits on four House committees: Health and Welfare;
Commerce and Human Resources; Environment, Energy and Technology; and Ethics and House Policy.
In announcing her retirement Wednesday, Chew also endorsed a potential successor: fellow Democrat Natalie MacLachlan, a West Ada School District middle school teacher who ran for Legislature in 2022.
“Natalie is deeply connected to labor and as an educator will continue to engage and protect the next generation,” Chew said in a news release.
“It is such an honor to be endorsed to fill this seat and entrusted with the work Sue is so passionate about,” MacLachlan said in the release.
MacLachlan lost to Rep. John Vander Woude, R-Nampa, in the November general election. This spring, MacLachlan moved from the suburban legislative District 22 to Chew’s District 17, which takes in the Boise bench.
Serving her ninth term, Chew is one of the House’s senior members: Only House Speaker Mike Moyle has served longer. And Chew’s 18-year career is matched by only one other House Democrat, Wendy Jaquet of Ketchum, who served from 1995 through 2012.
