Sen. Rodney Tom, who became Senate majority leader after Democrat and Republican senators formed a bipartisan coalition ahead of the 2013 legislative session, has been named winner of the 2013 Jim Matson Award by the Association of Washington Business.

Tom, D-Bellevue, and Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, who teamed up to direct the Senate’s work this year, will share the highest honor given by AWB to a legislator. It’s named for the late Sen. Jim Matson, a veteran lawmaker from Selah who served on the association’s executive committee during the 1970s and 1980s, and recognizes a state legislator who consistently supports issues important to Washington’s employers.

“Our majority coalition set out to leave the chaos and gridlock to Washington, D.C., and focus on three things,” Tom told the association. “One is to lay the foundation for a vibrant economy. Another is to build a world-class education system – when I said we would put education first this year, we meant it, and we did so at both the K-12 and collegiate levels. Also, we were determined to create a sustainable budget that lives within the means provided by the taxpayers.”

Tom noted that while coming to an agreement on the budget took more days than anyone expected, “we moved ahead on all three fronts this year – and accomplished that with an unprecedented level of cooperation between Democrats and Republicans.”