Former senator gives McKenna his support

To The Eagle:

I’ve worked with many people in both parties who held diverse interests but also held the value that the decisions we make as elected officials are about the people, not the party. This is why, as a democrat, I support republican Attorney General Rob McKenna for Governor. My experience working with Rob is that he puts the people and issues first, over the party and positioning. He understands that the work of the legislature and government is about getting the job done for the benefit of the public.

When I was in the legislature, one of my experiences with Attorney General McKenna was restoring funding for the anti-meth task force to help rural communities address the meth problem. After he was elected almost eight years ago, Attorney General McKenna asked me how he could help the people of my legislative district. I told him that our drug task force funding was being cut in half, and it was critical to fighting the meth lab epidemic in southwest Washington. Rob met personally with me, the prosecuting attorneys and the sheriffs of our four counties from the 19th legislative district. Senate Bill 6239 was the result, which restored funding to fight this serious drug crime. It passed the legislature unanimously, and is still a major tool in fighting serious drug crimes in Washington State today.

In my current position as the Executive Director of the state’s oldest forestry association, I have worked with Attorney General McKenna to defend natural resource values and jobs many times. Most recently, Rob McKenna signed his name along with 31 Attorneys General from across the country, representing both parties, to fight a federal court decision that erodes each state’s ability to regulate its own forest practices programs. In Washington, where we have long worked in collaboration with stakeholders from the environmental, tribal, government and forest landowner communities on forestry regulations, we could see these collaborative efforts trumped by a federal judge in California, if the court decision is allowed to stand. This case is going to be heard by the Supreme Court later this year. Rob McKenna is fighting for the right of local citizens to make decisions about our local forest resources.

We are at a challenging economic time in our state and nation and it is more important than ever that we elect leaders who focus on putting the people first instead of parties or positions. These are just two of the many opportunities I have had to work with Attorney General McKenna, where he worked across the aisle with me and other democrats to get the job done.

I’m proud to support Rob for Governor of the state of Washington.

Mark L. Doumit

Former Washington

State Senator

19th District