Mike Balmelli,
News Director, KAPP-TV/KVEW-TV, Yakima
1610 S. 24th Avenue
Yakima, WA 98902
Phone (509) 453-0351
mikeb@kapptv.com
Mike Balmelli, news director at KAPP/KVEW-TV in Yakima since August 1997, has worked at the television stations in the news department since August 1992. Prior to that he worked as a news director/anchor for KCBY-TV in Coos Bay, Oregon. Mr. Balmelli is responsible for all news content at the two Yakima television stations, directing a staff of more than 20 reporters, producers and anchors. He is a graduate of the Edward R. Murrow School of Broadcasting at Washington State University, is a member of the Radio Television News Directors Association and serves on a number of boards in the community. In July 2002 he helped KAPP-KVEW develop and produce the first Spanish-language local television newscast in the Pacific Northwest.
Jonathan Bechtle,
Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) PO Box 552
Olympia, WA 98507
Phone (360) 956-3482
jbechtle@effwa.org
Jonathan Bechtle is the Director of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation's Citizenship and Governance Center. EFF's mission is to advance individual liberty, free enterprise and limited, accountable government. Ensuring access to public records and open government meetings is of paramount importance to EFF in meeting its mission. While at EFF, Jonathan has used public records extensively to investigate and report on the security of Washington's elections, and is EFF's designated point person on public records issues. Prior to joining EFF, Jonathan was the senior legal assistant for an advocacy law firm in the Washington, D.C. area, and served as a legislative aide to senators in Georgia and Indiana. He holds a Juris Doctor degree and is admitted to practice in California. Jonathan and his wife Melissa live in Olympia, Washington.
Kenneth F. Bunting,
Associate Publisher, Seattle Post-Intelligencer 101 Elliott Avenue West
Seattle, WA 98119-4220
Phone (206) 448-8210; fax (206) 448-8305
kenbunting@seattlepi.com
Kenneth F. Bunting was named Associate Publisher of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in August, 2005 after 12 years as the newspaper's top editor. He was Managing Editor from 1993 until January, 2000, when he was named Executive Editor. Bunting is responsible for the newspaper's ethical standards and practices, community affairs, and reader relations. . Mr. Bunting has bachelor's degrees in journalism and history from Texas Christian University, and completed the Advanced Executive Program at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business. Mr. Bunting served on the Board of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, and is currently on several boards of directors, including the the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships, the SDX Foundation, the (Seattle) Alliance for Education, CityClub, P-I Charities, and the Woodland Park Zoo Society.
Stacey Cowles,
Publisher, The Spokesman-Review P.O. Box 2160
Spokane, WA 99210
Phone (509) 459-5217; fax (509) 459-5258
staceyc@spokesman.com
Stacey Cowles is the publisher of The Spokesman-Review, the leading news organization in Spokane and the Inland Northwest. He is president of Cowles Company, a family-owned, Spokane-based firm engaged in print and electronic media, newsprint manufacturing, forestry, insurance sales and real estate development. He is past president of the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Association and serves on regional and national newspaper industry boards, including Allied Daily Newspapers of Idaho, the Independent Newspaper Group and the Newspaper Association of America. Mr. Cowles has a bachelor's degree in economics from Yale College and an MBA from Columbia University.
Richard Davis,
Association of Washington Business PO Box 658
Olympia, WA 98507-0658
Phone (360) 943-1600; fax (360) 943-5811
richardsdavis@gmail.com
Richard Davis has served as Vice President of Communications for the Association of Washington Business since December 2006. In that capacity, he has overall responsibility for AWB's external communications. Before joining AWB, Davis was president of the Washington Research Council, a business-oriented public policy research group. His syndicated column has been published in The News Tribune, Everett Herald, and Spokesman-Review. An Iowa native, Davis has degrees from Drake University and Iowa State University.
Davis lives on Bainbridge Island with his wife, Elaine and has three grown children living in the Puget Sound region.
George Erb,
Managing Editor, Puget Sound Business Journal 801 Second Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
Phone (206) 447-8505
geoerb@seanet.com
George Erb is editor of the Puget Sound Business Journal. He has worked as a reporter and editor at daily and weekly newspapers in Washington state since 1983. Mr. Erb has a Bachelors degree in History from Hanover College and a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon. He is a past chapter president for the Society of Professional Journalists a member of the state Bench-Bar-Press Committee. Mr. Erb is also the editor of two editions of "Access; a guide to government information," an open-government manual published by the Society of Professional Journalists.
Ruth Gordon,
Jefferson County Clerk P.O. Box 1220
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Phone (360) 385-9128
rgordon@co.jefferson.wa.us
Ruth Gordon is the elected County Clerk and ex-officio Clerk of Superior Court in Jefferson County and holds the Legislative Star award for 2007 from the Washington Association of County Clerks. She represents WSACC on the Board for Judicial Administration Best Practices Committee, is the Vice-Chair and past Chair of the Jefferson County Law and Justice Council, and serves as a Trustee-at-Large on the Washington Association of County Officials Board. Prior to entering public office she was a counselor in private practice, an online producer for Oxygen Media, and community activist. A founding member of the Port Townsend chapter of the League of Women Voters, she currently serves as the Democratic State Committeewoman for Jefferson County. She graduated summa cum laude Phi Beta Kappa from Purdue University and completed graduate studies in curatorial science at the University of Minnesota.
Mike Fancher, Vice- President
Editor at Large and Senior Vice President, The Seattle Times P.O. Box 70
Seattle, WA 98111
Phone (206) 464-2330
mfancher@seattletimes.com
Michael R. Fancher, is Editor at Large and Senior Vice President of The Seattle Times. Mr. Fancher holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon and a master's from Kansas State University. He received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Washington. Mr. Fancher is a member of the board of directors of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Yakima Herald-Republic and Blethen Maine Newspapers. He has served as a member of the board of directors of the Associated Press Managing Editors, and is a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists. He has served as a judge for the Pulitzer Prize four times.
Scott Johnson,
Shareholder, Stokes Lawrence, P.S 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 4000 Seattle, WA 98104
Phone (206) 686-6000; Fax (206) 464-1496
sawj@stokeslaw.com
Scott A.W. Johnson is a trial lawyer and focuses his practice on complex business and commercial litigation. He has served for many years as a cooperating attorney with the ACLU of Washington for which he has handled a number of public records cases. He also has spoken about public records and open meetings to a number of community groups. He obtained his law degree, magna cum laud, from American University, Washington College of Law in 1985 where he was a Notes and Comments Editor of the American University Law Review. He received his B.A. in Business Administration (Accounting) from the University of Washington in 1980.
Rep. Lynn Kessler,
Washington State Representative
Majority Leader PO Box 40600
339A Legislative Building
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
Phone (360) 786-7904
kessler.lynn@leg.wa.gov
Lynn Kessler is serving in her 16th year in the Washington State House, and her tenth year as Majority Leader. In addition to her Leadership duties, she sits on the House Appropriations and Rules committees, the Washington State Arts Commission, and is the only state legislator appointed to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies Board of Directors.
Lynn is also a member of the Grays Harbor Economic Development Council Board and the Legislative Committee on Economic Development and International Relations. She has served on numerous committees and boards in her community, including ten years as a trustee at Grays Harbor Community College, where she is a past chair, and was the first female president of the Aberdeen Rotary.
Lynn is a mother of four and grandmother of Kyle, Ryan, and Arita.
Christopher K. Leman, cleman@oo.net
Christopher K. Leman is a political scientist (Ph.D., Harvard University) who writes and consults on public governance and policy issues and nonprofit management. He previously taught at Brandeis University and the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs, and in the UW Extension School. Leman's writings have appeared with a wide range of university presses, institutes, journals and newspapers. His volunteer service has included many years as an officer or board member of neighborhood groups, including the Seattle Community Council Federation.
Jason Mercier, Treasurer
Washington Policy Center PO Box 3643 Seattle, WA 98124
Phone (360) 485 - 2485 jmercier@washingtonpolicy.org
Jason Mercier is Director of the Center for Government Reform for the Seattle-based Washington Policy Center. Among the Center's priorities is public records reform. Prior to joining WPC, Jason worked on public records issues for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. He also serves as a voting member on the American Legislative Exchange Council's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force and is a contributing editor of Heartland's Budget Tax News. He received a B.A. in Political Science from Washington State University. Jason and his wife Kristen make their home in Lacey where he serves as president of their homeowner's association.
Toby Nixon, President
Former State Representative, 45th District Microsoft Corporation
12113 NE 141st Street Kirkland, WA 98034
Phone (425) 823-9779
toby@tobynixon.com
Toby Nixon served in the Washington State House of Representatives from 2002 through 2006. He was ranking member of the State Government Operations and Accountability Committee, which has responsibility for overseeing Washington's open government and election laws. Toby continues to be committed to preserving and restoring trust in government through openness and accountability. Toby was the 2006 recipient of the "Freedom's Light Award" from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, in recognition of his work to protect and advance First Amendment interests in Washington. He has been previously nominated for the Washington Coalition for Open Government's "James Madison Award". Toby works as standards program manager in the Windows group at Microsoft, focusing on networked devices and "smart home" technology, with particular interest in security and privacy issues. He has worked in the computer field for over 30 years, and holds five patents related to computer communications technology. He serves in leadership roles in several local non-profit organizations and industry standards-setting groups. He, his wife Irene, and their five children make their home in Kirkland.
Gerry Pollet, Secretary
Executive Director & legal counsel, Heart of America Northwest 1314 NE 56th St. #100
Seattle, WA 98105
Phone (206)382-1014
gerry@hoanw.org
Gerry Pollet is Executive Director and legal counsel for Heart of America Northwest, a 16,000 member citizens' group dedicated to "advancing our region's quality of life." Heart of America Northwest is the region's largest citizens' watchdog group for the cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, the most contaminated area in North America. Gerry also serves as Executive Director and general counsel for Legal Advocates for Washington, which provides legal advice on non-profit; open government (public records / FOIA / open meetings); electoral; and, hazardous waste law to non-profit organizations. Gerry chaired the "Protect Washington" campaign for Initiative 297 in 2004, to stop Hanford from being used as a National Radioactive Hazardous Waste Dump and to end dumping of waste in unlined trenches. Gerry has been honored as the "National Grassroots Activist of the Year" by the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability; and, the 2006 Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility Paul Beeson Peace Award. Gerry was involved in drafting and passing Washington laws to protect state and local government whistleblowers.
Patience Rogge,
Private Citizen 696 Woodland Drive
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Phone (206) 545-1529
rogge@olympus.net
Patience Rogge holds a Bachelor of Arts in American Government and a Master of Library Science from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked in academic, school and public libraries in Delaware, California, and Saudi Arabia. She has served on the Jefferson County Rural Library District Board of Trustees, the boards of the Washington Library Association, the Pacific Northwest Library Association, and Friends of the Washington State Library. She has chaired the Washington Friends, Foundations and Trustees Association and the Grassroots! interest group of the Washington Library Association. In 2001, she received the Trustee Award from the Washington Library Association, in 2005, she received the Association's Honorary Lifetime Award and was named to the American Library Association's National Advocacy Honor Roll. In addition to her library-related activities, she has been active in environmental, political and educational efforts in California and Washington. She currently directs the Fort Worden Oral History Program at Fort Worden State Park Conference Center in Port Townsend and is vice president of the Friends of Fort Worden.
Brian Sonntag,
Washington State Auditor P.O. Box 40021 Olympia, WA 98504
Phone (360) 902-0370
sonntagb@sao.wa.gov
Now in his third c, Brian Sonntag has served the citizens of Washington as State Auditor since 1993. He is committed to open and accountable government. He supports independent, comprehensive performance audits of state government, building on legislation that was passed in 2002. During the 2001 session, his Office proposed and won passage of legislation that clarified the state's Open Public Meetings Act. Mr. Sonntag is a Certified Government Financial Manager and a member of the Performance Audit Task Force of the National State Auditor's Association.
Duane Swinton,
Witherspoon Kelley Davenport & Toole PS
1100 U.S Bank Building, 422 West Riverside
Spokane, WA 99201
Phone (509) 624-5264
Duane M. Swinton is a partner at Witherspoon, Kelley, Davenport & Toole law firm in Spokane, where he has practiced for 29 years. Duane specializes in Media law and has argued a dozen media cases before both the Washington and Idaho Supreme Courts on such issues as access to public records and court documents, defamation and prior restraint. He is an adjunct instructor at Gonzaga Law School in media law. A 1977 graduate of the University of Iowa law school, Duane also has a B.A. degree from Iowa in journalism and has several years experience as a newspaper reporter.
Bill Will,
General Manager, Washington Newspaper Publishers Association 1434 Elliot Ave W, 3rd Floor Seattle, WA
Phone (206) 634-3838
bwill@wnpa.com
Bill Will is the General Manager of Washington Newspaper Publisher Associations. He has worked for Washington Newspaper Publishers Association since 1997, where he helps reporters and editors with access and legal questions and monitors First Amendment issues in the Legislature and the courts. Will has more than 20 years of experience in the newspaper business. After graduating from the University of Idaho in 1982, he worked as a reporter at the Newport Miner and worked briefly as sports editor of the Columbia Basin Herald in Moses Lake, Washington. From 1984-88 he was a reporter, copy editor, and later assistant managing editor at The Daily Idahonian/Pullman Daily News (now the Moscow-Pullman Daily News). In 1988-89, he was managing editor of The Sparks Tribune in Sparks, Nev. and helped convert the newspaper from twice-weekly to daily publication. From 1989-1995 he worked as a copy editor at Outdoor Empire Publishing Company in Seattle. He worked as a contract employee at Microsoft Corp. for two years on the launch of Microsoft Network News and MSNBC on the Internet before joining WNPA.
