The League of Women Voters of Washington (LWVWA) and the League of Women Voters of Clark County will present the candidates for the Commissioner of Public Lands to voters in an upcoming candidate forum. The public is invited to attend and meet the candidates.
The forum will take place at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, July 18, at Clark College Gaiser Hall in Vancouver. The 90-minute forum will be in person and will also be televised live on TVW and streamed on its website at tvw.org/video/. The forum is co-sponsored by The Columbian and The Reflector newspapers.
The Commissioner of Public Lands leads Washington state’s wildfire fighting force and manages nearly 6 million acres of public lands, from coastal waters and aquatic reserves, to working forests and farms, commercial developments and unparalleled recreation areas, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. The elected candidate will replace Hillary Franz, the current Washington state Commissioner of Public Lands, who is now running for U.S. representative in Washington’s District 6.
“The Commissioner of Public Lands makes critical decisions about management of state lands. This forum offers voters the opportunity to find out how the Commissioner would do this,” LWVWA President Mary Coltrane, in a press release.
Voters can expect to hear candidates respond to questions about the office and how they would fulfill the role of commissioner of public lands. People are invited to submit questions for the candidates by emailing forumquestions@lwvwa.org up until July 8. Attendees can also submit questions at the forum.
Nancy Halvorson, president of the LWV of Clark County, said in the release, “Meeting and visiting with those running for public office benefits both the candidates and the voters. Candidates hear directly from voters on what issues are most important and voters gain the knowledge that is needed to inform our decisions when it comes time to vote.”
Candidates confirmed for the forum are:
• Jaime Herrera Beutler — Republican, former member of congress representing Washington’s District 3 from 2011-23.
• Patrick DePoe — Democrat, currently serving on the executive team at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
• Allen Lebovitz — Democrat, currently serving as the Washington state Department of Natural Resources wildland fire and forest resilience liaison.
• Sue K. Pederson — Republican, a current real estate investor with experience in environment, fisheries and energy.
• Dave Upthegrove — Democrat, currently serving as the chair of the King County Council and chair of the King County Flood Control District.
• Kevin Van De Wege — Democrat, currently serving as a Washington state senator and appointed the chair of the Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources and Parks Committee as well as serving on the Senate Ways and Means and Health and Long Term Care committees.
