SEATTLE — The Washington Commissioner of Public Lands is responsible for managing nearly 6 million acres of public lands, from working forests to coastal waters, and leading the state's wildfire fighting force.
Voters will choose between Jaime Herrera Beutler, who recently served as the US representative for Washington's 3rd Congressional District, and Dave Upthegrove, who currently serves as chair of the King County Council. Both candidates shared a little about their background and visions for the office with KING 5.
Herrera Beutler spent 12 years in Congress, worked as a strategic advisor to the Children's Hospital Association, and served as a senior legislative aide in the US House of Representatives. She says she wants to increase firefighter pay and expand programming that clears fuels in forests to prevent wildfires.
"The best thing we can do to keep our forests healthy is to sustainably manage them," Herrera Beutler said. "That's the thing I love about this- the environment and the economy are not mutually exclusive."
Upthegrove chaired the King County Council, served as a state representative including time as chair of the House Environment Committee, and worked in recreation and conservation. He says he wants to protect more legacy forests and launch a clean energy trust to increase economic development, especially in rural areas.
"Our world is changing," Upthegrove said. "We're experiencing the impacts of climate change around us, we're seeing a rapid loss in biodiversity, and we need to improve the management of our public lands to meet these realities today."
Who has endorsed each candidate?
Herrera Beutler, a Republican, describes herself as a bipartisan problem-solver. She points to endorsements from local newspapers including the Seattle Times and a range of groups she says demonstrate abilities to work across the aisle.
"There are really, really smart people that work at DNR and what I have seen over the last number of years is, depending on where the political winds blow, they get hobbled," Herrera Beutler said. "Their ability to do the forest health work gets pulled back because of political issues and so I've committed to leaning into this, to empowering them to do their jobs."
Upthegrove, a Democrat, says his endorsements include the Sierra Club and Washington Conservation Action, along with other leaders and grassroots groups. He says he will work to protect public lands for all.
"Our public lands don't belong to industry, they don't belong to big business, they belong to we the people," Upthegrove said. "They're public lands, they're our lands, and I'm running to manage our state lands in the public interest for all the people of Washington."
Read more about both candidates in the Secretary of State's voter guide here.