Kim Wyman, who will be sworn in as Washington’s 15th Secretary of State, today announced her choices for her executive team.
She announced the picks in a staff email and then visited with the Executive Staff in the Capitol, the Corporations and Charities Division, Elections Division, State Archives and the State Library. Other visits to OSOS programs, including the Digital Archives, Regional Archives, Washington Talking Book & Braille Library, and the Administrative Division, will come later.
In making her appointments, Wyman consulted with outgoing Secretary of State Sam Reed, senior managers and others both inside and outside of government. In her email, she described the team as “a mix of people from within and outside the office, with a wide variety of experience and perspectives.”
The Executive Leadership Team will consist of:
Assistant Secretary of State:
Ken Raske (Currently Thurston County Chief Deputy Auditor)
Deputy Secretary of State:
Mark Neary (Currently Thurston County Central Services Director)
Communications/Policy/Legislative Director:
David Ammons (Currently Communications Director, OSOS)
Brian Zylstra – Deputy Communications Director
Katie Blinn – Policy Assistant Director
Special Assistant/Legislative Liaison
Don Skillman (Previously Redistricting Commission and House Republican Caucus Staff)
Division Directors:
Archives:
Steve Excell (Currently Assistant Secretary of State)
Corporations/Charities:
Pam Floyd (Currently Corporations/Charities Director)
Dan Speigle – Deputy Director (currently Deputy Secretary of State)
Elections:
Lori Augino (Currently Pierce County Chief Deputy Auditor)
Shane Hamlin – Voter Services Assistant Director
Library:
Rand Simmons (Currently Acting State Librarian)
Office Support/Protocol/Logistics Coordinator (working title):
Patrick McDonald (Currently Special Assistant to the Secretary)
Special Programs:
Stephanie Horn (Currently Special Programs Director)
Wyman, who was certified on Wednesday as Reed’s successor, is the only Republican and the only woman elected to statewide executive office last month. She will be sworn in at noon on Jan. 16 and will have an additional ceremonial ceremony and gathering in the State Reception Room at 3 p.m. that day.
“I am eager to begin – building on the culture of excellence that Sam and his predecessors brought so successfully to the citizens of Washington,” Wyman said. “We will be looking for creative and cost-effective ways to continue innovating and serving the voters and our customers. The team of executives I’ve appointed today and the program managers and staff will help enormously in that regard. I will reach out to the county auditors and local officials of Washington and the reservoir of great ideas from the citizens all across this great state, and I look forward to working with the newly elected governor and our Legislature.”
