Governor Gregoire Announces Kitsap County Appointee to Regional Transportation Commission

For Immediate Release: June 22, 2006

OLYMPIA � Governor Chris Gregoire today announced the appointment of Dwight Sutton of Kitsap County to a commission that will develop recommendations for the consolidation of regional transportation agencies.

�Dwight�s commitment to the people of Washington and his background in transportation and transit planning will make him an integral part of this commission,� said Governor Gregoire.

Mr. Sutton has been appointed to a term effective June 22, 2006, ending January 1, 2007. He served as the Mayor of Bainbridge Island from 1998 � 2001, was the chair of the Kitsap Transit board of directors and has twice served as the chair of the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council.

Governor Gregoire on June 8 announced the appointments of the other eight members of the commission.

Norm Rice and John Stanton were appointed to co-chair the commission. John Stanton was selected from the list of names submitted by the House Republican Caucus and Norm Rice was selected from the list of names submitted by the House Democratic Caucus. Dan McDonald was also selected from the list of names submitted by the Senate Republican Caucus and Reid Shockey was selected from the Senate Democratic Caucus list.

Mary Gates from King County, Dave Johnson and Tim Farrell from Pierce County and Gigi Burke from Snohomish County were also appointed to the commission.

Washington House Bill No. 2871 Establishes Committee

The 2006 Washington Legislature directed the formation of a regional transportation commission to make recommendations on transportation governance and fiscal issues for the central Puget Sound region. The commission contains nine members appointed by the Governor, with the director of the Department of Transportation serving as an ex-officio member. The Governor selected four members based on recommendations from the four legislative caucuses and selected the additional five members with input from local governments, business organizations, labor groups, environmental groups and other transportation organizations.

The commission findings are due to the Governor and Legislature on January 1, 2007.


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