Gov. Gregoire names Eldon Vail to lead Department of Corrections

For Immediate Release: January 9, 2008

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today named Eldon Vail secretary of the Washington Department of Corrections. Vail has served as interim secretary since Nov. 24.

Gregoire said Vail demonstrated he can meet her three objectives of holding offenders accountable for their crimes, changing offender behavior before they leave prison, and monitoring offender behavior once back in the community.

�I'm confident he will focus every tool in his arsenal to meet the number one priority for corrections � public safety,� she said.

Vail returned to the Department as deputy secretary last October after retiring in 2006. He served in the Department for 31 years and retired as prisons deputy secretary.

Vail�s corrections work at the national level includes service as a leadership trainer, guest speaker, author and publications reviewer for the National Institute of Corrections (NIC). In 1997, he was a member of the first graduating class of NIC�s Executive Excellence Program.

Vail said he will strive to improve public safety by focusing on the �now and later� of corrections work. �We will work to ensure that our prisons are safe now, and that offenders in the community are held accountable for their actions,� Vail said. �At the same time, we will implement programs that help offenders acquire the skills and self-control necessary to avoid criminal behavior later in life.�

He said other challenges include meeting the demands of an increasing offender population; responding to the diverse needs of special offender populations such as the elderly and mentally ill offenders.

Donald Pierce, executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs, lauded the appointment.

�Vail understands the Department and has a reputation as a strong leader willing to make the right choices, even when making the right choices is difficult,� Pierce said.

Vail�s working knowledge of the Department and criminal justice system, coupled with his good working relationships with law enforcement, make him the right choice, Pierce added.

Vail�s appointment also was lauded by the two unions representing Corrections employees.

�We appreciate the governor�s attention to public safety,� Teamsters spokesman John Williams said. �We�ve worked affirmatively with Vail in the past, and we hope to continue to work with him to improve both our members� working conditions and the effectiveness of the Department.�

"It is evident Eldon Vail is the right man for the job," said Carol Dotlich, president of the Washington Federation of State Employees. "He's given staff at all levels a sense of hope and opportunity. Administrators are taking the time to talk with line staff, admitting when they don�t have answers, and committing to working with us toward solving the issues.�

A graduate of The Evergreen State College, Vail began his corrections career in 1974 as a youth counselor, responsible for casework, counseling and security. He became correctional unit supervisor in 1979, acting associate superintendent in 1987, superintendent of Washington's only all-women's facility in 1989, and superintendent of McNeil Island Corrections Center in 1992. He was named assistant director of the Division of Prisons in 1994, and deputy secretary of the Office of Correctional Operations in 1999.

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