Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 1, 1999
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke appoints members to Domestic Violence Action Group

OLYMPIA — Gov. Gary Locke today announced the members of his Domestic Violence Action Group, which will review the case of Linda David, who was placed in a nursing home by the state in 1997. Her husband was recently arrested and charged with physically abusing her on the boat they lived on near Everett.

"We all failed Linda David — state workers, the police, the lawyers, and society in general," Locke said. "Domestic violence is one of the most difficult issues of our time because people are often hesitant to intervene in someone's private matters. I want this group to review the Linda David case and to come to me with recommendations for how we can prevent such tragedies in the future and how we can raise the level of awareness in general about domestic violence."

Chairing the group is Judge Helen Halpert of Seattle Municipal Court. She has co-authored a domestic violence manual for judges.

Halpert said the action group will focus on domestic violence and on the abuse of dependent adults. She also said the group will make recommendations on how state and local agencies can do a better job of coordinating efforts to identify and help abused dependent adults.

Joining Halpert on the Domestic Violence Action Group will be:

- Mary Pontarolo of Olympia, executive director, Washington Coalition Against Domestic Violence;
- Regina LaBelle of Seattle, incoming president of Northwest Women's Law Center Board of Directors;
- Kathy Shore of East Olympia, vice-chair, Interagency Committee for State-Employed Women;
- Becky Roe of Seattle, attorney, Schroeter Goldmark & Bender and former King County prosecutor;
- Colleen Wilson, chief of police for City of Monroe, former member of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs' domestic violence committee and the Criminal Justice Training Commission;
- Sue Tomita, MSW, Ph.D. of Seattle, social worker at Harborview Medical Center;
- David Boerner of Enumclaw, associate professor of law, Seattle University Law School and chair of the state Sentencing Guidelines Commission;
- Sue Wilkes of Seattle, executive director, Refugee Women's Alliance; and
- Carlos Oliveras of Yakima, executive director, Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic.

The group will report its preliminary findings to Locke by the end of July and deliver a full report in the fall.

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