SEQUIM — Kathleen Drew, a Democratic candidate for secretary of state, stopped by the North Olympic Peninsula this week to meet with supporters.
Drew, who also met with Peninsula Daily News and Sequim Gazette reporters, talked with about 30 people Wednesday at the Sequim home of Pat Johansen, a Clallam County representative to the state Democratic Party, before heading back to her Olympia home.
“People just loved her,” Johansen said. “She is warm and smart and well-organized and articulate — everything you hope and pray you have in a candidate.”
Drew, 51, is a former state senator who authored the state’s ethics policy and recently worked on environmental issues for the governor’s policy office.
She is seeking the seat held by Republican Sam Reed, who is not running for re-election.
Also running for the office are Thurston County Auditor Kim Wyman, a Republican, and Democrats former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, state Rep. Zack Hudgins and state Sen. Jim Kastama. Hudgins and Kastama both reside in Puyallup.
The office oversees elections and state archives and handles business licensing.
Efficient licensing
In an interview, Drew said she would work to make licensing more efficient by making one “portal” for business registration.
Currently, businesses have to register with the Secretary of State’s Office, the state Department of Licensing and the state Department of Revenue.
“You should only have to put your information once into the state system, and they should be able to share that information,” she said.
Additionally, Drew said she would speed up the scanning of government documents to make them more accessible to the public, add drop boxes for ballots in counties that are currently underserved and focus on problems related to voter participation.
Drew said she supports the creation of a state Voting Rights Act that could resolve issues regarding minority representation.
The act, which died in committee this month in the state Legislature, could require communities with a history of racial discrimination to move from at-large seats to districts, which would draw lines that supporters say would increase minority voter influence.
“It’s not something that happens across the state, but in select places, you have to have appropriate laws in place to make sure there is a fair opportunity for everybody to run for office,” she said.
Clallam County Commissioner Mike Doherty is endorsing Drew.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
