Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections Committee
Event Log
Claudia Kauffman — Senator Claudia Kauffman is identified as asking the final question for DES and then follows up by thanking the presenters and asking whether businesses can self-identify as minority-owned or must be registered with the state office.
Claudia Kauffman — Kauffman is referenced multiple times in the course of the meeting: first as the senator who has the next question, then again in the same immediate exchange, and shortly afterward as Vice Chair Kauffman during the discussion. These mentions appear to be part of the same ongoing segment rather than separate topics.
Marcus Riccelli — Introduced himself as a State Senator from the Third Legislative District in Spokane.
Marcus Riccelli — Senator Riccelli asks whether the analysis also examined rural versus urban turnout differences, and the speaker responds that they will be happy to send that rural/urban analysis over.
Marcus Riccelli — Senator Riccelli thanks the presenter and asks how USPS postmarking issues will be controlled for in future statistics.
Marcus Riccelli — Referenced as having a question.
Marcus Riccelli — A brief exchange in which the speaker acknowledges Senator Marcus Riccelli, with the transcript showing two near-identical mentions that likely reflect transcription errors in the senator's name.
Bob Hasegawa — Introduced himself as representing the 11th Legislative District, including Tukwila, Renton, Auburn, and unincorporated King County.
Dr. Chelsea Jones — Dr. Chelsea Jones introduced herself as a researcher with the Brennan Center for Justice and testified about voting access on tribal lands. She explained that her research focuses on how voting policies affect communities of color and Native communities, highlighting barriers such as long travel distances to polling places or drop boxes, lack of traditional addresses, unreliable postal service, and the need for non-traditional or tribal-designated addresses. She also discussed how turnout is influenced by access to election resources and cited research showing that each additional mile to vote can reduce turnout by 2 to 3 percent, noting that voters on tribal lands may travel 20 to 30 miles to vote. She further explained that communities of color often have fewer election resources than predominantly white communities and described how political scientists measure turnout through post-election surveys and registration files, while noting that many states do not collect race on voter registration forms.
Dr. Chelsea Jones — Dr. Chelsea Jones responds to questions about her study on voting access, clarifying that 'lost votes' means missed opportunities to vote rather than missing physical ballots. She explains that barriers such as lack of drop boxes and limited voting hours can prevent people from casting ballots, especially in tribal communities. She then emphasizes that policy changes should be paired with trusted community leaders and local partnerships to help voters understand where to vote, how to use drop boxes, and other ballot requirements. She also underscores the broader importance of direct contact and trust in communities of color, noting that many communities do not regularly hear from their representatives.
Chelsea Jones — The presenter repeatedly references Chelsea Jones’s earlier testimony, first noting her point about the limits of the data, then her comments on barriers to registration, and finally using turnout data as evidence supporting her broader claim about Washington’s high turnout rates.
Dr. Jones — The speaker says Dr. Jones hosted a conference this fall.
Professor Allen — The chair thanks Professor Allen and moves the agenda along.
Greg Vogel — Greg Vogel, committee staff, presents a brief historical overview of the governor's office of Indian affairs, including comparisons to similar structures in other states, and then concludes by offering to answer questions.
Tim Rennon — Tim Rennon is introduced by the chair as the next presenter and then takes the floor to introduce himself as a member of the Puyallup Tribe and the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs. He thanks the committee for the opportunity to present and says he will share information about the office’s vision, roles, responsibilities, and how it serves the state, residents, and tribal partners.
Earl Key — Earl Key, Senior Director of Transportation Equity for the Washington State Department of Transportation, introduced himself and began outlining the topics for discussion, including his office’s role in setting participation goals on federal-aid projects.
Dr. Thompson — Identified as the next speaker for DES.
Dr. Adrian Thompson — Introduced himself as Chief Equity and Performance Officer at DES and previewed his presentation on statewide contracting.
Sharon Harvey Hughes — Sharon Harvey Hughes introduces herself as the legislative affairs and policy director for OMWBE and explains that she will present the first two slides before handing off spend data to Laca Fernandez. Later in the presentation, she is asked to move to the final slide and discuss success stories, and she is also noted as a point of contact if the Zoom connection freezes again.
Laca Fernandez — Laca Fernandez is introduced as OMWBE’s director and the person presenting spend data. She then takes over to discuss outcomes, certification outreach efforts, and state spend. After a brief connection interruption, she returns to comment on the certification program, noting that the directory is still growing.
Director Fernandez — The speaker notes that Director Fernandez may have been lost from the virtual connection, then directly addresses him and remarks that they were almost to the last slide, continuing the same brief exchange about the connection issue and the presentation.
Director Matthews — Director Matthews is identified as the Office of Equity director and is asked whether she is up first to begin the presentation.
Jim McCune — Senator McCune introduces himself and states that he represents the Second Legislative District, which includes South Pierce County and North Thurston.
Jim McCune — Jim McCune asks whether State Patrol DEI training affects the selection of the best qualified candidate. The response thanks him and addresses his concern about candidate selection.
Megan Matthews — Megan Matthews introduces herself as the Director of Washington State’s Office of Equity and shares her background as a Tacoma native with 17 years of state service. She explains that she has served as director since May 2023, values relationships with legislators, and sees the office as moving from a new organization into a more mature one focused on a "Washington for all" vision. She adds that the office is using its available resources to carry out its mandates and improve government responsiveness, noting that the office is still relatively new and that the first director was hired in 2021.
Patrick Sickney — Introduced as senior policy and legislative affairs advisor for the Office of Equity.
Andrew Chin — Introduced as special assistant to Director Matthews at the Office of Equity.
HB2057 — Cited as the 2022 bill mandating the accountability monitoring work shown on the slide.
Javier Valdez — Introduced himself as Chair of the committee and said he represents the 46th Legislative District in Northeast Seattle.
Javier Valdez — The Chair asks for clarification about why Alaska is excluded from the chart.
Javier Valdez — Thanked as Chair for the opportunity to present.
Javier Valdez — Governor Ferguson was mentioned; this appears to refer to Governor Ferguson, not a committee member. No member mention in this section.
Javier Valdez — Not mentioned in this section.
Javier Valdez — Was referenced as someone the speaker had discussed emerging and rising small business goals with.
Javier Valdez — Addressed as Chair of the committee.
Javier Valdez — Chair Valdez is greeted at the start of the OMWBE presentation.
Javier Valdez — Addressed as Chair.
Javier Valdez — Addressed directly regarding federal impacts.
Javier Valdez — Addressed as Mr. Chairman.
Javier Valdez — Addressed in the Office of Equity introduction.
Javier Valdez — Recognized for helping sponsor and pass the legislation that created the Office of Equity statute.
Javier Valdez — Credited with championing House Bill 2057 when he was in the House.
Javier Valdez — Senator Javier Valdez was thanked for his remarks at the kickoff event, with praise that his comments centered the humanity of people.
Jeff Wilson — Jeff Wilson introduced himself as the Ranking Member and said he represents Washington’s 19th District in the southwest corner of the state.
Jeff Wilson — Identified as Ranking Member and called on for questions.
Jeff Wilson — Said voting is an educational process and cautioned against assuming larger populations necessarily had lower turnout.
Jeff Wilson — Asked whether stronger relationships with tribal leadership would improve communication and outreach.
Jeff Wilson — Continued asking whether tribal leadership is a key source for improving outreach and communication.
Jeff Wilson — Thanked as Ranking Member for the opportunity to present.
Jeff Wilson — Jeff Wilson is introduced as having a question, then asks whether tribal voting is discussed at the annual Centennial meeting or instead handled by the Secretary of State.