Pollster Stuart Elway (second from left) answers a question as other panelists listen

Secretary of State Sam Reed and the Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service teamed up for a fascinating conference Friday at the state Capitol on “Governing Washington: Politics in the Evergreen State.”

Presenters included the authors of the upcoming book of the same title to be published later this year by Washington State University Press.  Presenters included scholars, pollster Stuart Elway, journalist Austin Jenkins and others familiar with politics and government in Washington. The panels were taped by TVW and will be aired and available on the TVW website .

Cornell Clayton, director of the institute at Washington State University, and Reed opened the conference.  Topics, all to be covered in the latest edition of the book, included voting and elections, Washington’s political culture, media coverage of politics,  the Legislature, interest groups and power, budgeting and public finance, demographics and diversity, the Governor’s Office, the Executive Branch, the Constitution, and the Judicial Branch.