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Category: Local Government

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY — LANGLEY, WASHINGTON, 100 YEARS AGO: WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY — LANGLEY, WASHINGTON, 100 YEARS AGO: WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

From 1920 to 1922, an all-woman cohort of councilmembers and mayor governed the town of Langley on Whidbey Island, Washington. Langley has the distinction of being the second town in the United States to elect an all-woman administration. Helen Coe served as mayor during this period. In July 1921, she purchased and deeded land to the Ladies’ Civic Improvement Club to erect a community building, which would include a public library, auditorium, and reading rooms. The 100-year-old library, now part…

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Seattle Federal Records Center, c. 1970. State Library Photograph Collection, 1851-1990. Washington State Archives.
THE LOCAL RECORDS GRANT PROGRAM: NEARLY $700,000 IN GRANTS AWARDED TO 37 GOVERNMENT AGENCIES STATEWIDE

THE LOCAL RECORDS GRANT PROGRAM: NEARLY $700,000 IN GRANTS AWARDED TO 37 GOVERNMENT AGENCIES STATEWIDE

Washington State Archives, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, is awarding $698,510 in grants to 37 government agencies statewide as part of the Local Records Grant Program for 2021-2022. The Local Records Grant Program helps local-government agencies and entities upgrade their technological resources to improve their records retention and management, and response processes for public records requests. Qualified agencies and entities applied online in June 2021. During the summer, an Archives Oversight Committee, composed of county…

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Gov. Inslee & Secretary Wyman certify 2016 election

Gov. Inslee & Secretary Wyman certify 2016 election

Secretary Wyman and Gov. Inslee certify the 2016 General Election returns. (Photos courtesy of Patrick McDonald) Secretary of State Kim Wyman and Gov. Jay Inslee have certified the returns for the 2016 General Election, including a record number of ballot measures and hotly contested races from the White House to local offices. The election drew record voter registrations of nearly 4.3 million and the most ballots ever counted in the state, over 3.36 million.  The turnout was nearly 79 percent,…

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2016 Election: Record 3.36m ballots counted

2016 Election: Record 3.36m ballots counted

Washington counties have certified the returns in the hotly contested 2016 elections that attracted record voter registrations of nearly 4.3 million and the most ballots ever counted in the state, over 3.36 million.  The turnout was nearly 79 percent, a strong showing nationally. The spike in voter engagement reflects the four-year cycle of elections, with the presidential-gubernatorial always generating the most interest and turnout. Voters’ plates were full this year. Besides the heavily publicized race for president, voters were choosing…

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WA 2016 Election: The count goes on

WA 2016 Election: The count goes on

As Washington’s vote tally continues through the week, voters were re-electing most incumbents and siding with Hillary Clinton in her losing White House bid. Before Wednesday’s updates, more than 2 million votes had been counted, better than 48 percent of the record 4.24 million ballots that were sent out last month.  Counties reported receiving 2.7 million ballots by mail or drop box, a 63 percent return rate, as of Election Day, not counting evening drop box pickups. Heavy mail volumes…

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A Snapshot of Cowlitz County

A Snapshot of Cowlitz County

Washington is proud of its rich Native American heritage. Many counties in Washington have names derived from native languages. Cowlitz County, which was founded in 1854, is a great example. The word Cowlitz is a rough adaptation of the Native word tawallitch, the tribal name of the Native Americans who lived there before pioneers arrived. It is also the name given to a river running through the county, as well as a massive glacier that feeds into the river. Although…

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A Snapshot of Chelan County

A Snapshot of Chelan County

Chelan is third in a series covering Washington’s 39 counties, including how they got their names. ————————————— If you look at a map of Washington, you’ll notice a long body of water gently winding across the northern Cascades. This blue swath is not a river, but Lake Chelan, a long, narrow lake that is a scenic icon that draws tourists to the fourth county in our snapshot series, Chelan County. Chelan is named after the 55-mile-long lake that snakes near its…

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Second gun initiative certified

Second gun initiative certified

  Boxes of Initiative 591 signatures were delivered to the Elections Division of the Office of Secretary of State in late November.  (UPDATE: Fixes number of signatures filed for I-591) Secretary of State Kim Wyman has officially certified Initiative 591 to go before the legislature this session. I-591 is the second gun-related measure before the legislature and would prohibit government agencies from requiring background checks on firearm recipients unless a uniform national standard is required. Sponsors of I-591 submitted 349,860…

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Washington 2013 votes are tallied

Washington 2013 votes are tallied

Washington voters were rejecting both statewide initiatives on the 2013 ballot, the nationally-watched I-522 dealing with GMO labeling on some food products and I-517 dealing with additional rights for initiative signature-gatherers.  Seattle voters also chose their first openly gay mayor, Senate Democratic Leader Ed Murray, and voters in SeaTac adopted the country’s first $15-an-hour mandatory minimum wage. Three special state Senate races were on the ballot. In the 26th, Republican Jan Angel had a small lead over appointed Democratic Sen….

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WA voters pick their Primary favorites

WA voters pick their Primary favorites

Washington voters have narrowed the field for the General Election, including the hotly contested race for Seattle Mayor, three special state Senate races and literally hundreds of important local offices. By Wednesday midday, counties had tallied over 660,000 ballots after carefully verifying the voter signatures. That amounted to 20.5 percent of those who received ballots, a number sure to increase as Tuesday evening’s drop-box ballots and those still in the mail are added in. Washington’s election law allows any ballot…

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