|
Armstrong named 'Legislator of the Year' by county
auditors
State auditors' association lauds Armstrong for
support of election changes
Rep. Mike
Armstrong was today named "2009 Legislator of the Year" by the
Washington State Association of County Auditors (WSACA). The award was
presented to Armstrong this morning in Wenatchee by Chelan County
Auditor Evelyn Arnold during a breakfast meeting of the association.
Speaking on behalf of
Arnold, Chelan County Chief Deputy Auditor Skip Moore said WSACA chose
Armstrong, R-Wenatchee, for its annual award because of his extensive
work this year in the Legislature for passage of House Bill 1018. The
measure eventually eliminates two springtime special elections and
spreads out the timeframe of the remaining two so they no longer
overlap.
"Mike was a big player in
helping us advance this legislation," said Moore. "He helped craft
language and worked out some of the back channel negotiations that
resulted in the immediate elimination of one spring election and,
ultimately, two spring elections after May of 2011."
In the past, Moore says
county auditors have faced four elections from February through May and
sometimes counted ballots from two or more elections during
that period. He added the legislation was needed to ease complexities of
overlapping elections and to improve the integrity of the
ballot-counting process.
"We would be in the midst
of certifying one election and have ballots in the mail and being returned
for a second election while we're preparing to mail ballots on a third
election. Under the new measure, there will be three elections in the
spring instead of four, which will spread out the time frame, and then
it later drops to two special elections," said Moore. "Mike worked with
the auditors' association in getting this important legislation passed
through the Washington House of Representatives."
"This is a measure that
will save counties quite a bit of money and improve the ability of
county auditors to do their jobs," added Armstrong. "With budgets so
tight and citizens seeking greater efficiency and accountability in
government, this legislation is very timely and important."
The 12th District
lawmaker, who was invited to the WSACA breakfast meeting, said the award
came as a complete surprise.
"I've worked closely with
the county auditors on election issues in the Legislature for about
seven years. We've been successful in passing voters' rights
legislation, changing election laws and helping auditors improve the
integrity of our election system. It's a great honor to be recognized by
such an outstanding group of county officials for this work. However,
it's been a team effort which has largely improved our state's election
process," concluded Armstrong.
# # #
For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Senior Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
|