Gregory will fill the vacancy left by Rep. Roger Freeman who passed away in October
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee today announced that he is appointing Carol Gregory to serve as State Representative in the 30th Legislative District which covers parts of Federal Way, Milton, Algona and Pacific. The position became vacant when Rep. Roger Freeman (D-Federal Way) passed away in October after a long battle with cancer.
“Carol has outstanding experience at both the state and local government levels which makes her ready to hit the ground running for an important legislative session,” Inslee said. “I know she’s prepared to be engaged on the issues she cares about most – education, local government and human services.”
Gregory recently served as president of the Federal Way School Board and was director for the Northwest Area Foundation of Burst For Prosperity, a multi-year poverty initiative focused on system reform. She also served in the King County Executive’s office from 1997-2005 as the Executive’s education liaison, and has also worked previously in the State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and for Governor Booth Gardner.
Washington’s state Constitution, Article II, Section 15, outlines how vacancies in the Legislature are filled. The party holding the vacant seat must submit three nominees to the counties composing the district and those bodies jointly appoint a replacement. Because the King and Pierce county councils were unable to reach agreement on an appointee within 60 days, the decision was sent to the governor who must decide on the appointment from the same list of nominees sent to the counties.
Freeman, though deceased, won re-election to his seat this past November. Gregory will fill Freeman’s term through Nov. 2015. Appointees to the Legislature must run for election in the first general election after their appointment if they want to maintain the seat. This year’s general election is Nov. 3, 2015.