Each week GOPAC will spotlight a candidate running for election. This weeks Candidate in the spotlight is Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna. McKenna kicked off his 2008 campaign on Nov. 14, 2007, before roughly 1,600 supporters gathered for a breakfast at Meydenbauer Center. McKenna's Crossover appeal has been enhanced with the announced support of State Auditor Brian Sonntag and Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Janice Ellis, both Democrats. Ellis spoke on behalf of McKenna during the kickoff, as did Seattle Seahawk Mack Strong, Dino Rossi and WAGOP Chairman Luke Esser.
Rob McKenna is Washington’s 17th Attorney General. As the state’s chief legal officer, he directs 500 attorneys and nearly 700 professional staff providing legal services to state agencies, boards and commissions.
General McKenna’s ongoing priorities are:
* Keeping communities safer by leading the state in fighting meth, sexual predators and domestic violence;
* Protecting consumers and businesses from identity theft, fraud and high-tech crimes, such as cyber fraud, phishing and spyware; and
* Promoting integrity in government by defending the state’s laws, implementing new performance management initiatives in his office and encouraging open access to government.
As part of his Operation: Allied Against Meth program, he drafted and passed a comprehensive new statewide methamphetamine initiative and formed the Pacific Northwest Precursor Chemical Committee. He has also presented the Operation: Allied Against Meth school assembly to more than 25,000 students at schools across Washington.
He convened the first Statewide Identity Theft Conference and formed working groups to fight this crime. In 2007, he passed legislation allowing citizens to freeze access to their credit before they become victims of ID theft.
In response to the rising victimization of Latino consumers, AG McKenna convened two Latino Consumer Protection Summits in SeaTac and Yakima to identify new ways to reach this community and improve access to CP tools.
Under AG McKenna’s leadership, the Office of the Attorney General was the first state agency to implement a performance management plan that rewards high-performing employees who achieve rigorous goals.
During his tenure as attorney general, AG McKenna has been named:
* NAAG Tobacco Committee Co-Chair, 2006-present;
* Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership, 2006-2008;
* President’s Award Winner by the Washington State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 2007;
* Freedom’s Light Award Winner by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Asscoiation, 2007;
* Key Award Winner by the Washington Coalition for Open Government, 2007;
* Honorary Farmer by the Farmer Consumer Awareness Committee, 2007;
* Envision Award Winner from the WomenSpirit Coalition for work on domestic violence issues, 2007;
* King County Washington Women Lawyers’ Special Contribution to the Judiciary Award Winner, 2007;
* National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Executive Board Member, 2006;
* One of Washington CEO Magazine’s Most Amazing Attorneys of 2006;
* One of Seattle Magazine’s 26 Most Influential People in Seattle, 2006;
* Outstanding Leader of the Year by the Eastside Domestic Violence Program, 2006; and
* Distinguished Eagle Award Winner by the Boy Scouts of America, 2005.
McKenna received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1988, where he was a member of the Law Review. He earned a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in International Studies, both with honors, from the University of Washington. McKenna was student body president at the U.W. and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He has been an attorney for 18 years since beginning his career in 1988 at the Bellevue office of Perkins Coie, one of the nation’s top 50 law firms.
In 1995, McKenna was elected to the Metropolitan King County Council. He was re-elected twice without opposition and was twice rated “Outstanding” by the Municipal League.
A committed community leader, McKenna has raised hundreds of thousands for the Eastside Domestic Violence Program and the Bellevue Schools Foundation. An Eagle Scout himself, McKenna continues to serve as a board member with the Chief Seattle Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Bellevue Community College Foundation.
McKenna, his wife Marilyn and their four children reside in Bellevue.
To learn more about Attorney General Rob McKenna please visit his website at
www.robmckenna.org or contact him at 206.232.0070
Address:
Re-Elect AG Rob McKenna
PO Box 955
Mercer Island WA 98040-0955