OLYMPIA — State Rep. Mike Cooper is running for Public Lands Commissioner, he said Wednesday.
The Edmonds Democrat will challenge incumbent Doug Sutherland, a Republican and former Pierce County executive.
"I’m running because it’s time to chart a new course. Washington needs to manage its trust lands for future generations, not merely for short-term gain," Cooper said. "We have a constitutional responsibility to maximize the use of our state trust lands. We can do it more efficiently and more responsibly."
Cooper, 54, is a firefighter with the Shoreline Fire Department. He’s chairman of the Fisheries, Ecology and Parks Committee in the state House, where he has served as a legislator for eight years.
Cooper said he supports "green certification," a type of environmental seal of approval, for the state’s 2.1 million acres of timber trust lands. Sutherland has delayed action on green certification, saying he’s not sure whether the benefits would outweigh the cost.
The state’s public lands commissioner runs the Department of Natural Resources, which manages more than 5 million acres of forest, farm and aquatic land in the state.
Cooper said he doesn’t believe he’s letting constituents down by changing directions.
"That’s one reason I waited until the end of the (legislative) session to make my announcement, because I wanted to focus on the challenges before us this year, and I plan to continue to do my work and will not resign before the end of my term," Cooper said.
Of his eight years in the House, Cooper said he is particularly proud of the work he’s done in the environmental arena, especially on the oil spill prevention bill lawmakers passed this week, which clears the way for tougher on-water fueling regulations to be put in place by 2006.
"I also led the fight over the last two years to redistribute recreational dollars so they are more equally distributed between trails and parks," he said.
Also Wednesday night, Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, announced that she has filed to be a candidate for re-election.
McAuliffe has served in the Senate since 1993.
McAuliffe said she thought for a long time about seeking re-election and ultimately decided she still has things she wanted to do, such as finishing education reform. And now that the state’s standardized test called the WASL has been defined, McAuliffe wants to remain in the Senate long enough to see her granddaughter, McKenzie, graduate under the new reforms.
The Senate last week approved a compromise package of changes to the state’s standardized test of student learning, also called the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. The changes would allow high school students as many as four retakes of the 10th-grade test required for high school graduation, as well as alternatives to the controversial high-stakes exam
"Currently she’s in the eighth grade," McAuliffe said of her granddaughter. "The WASL has to work for her as well as all the kids in the state."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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