SEATTLE -- Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed is announcing this morning that he will not seek re-election when his term ends in 2012. Reed calls it a "bittersweet" decision and says he will continue doing volunteer work and public service.
Reed was first elected Secretary of State in 2000 and has seen major changes in the state's election procedures, including the shift to vote-by-mail. Last year, he underwent surgery for kidney cancer and his office says Reed, 70, was given a clean bill of health.
Reed's decision not to run for re-election creates another open seat in statewide elections for 2012. Earlier this month, Gov. Christine Gregoire announced she will not run for a third term, and Republican Rob McKenna is leaving his office as Attorney General to run for governor. Meanwhile, state auditor Brian Sonntag is considering whether to run for governor as well.
Reed, a Republican, has not always been popular with his own political party. He championed the "top two" primary, which allows the top two vote-getters in the primary to advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. The top-two primary was the popular choice of voters, but both the Democratic and Republican state parties strongly objected. Reed, along with McKenna, took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the top two system.
Reed also clashed with political parties, when he campaigned hard for voters to participate in the presidential primary, instead of party caucuses. Political parties wanted to energize their core supporters through a caucus system, while Reed maintained a primary would involve more voters. This year however, he offered to cancel the 2012 presidential primary as a way to save $10 million dollars.
In 2004, during the extremely close governor's election between Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi, Reed made decisions he deemed fair that prompted some Republicans to question Reed's party affiliation. During the recount process, Reed supported King County's right to correct errors during the recount, while Republicans sued to stop King County from counting new ballots. Bitter feelings between Republicans and Reed lingered over decisions that ultimately led to his certification of Gregoire as the winner; A judge finally gave the election to Gregoire by 133 votes. After that election, Reed pushed a number of reforms to clean up voter rolls and to give local elections offices more time to prepare for elections. He advocated for an earlier primary, giving more time to resolve problems before the November general election.
Reed succeeded former Secretary of State Ralph Munro. Prior to running statewide, he served five terms as Thurston County auditor and was assistant Secretary of State. Reed was named national Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine and received the Gonzaga University School of Law Medal for exceptional service to the law and the legal system, following the 2004 governor's race.
State Sen. Jim Kastama (D-Puyallup), earlier indicated an interest in running for Secretary of State if Reed was not running for re-election.
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