San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord has a new task at hand.
Gaylord took over the reigns of the Washington Association of County Officials, as president, beginning Dec. 31, 2010.
Selected as president-elect by his WACO colleagues when the group met in October, Gaylord, now in his 16th year as San Juan County’s elected prosecutor, stepped into the position following the departure of Chelan County Sheriff Mike Harum.
WACO, with 257 members, is a statewide organization of Washington’s elected or appointed assessors, auditors, coroners, clerks, prosecutors, sheriffs and treasurers. It shares headquarters and resources in Olympia with the Washington State Association of Counties, which consists of members of the legislative branch of Washington state’s 39 counties.
WACO provides training, education, technical support, contact information and ideas on how to improve local government and to help elected officials do the best job possible, Gaylord noted in a press release.
“This work is as important today as it was when WACO was formed 52 years ago,” Gaylord said. “It presents a real challenge because counties are closely linked to state government and policies need to consider the most populous counties in western Washington and the most rural counties of eastern Washington, and those like my county, San Juan.”
Gaylord said input from WACO is equally important whether the coffers of local government are increasing or on the decline.
“In either case, WACO provides expertise to local officials that they are being
efficient and effective at what they do,” he said.
Other officers will move up WACO’s leadership ladder as Gaylord moves into the presidency. Corky Mattingly, Yakima County Auditor is the president-elect, and Tom Fallquist, Spokane County clerk is vice-president. The position of Secretary-Treasurer will be filled at the January board meeting.
Gaylord added, “We have an excellent staff in Olympia to help us with training, problem solving and seeking solutions that have had helped many public officials deal with difficult situations in the past, and I am going to do everything that I can to see that this organization’s endeavors continue be of the highest quality possible during these very challenging financial times.”
