Puget Sound Business Journal (November 16, 2007)

Roster of Native American Elected Officials Grows

Seattle, Wash. - In a sign of the growing political engagement of Native Americans in Washington state, two tribal members have been elected to countywide offices -- in a single county.

Steve Oliver, a member of the Lummi tribe, got about two-thirds of votes in the race for Whatcom County treasurer, while Bob Kelly, a member of the Nooksack Tribe, won about 54 percent of the vote for a seat on the Whatcom County Commission. Results won't be official until the election is certified Nov. 27.

Oliver and Kelly are part of a growing wave of Native Americans elected to state and local government in Washington state. State Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip and a member of the Tulalip Tribes, was elected to the Legislature in 2002, and in 2006 was joined by state Sen. Claudia Kauffman, D-Kent, and Rep. Don Barlow, D-Spokane. Two other state representatives, Jeff Morris, D-Anacortes, and Jim Dunn, R-Battle Ground, are descended from Alaska tribes.

The new Whatcom electees are also a part of an increase in minority candidates elected to local office, where nonwhites have historically been underrepresented. While nonwhite and Hispanic people made up about 23 percent of Washington's population in 2005, they made up only about 4 percent of elected municipal officials in 2005, according to Progressive Majority, a group that works to recruit, train and elect progressive candidates to state and local offices.