Dahlquist Among Education Reform Lawmakers to be Honored by Washington Policy Center

Editor's Note: The following is a press release issued by the Washington Policy Center this week.

Seattle – At its Annual Dinner on October 15, Washington Policy Center (WPC) will honor a bipartisan group of state legislators for their leadership during the 2012 legislative session to legalize charter public schools in Washington state. The 32 legislators will receive WPC’s 2012 Champion of Freedom Award.

As primary sponsors of the legislation, Sen. Steve Litzow, Sen. Rodney Tom, Rep. Glenn Anderson, and Rep. Eric Pettigrew will receive the Champion of Freedom Award at the event in Bellevue, which will be simulcast in Spokane.

The following legislators will be recognized for their leadership on the charter school issue at the event:

Rep. Eric Pettigrew (D-Seattle)

Rep. Mark Hargrove (R-Covington)

Rep. Glenn Anderson (R-Fall City)

Rep. Paul Harris (R-Vancouver)

Rep. Cary Condotta (R-East Wenatchee)

Rep. Bill Hinkle (R-Cle Elum)

Rep. Cathy Dahlquist (R-Enumclaw)

Rep. Larry Seaquist (D-Gig Harbor)

Rep. Deb Eddy (D-Kirkland)

Rep. Larry Springer (D-Kirkland)

Rep. Susan Fagan (R-Pullman)

Rep. Maureen Walsh (R-Walla Walla)

Rep. Fred Finn (D-Olympia)

Rep. J.T. Wilcox (R-Yelm)

Rep. Larry Haler (R-Richland)

Rep. Hans Zeiger (R-Puyallup)

Sen. Rodney Tom (D- Bellevue)

Sen. Mike Hewitt (R-Walla Walla)

Sen. Steve Litzow (R-Mercer Island)

Sen. Andy Hill (R-Redmond)

Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane)

Sen. Steve Hobbs (D-Lake Stevens)

Sen. Randi Becker (R-Eatonville)

Sen. Jim Kastama (D-Puyallup)

Sen. Jerome Delvin (R-Richland)

Sen. Curtis King (R-Yakima)

Sen. Doug Ericksen (R-Ferndale)

Former Sen. Cheryl Pflug (R-Maple Valley)

Sen. Joe Fain (R-Auburn)

Sen. Tim Sheldon (D-Shelton)

Sen. Brian Hatfield (D-Raymond)

Sen. Dan Swecker (R-Rochester)

“We are honored to recognize these legislative champions of charter schools in our state who helped make the case to reform education and put the issue before our state’s citizens this fall,” said WPC President  Dann Mead Smith.

WPC is a nonpartisan public policy research organization based in Seattle and with offices in Olympia, Spokane, and Tri-Cities. 1,500 people are expected to attend the event at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue and the DoubleTree Spokane City Center. WPC began giving the annual Champion of Freedom Award in 1998. Past recipients include Matt McIlwain, State Auditor Brian Sonntag, Phil Smart, Bruce R. McCaw, Charles M. Pigott, former Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn, and others.

Daniel Hannan, a member of the European Parliament and Daily Telegraph columnist, will deliver the keynote address at WPC’s Annual Dinner. Pollster Scott Rasmussen will speak in Bellevue and political analyst Ed Rollins will speak in Spokane. For more information on the event, visit www.wpcannualdinner.org.