Goldmark kicks off campaign for Lands Commissioner with help of Montana Gov. Schweitzer

SEATTLE -- Rancher Peter Goldmark kicked off his campaign for State Commissioner of Public Lands tonight at the Olympic Sculpture Park in downtown Seattle. The event featured King County Executive Ron Sims, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and a room full of local Democratic Party dignitaries.

After a reception that featured a cover band playing songs made popular by the likes of Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Van Morrison, Sims proclaimed, "It's okay to be green!" to the crowd and told them that Washington can only save the Puget Sound it elects someone to replace incumbent Land Commissioner Doug Sutherland.

Schweitzer highlighted his Montana roots to give a folksy introduction to Goldmark, making jokes about Lewis and Clark not asking for directions and Washington's female political leadership allowing for a state government with the kind of tidy policies that are akin to having a house with no dirty jeans at the foot of the bed. But on a more serious note, he also evoked the Native Americans who he said have respected the land for hundreds of generations, and like Sims suggested that Washington needed to elect someone who will protect the land.

When Goldmark, who entered politics in 2006 when he ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the 5th District, got to the microphone he urged the audience to look out at the Olympics and the Puget Sound, of which the venue had sweeping views. He promised that he would be the first Lands Commissioner to serve as an award-winning and committed manager of state lands, as well as the first to understand the relationship between public schools and the public land trust fund, and the first to understand firsthand the importance of planning for forest fires. Goldmark sat on the Board of Regents at WSU for ten years and has been a volunteer fire fighter in Okanogan County for more than thirty.

He also hit the incumbent Sutherland, saying at one point that he is on the record saying that climate change is not important, comparing him unfavorably to President Bush on that point and furthermore said, "My opponent is a career politician from an urban county. He doesn't know the land, he doesn't respect the land, and it shows." Goldmark has lived in Okanogan County for nearly his entire life, though he does live part time in Seattle these days.

Goldmark also expressed confidence in his ability to win the race, citing strong fundraising efforts so far, he has raised more than $200,000 and the ability to draw a coalition of voters "from here in Seattle all the way to the Palouse."

"I want to restore respect for the land in the Department of Natural Resources," he closed. "I want to lead a Department of Natural Resources that serves the public interest."