booth gardner - Washington Secretary of State

commander of McChord Air Force Base, was picked to head General Services. Isiah Turner,
39, an African-American, was elevated from assistant commissioner in the Department of
Employment Security to agency chief.
Disgruntled State Patrol Troopers were rewarded with an affable new chief, George
Tellevik, who had risen through the ranks to major. That he wasn’t on the troopers’
short list underscored Gardner’s independence. In Tellevik, the governor saw a leader
with street smarts. He turned out to be one of the administration’s best choices. After
a couple of clashes with union leaders, Tellevik won over the troopers, who realized he
was a solid manager and “just an all-around decent, nice person.” Tellevik was with the
administration for its entire eight years. He nearly doubled the number of troopers on the
road, emphasizing not just enforcement but assistance to motorists with disabled vehicles.
He dramatically improved the patrol’s facilities, updated its fleet of cruisers and persuaded
the Legislature to fund a computerized statewide fingerprint network. On his watch,
Washington highways became some of the nation’s safest.
Booth’s intuition was first rate, Foster says. But by no means infallible. Turner was
destined to make an embarrassing exit from Employment Security, which stung twice
as much because he had been an innovative manager and the point man for Gardner’s
commitment to diversity. Theresa Aragon, 41, director of human services for Seattle, was
tapped to head the Department of Licensing. A Chicano studies activist, she was also
a former university professor. Her talents turned out to be better suited to academics,
although supporters said the governor and legislators never gave her a fair chance to
correct management deficiencies in the agency. Gardner strived to promote minorities and
women, with mixed success. The Latino community was angry over Aragon’s departure
from the cabinet in 1988.
A great pick was Mary Faulk, whose appointment to head the State Lottery riled
some Democrats accustomed to patronage. In the throes of the heavily-caffeinated
transition, Faulk had impressed Smith as a versatile manager with strong people skills. Mary
remembers him saying, “Why don’t you give me your resume?” Laughing her infectious
laugh, she scoffed, “Are you kidding? The governor wouldn’t offer me a job.” A couple of
days later as she and Larry were finishing a late dinner, the phone rang. It was Booth. “How’d
you like to be the director of Lottery?” Surprised, flattered and excited at the challenge, she
declared, “That sounds wonderful.” (When the word came down that Smith and Gardner
wanted her at the Lottery, Barlow told Larry Faulk that someone in the back of the room
quipped, “How many doorbells did she ring?” “Zip,” Barlow shot back, “but she’s good!” And
she was. In the years to come, Booth would plug her in wherever he needed a steady hand
– next at General Administration, then to Licensing to succeed Aragon. The Faulks divorced,
amicably, in 1990 and the following year Mary married Gardner’s second prisons chief, Chase
Riveland. In 1993, Governor Mike Lowry named her to succeed Chris Gregoire at Ecology.
Mary Faulk Riveland was Ms. Fixit, and the Rivelands were one of the state’s power couples.)
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