Washington Coalition of Open Government adds two board members

Two veteran Washington state journalists have been named to the Board of Directors of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, a nonpartisan advocacy group that promotes accountability and transparency within government agencies in the Evergreen State.

Paula Wissel has covered the law and justice beat as a reporter at public radio station KPLU for more than a decade. She began her KPLU career in 1989 when she was hired as a local host for "All Things Considered."

Prior to moving to Seattle, she worked in public television in Idaho. She also worked in public TV and radio in upstate New York and San Francisco, where she graduated from Lone Mountain College, now part of the University of San Francisco. She was born and raised in Idaho.

Paula’s memorable moment in public radio: "Sitting in a King County courtroom when Green River killer Gary Ridgway pleaded guilty to strangling 48 women. As the serial killer responded to each charge in an emotionless tone, the families of the murder victims sat quietly crying. They'd been waiting decades for the killer to be caught. It reinforced my feeling that, with this or any tragedy, the people left behind live with the pain long after I have packed up my microphone and gone home."

The Board's second new member is David Seago, longtime editorial page editor of The News Tribune in Tacoma. Seago, 59, retired from that post in July of this year after a 40-year career with the newspaper.

He began with the TNT as an office boy, fetching mail and filling paste pots, then graduated to a reporting job during summers while attending Stanford University. He earned a masters degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism, then began working full-time as a reporter in 1972. After beat reporting on consumer affairs and education, he filled several newsroom editing positions, including city editor, before becoming an editorial writer in 1983. He was named editorial page editor in 1995.

The TNT's editorial page under Seago consistently supported the cause of open government and the disclosure of public records in particular.
Seago, continues to serve on the boards of two nonprofit groups that tutor elementary students in reading and provide services for the disabled, respectively.

The Washington Coalition for Open Government (WCOG) is an independent non-partisan non-profit organization founded in 2002 by a group of individuals representing organizations with a broad spectrum of opinions and backgrounds, all dedicated to the principles of strengthening the state’s open government laws and protecting the public’s access to government at all levels.

For more information, contact Washington Coalition for Open Government, 6351 Seaview Avenue NW, Seattle, WA 98107-2664 or on the web at www.washingtoncog.org or call (206) 782-0393 or FAX (206) 623-4474.