Key Award
Criteria
Any person or organization who has done something notable for the cause of open government within the past 12 months is eligible; this includes board members, WashCOG members, the general public or public officials. Individual self-nominations will not be accepted, although individuals may nominate their organizations. Click here for a downloadable nomination form.
2025 - Daniel Beekman, Seattle Times
Two Washington men were arrested in mental health crises, but only one survived. Seattle Times reporter Daniel Beekman shed light on a disturbing death in the Yakima County jail, relying on hundreds of pages of city, county and state documents plus video records to draw attention to inequities within the criminal justice system. The project has yielded a revised death certificate, a $50 lawsuit and an independent probe.
Beekman was honored at the 2025 Sunshine Breakfast for his extensive investigation, “Life and death in Yakima.”
WashCOG Executive Director Juli Bunting congratulates Daniel Beekman at the 2025 Sunshine Breakfast,
2025 - Erasmus Baxter, Asia Fields, Julia Furukawa, Bill Crittenden
WashCOG recognized the perseverance of three student journalists – now alumni – and their attorney, who recently ended a six-year legal battle for public records and compensation when the records were unlawfully withheld. Key Award recipients are Julia Furukawa, Asia Fields, Erasmus Baxter and attorney William Crittenden.
Two of the then-students were recognized with a Key Award in 2018 for their effective use of the PRA in reporting on handling of sexual misconduct cases at Western Washington University. In 2019, the trio filed suit with Crittenden’s help, seeking the names and disposition of students found responsible for sexual misconduct or violent offenses.
A Whatcom County judge penalized their alma mater $111,780. The three, all journalists, donated their share of $42,000 to establish the Student Investigative Journalism Fund at Western. Their decision was also recognized recently with the First Amendment Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Pictured left: Julia Furukawa, Erasmus Baxter; center: Bill Crittenden with WashCOG Executive Director Colette Weeks; and right, Asia Fields with AEJMC award.
2024 - Melissa Luck, KXLY TV
Melissa Luck, news director of KXLY 4 News in Spokane and a longtime reporter at the station, was recognized with a Key Award for her advocacy and use of the Public Records Act in her reporting. Luck is also a member of the state Sunshine Committee, and urges the group to become more persistent about making recommendations to the state legislature regarding repealing or amending PRA exemptions.
2024 - Tim Gerlitz and Stacy Dym
Stacy Dym is congratulated by WashCOG Executive Director Juli Bunting and board member Kathy George,
Stacy Dym is executive director of The Arc of Washington, an advocacy group for people with intellectual disabilities; Tim Gerlitz is superintendent at Lakeland Village, the largest state for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They worked together to preserve records at Lakeland Village, which was established in 1914. They were recognized at the 2024 Sunshine Breakfast.
Northern State Hospital death records have never been publicly available — until now.
March 17, 2023 - Judge Judith H. Ramseyer
A Key Award was presented to Judge Judith H. Ramseyer of King County Superior Court, for her work as the chief of the Bench-Bar-Press Committee’s Fire Brigade, which mediates simmering conflict over access issues before they escalate.
Justice Ramseyer was recognized at WashCOG’s 2023 Sunshine Breakfast.
2023 - Carolyn Bick, South Seattle Emerald
Carolyn Bick, Watchdragon reporter for the South Seattle Emerald, relied heavily on records to examine the Seattle Office of Police Accountability’s compliance with the Public Records Act and records retention laws. One piappce called out the Seattle Police Department for withholding and apparently destroying public records; the next day, the SPD produced the requested record plus another.
OPA May Have Broken City and State Records Laws By Not Retaining Emails
2023 - Sydney Brownstone and Greg Kim, Seattle Times
Despite a law requiring prompt reports of jail deaths, Sydney Brownstone’s ongoing reporting revealed the law was not being followed. Ongoing investigations with her colleague Greg Kim found even those reports didn’t necessarily tell the full story, as with the in-custody death of a homeless man.
A Seattle man began the night in crisis. Then, a sudden death in restraint.
2023 - Wilson Criscione, The Inlander
As news editor at The Inlander in Spokane, Criscione relied on public records for much of his reporting on how Eastern State Hospital handled domestic violence allegations against a nurse who was later convicted of murder. Eastern State Hospital’s CEO later resigned amid a state investigation into the institution’s handling of the incident, which included several complaints of violence and a coworker even obtained a restraining order.
Daniel Beekman and Lewis Kamb, The Seattle Times
Seattle Times reporters Lewis Kamb and Daniel Beekman repeatedly wrote about public records disputes, mismanagement and apparent violations involving public officials. They shared about the Seattle Police Department’s multi-month backlog of requests, on calls for an outside investigation into destruction of text messages among high-ranking officials at city hall, and the financial penalty Seattle residents were paying when the city violated the PRA.
2023 - Mike Reicher & Lulu Ramadan, The Seattle Times & ProPublica
The publications teamed to investigate a network of privately-run but publicly-funded special education schools that had drawn years of complaints from parents, school districts and staff. The journalists filed more than 80 public records requests, gathering more than 17,000 pages of documents from 45 school districts, three police departments and the state education department.
Lawsuit accuses special ed school and 2 school districts of neglect and abuse
2023 - Rachel Riley, The Daily Herald (Everett)
Rachel Riley drew from court records and transcripts, internal company records and other materials she uncovered, often via the PRA, to examine how Boeing put tens of thousands of its factory workers in the Puget Sound region at risk by knowingly exposing them to chemicals that would cause life-long chronic illnesses, cancer and death.
2023 - Eric Rosane and Cameron Probert, Tri-City Herald
A surprise vote to defy Washington’s indoor COVID mask mandate deeply divided the Richmond School District and the community. But it was an allegation that the board gave the public insufficient notice about its vote, as required under the Open Public Meetings Act, that led to an investigation that relied on the Public Records Act and revealed at least one board member was destroying text records. Reporters Cameron Probert and Eric Rosane doggedly covered the board’s actions and the fallout, including a financial toll.
2023 - Daniel Walters, The Inlander
Daniel Walters relied in part on public records to tell his community the story of the Wolfe and New Washington apartment buildings, where 19 low-income tenants died in six years. His search spanned fire codes, building permits, court records and even newspaper archives. Walters also used records to contact family members and evicted tenants, resulting in difficult but important stories.
Sept. 16, 2022 - Crosscut
Journalists at the online publication Crosscut spent months requesting and examining government documents that track budgets, spending reports and audits to learn how agencies are spending billions of dollars in federal pandemic recovery funds, earning a Key Award for their contribution to civic education.
Feb. 22, 2022 - Isolde Raftery and Ashley Hiruko, KUOW
KUOW journalists Isolde Raftery, online managing editor, and reporter Ashley Hiruko were honored with a Key Award for their extensive use of public records and interviews to shed light on city action during demonstrations in June 2020.
July 12, 2021 - Lynn Brewer
It took more than a year, but Lynn Brewer got the records she sought from the Washington Employment Security Department, for more information about an acknowledged benefit fraud at the agency. After five months of delay, she went to court. The agency settled with Brewer after a year, supplying the records with a $100,000 payment and a promise to change its practices and policies. WashCOG recognized her persistence; she was represented by WashCOG board member Joan Mell.
June 28, 2021 - Stacy Irwin and Kimberly Ferreiro
WashCOG recognized two Seattle City public records officers who spoke up in defense of public access and the state Public Records Act during investigations of how the Mayor’s Office mishandled public records. An investigation found that the mayor’s legal counsel violated the PRA when she withheld information about the availability of Mayor Jenny Durkan’s text messages. Stacy Irwin ad Kim Ferreiro objected to many of the decisions, and they filed a whistleblower complaint.
May 26, 2021 - Washington Counties Risk Pool
The Washington Counties Risk Pool was recognized for its commitment to transparency and access under the state Public Records Act. As an association of the state’s counties, the WCRP could have argued hat it was not an “agency” subject to the PRA but it agreed to accept responsibilities under the PRA when asked by WashCOG to clarify its status. The Key Award was presented via Zoom.
May 26, 2021 - Brian Kelly, Port Townsend Leader
WashCOG honored the Port Townsend Leader and Editor Brian Kelly for their effective use of public records in revealing problems at the Fort Worden Public Development Authority. The agency struggled with the pandemic and financial challenges with infighting and ineffective leadership.
April 21, 2021 - Melissa Santos, Crosscut
Crosscut reporter Melissa Santos filed more than 100 public records requests in all 39 of Washington’s counties to research a series of stories about police officers on the so-called “Brady lists” that identify them as having credibility problems in court.
March 26, 2021 – Washington Recreation and Conservation Office
WashCOG recognized the Washington Recreation and Conservation Office with a Key Award for its extra effort to provide easy access to its public lands inventory by developing a searchable, interactive web database and dashboard with regularly updated information. Data can be filtered by legislative district and county and provides maps in a variety of forms.
Aug. 6, 2020 - Gov. Jay Inslee
WashCOG recognized Gov. Jay Inslee and two top staff members with the Key Award for their efforts to keep government information accessible to Washingtonians during the global pandemic and Stay Home, Stay Healthy orders. Chief of Staff David Postman and Chief Legal Counsel Kathryn Leathers share the honor because of their efforts seeking input from WashCOG and other open government advoctes on this important matter.
July 15, 2020 - Jacob Jones
Jacob Jones, reporter and publisher of the Whitman County Watch, was recognized with a key award for repeatedly using the Public Records Act to reveal costly and impactful decisions by state and local agencies that would otherwise go unreported and unnoticed. When the city of Colfax settled a lawsuit with its former police chief, Jones’ reporting revealed the financial settlement that led the former chief to drop his suit. He also uncovered the details of WSU’s settlement with former provost Mitzi Montoya, who resigned after less than two months on the job.
May 18, 2020 - Edward Kilduff, Nick Power, Michele Earl-Hubbard
Edward Kilduff discovered government misconduct and made a public records request. A whistleblower confirmed the county obfuscated and deliberately hid records from him. He filed suit, the county fought the lawsuit and filed for sanctions against everyone involved with Kilduff.
The trial court found for the county and sanctioned Kilduff and his attorneys, but he did not give up — they were diligent, patient and able to stand up in a meaningful way against government attempts to shield themselves from transparency. WashCOG recognized their efforts with a Key Award.
Jan. 13, 2020 – KING5 Investigators
KING5 TV Investigators were relentless in pursuing information about mold issues at Children's Hospital, even in the face of a lawsuit to prevent them from getting that information. The Investigators won the first round in court, and the case is on appeal. WashCOG recognized their work with a Key Award.
From left: TEGNA attorney Chris Moeser, reporter Chris Ingalls, WashCOG president Toby Nixon and producer Peter Saiers.
Sept. 20, 2019 – James Egan
Seattle attorney James Egan was recognized with a Key Award when he sued Seattle City Council members after they discussed and decided council action outside of a public meeting and before the public vote, in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act. Egan received the award at WashCOG’s annual Sunshine Breakfast.
Pictured Left to Right: WashCOG president Toby Nixon, Board Member Kathy George and honoree James Egan.
Sept. 21, 2018 – Erasmus Baxter and Asia Fields
Journalism students at Western Washington University were recognized with a Key Award for their coverage of the university’s handling of sexual harassment and violence complaints. They filed repeated Public Records Act requests to learn the disposition of the complaints, including discipline.
WashCOG president Toby Nixon presented the awards at the annual Sunshine Breakfast.