Jacks named to collaborative-government group

Before he was elected to the state Legislature two years ago, Rep. Jim Jacks was Gov. Chris Gregoire‘s iaison to Southwest Washington, a job that required putting out fires on a regular basis. Before that, he was the city of Vancouver’s trouble-shooter, tasked to solve gnarly problems that arose between citizens and their city government. And before that, he established the Clark County Juvenile Court’s victim-offender mediation program.

So it’s not surprising that Jacks, a Democrat running for reelection, has been named to the board of the Policy Consensus Initiative, a national nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping state and local leaders develop collaborative solutions to community problems.

The organization describes itself as “a catalyst and support for leaders who want to harness the power of collaboration to break through outdated governance structures that often hinder innovation in solving public problems.”

Jacks said he’s excited to join a group of folks who believe business as usual won’t solve today’s challenges. “The fact is that we simply must be open to solutions that perhaps don’t fit neatly into our old ways of problem-solving,” he said.

The board Jacks is joining is co-chaired by two governors, one Democrat and one Republican, and includes legislators, mayors, and other leaders from 15 states.

Kathie Durbin