By Hailey Palmer, Puyallup Tribal News
As Governor-elect Bob Ferguson prepares to assume the role in 2025, he’ll have a familiar face to the Puyallup Tribe helping him do that.
Puyallup Tribal Council Vice Chairwoman Sylvia Miller was personally asked by Ferguson to serve on his transition team as he readies for his time as Washington state’s attorney general to end and his time as governor to start.
A transition team helps someone elected to public office prepare for their new role.
Miller is part of a 53-person team Ferguson selected. The team’s first meeting was Nov. 22 in Olympia.
“It’s an honor for us to be able to have our voices heard and be a part of something as important as the issues of the state of Washington, it’s very important,” Miller said.
In terms of his work as the state’s attorney general, Miller said Ferguson is the type of person the Tribe had been wanting to work with for a while.
The Puyallup Tribal Council endorsed Ferguson during his campaign for governor.
“Bob Ferguson is an individual who stands for a lot of loyalty, honor and respect, and that’s what the Tribe has been looking for for a long time,” she said. “He’s worked hard with us on issues we’ve had here.”
Remembering times where local Tribes didn’t have a seat at any state government table, Miller noted the significance of being able to serve on Ferguson’s transition team.
“For us as a Tribe to be one of those selected to be able to voice our opinion and help other Tribes and our community here, that’s what the Puyallup people are about,” she said. “It’s important for people to know who we are, what we stand for and where we plan to go. This is going to be important to us. Our voices are finally starting to get heard. … For once, us First People get to be heard.”
