The Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC) in Washington state has selected an aide to Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) to serve as its vice president of federal programs. The vice president acts as a conduit between Hanford Site-area communities and the U.S. Congress and other officials in Washington, D.C., securing funding for the Department of Energy facility and making clear which cleanup projects are most important to the local communities.
David Reeploeg, the Central Washington outreach director for Cantwell, will join TRIDEC later this month. He replaces Gary Petersen, 76, who retired earlier this year after serving in the position since 2004.
“Mr. Petersen has been critical to my work in the United State Senate and has made a tremendous impact on the Tri-Cities community, Washington state, and our nation,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in a tribute on the Senate floor. Petersen knows the federal budget as well as any staff member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, she said.
Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) called Petersen a friend in his own speech on the House floor and said his efforts have been key to economic development in the Tri-Cities: Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland. The projects he led included securing the transfer of 1,641 acres of unused Hanford Site land to the local community for economic development. Retired Rep. Richard “Doc” Hastings (R-Wash.) called Petersen “very, very effective.”
Petersen leaves big shoes to fill, but TRIDEC is fortunate to have attracted someone of Reeploeg’s caliber to serve as vice president, said Carl Adrian, TRIDEC president. Reeploeg was hired based on his knowledge of Hanford and other federal issues and of the Tri-Cities community, Adrian said. Reeploeg also will bring a knowledge of Congress and his contacts there to his new position, the TRIDEC president added.
