Either Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler or Democrat Dave Upthegrove will replace Hilary Franz as commissioner of public lands.
Herrera Beutler is a former congressional member from District 3, and Upthegrove is King County Council chair.
The commissioner of public lands heads the Department of Natural Resources, overseeing the management of more than 5 million acres of state land. The commissioner also manages the state’s on-call fire department, which works to prevent and fight wildfires on 13 million acres of private, state and tribal-owned land.
The commissioner serves a four-year term.
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