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Over the past year, the effort to prevent the priceless federal records stored at Seattle branch of the National Archives from leaving the Evergreen State has appeared to progress on two distinct tracks.

Last week, Democratic Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson amped up his office鈥檚 ongoing legal battle against the Public Buildings Reform Board, notching a victory in a lawsuit filed in August demanding relevant documents, and seeking an injunction from a federal judge to shut down the planned sale of the building. Ferguson first told聽成人X站 Radio in late January 2020 that his office was considering legal action.

Around the same time that Ferguson began examining the legal questions, Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman launched an effort to broker a solution that would keep the materials 鈥� including photos, documents, and maps dating back to the mid-19th century, documenting history across the Pacific Northwest 鈥� in Washington, regardless of what became of the acreage and warehouse in Seattle.

Wyman convened invitation-only stakeholder meetings, and in July 鈥� prior to any legal action 鈥� William 鈥淛ay鈥� Bosanko, Chief Operating Officer of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the agency that operates the archives in Seattle, confirmed聽to 成人X站 Radio that he was taking part in discussions with Wyman鈥檚 office.

成人X站 Radio reached out to Secretary Wyman鈥檚 office for comment on last week鈥檚 legal developments. Wyman declined to comment on the specifics of the legal battle, and provided this statement:

Suspending the sale would be a great first step and would provide stakeholders more time to find a sustainable, long-term solution to keeping these records safe and accessible. The last thing we want is for these archives to be shipped thousands of miles away, which would create immense challenges for local researchers, historians, tribal members, journalists and many others who currently have few barriers to access some of our region鈥檚 important records.

It鈥檚 important as we seek to maintain access to these archives that we also provide a safe and secure environment. This is why my office offered the idea to collocate an adequately sized NARA facility adjacent to the site of our planned, state-of-the-art State Archives-Library Building in Tumwater, providing a hub for people to access archival treasures preserved by both the state and federal governments. The idea was suggested to members of Washington鈥檚 Congressional delegation early last year, and I discussed the idea further with a broader stakeholder group during a virtual meeting I hosted in August. Additionally, I sent letters to Washington鈥檚 federally recognized tribes and other interested stakeholders to express our concern and willingness to work together on solutions.

With the sale still on the table, the possibility of the collocation or other long-term solutions Congress may pursue to keep the archives in Washington hang in the balance. Ultimately, regardless if the sale is suspended, Congress must act to implement a long-term storage and preservation solution, preferably in the Pacific Northwest. My office stands ready to work with them and lend our expertise as the state entity charged with maintaining our state鈥檚 archives.

Attorney General Ferguson鈥檚 filings in federal court last week included nearly 600 pages of affidavits and other legal documents from tribes, heritage groups, and individuals attesting to the value of the Seattle facility and the materials held there. On Tuesday, Jan. 19, Ferguson鈥檚 office will convene a public meeting (via Zoom)聽to formally gather more public input regarding the facility and the threatened sale.

Meanwhile, members of Washington鈥檚 Congressional delegation have also weighed in on the situation in Seattle and taken small steps toward a federal solution. In late December, Democratic Senator Patty Murray encouraging 鈥淣ARA and GSA [General Services Administration, the federal agency that owns and manages federal real estate] to explore action to prevent the immediate closure of the Sand Point facility as well as identify long-term options to ensure continued access to its contents.鈥�

While Wyman鈥檚 diplomatic efforts and Ferguson鈥檚 legal battle have been distinct and separate over the past 12 months, they obviously share the goal of keeping the precious archival materials in Washington. Further, if and when the secretive effort to target the building for closure and sale is brought to a halt via legal action, key to the post-lawsuit future of the materials 鈥� and to a public facility where they will remain accessible 鈥� will likely be a negotiation process involving the federal government and perhaps a bipartisan coalition of Washington鈥檚 Congressional delegation 鈥� as well as all those stakeholders so far convened separately by Wyman and then by Ferguson.

Thus, if and when it鈥檚 appropriate, let鈥檚 hope Attorney General Ferguson and Secretary of State Wyman 鈥� and our senators and representatives from both parties 鈥� will work together to achieve the best possible solution for all Washingtonians, and for the Seattle branch of the National Archives.

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News and read more from him聽here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks聽here.