Buri leaving Legislature for EWU lobbyist post

OLYMPIA – After three years as a state lawmaker and a rapid ascent into legislative leadership, state Rep. David Buri, R-Colfax, is leaving the House of Representatives to lobby for Eastern Washington University.

Buri will quit Nov. 1 to become EWU’s director of governmental relations. He’ll be paid $96,000 a year – more than double his $41,280 legislative salary.

“It was a very difficult decision,” he said Friday, adding that he was first approached by the university in May. “I’ve been honored to serve. If it was a banking job or something like that, I wouldn’t have taken it. But this keeps me in the process.”

Buri will primarily work in Olympia “to advance the interests and goals of the university before state and federal lawmakers,” EWU said in a statement.

Buri’s Statehouse experience and commitment to higher education – two of the state’s universities are in his 9th legislative district and he’s on the House higher education committee – “make him a perfect fit to represent Eastern,” university President Rudolfo Arevalo said.

“He’s from Eastern Washington, number one, so he understands this region and our needs,” said university spokesman Dave Meany. Also, he said, Buri has plenty of experience with higher education legislation and has shown he can work well with both parties.

In leaving a House seat for a lucrative government-relations job, Buri is following the path of another former lawmaker, state Rep. Jeff Gombosky. Gombosky was also an up-and-coming lawmaker – a Spokane Democrat – who stepped down several years ago to represent EWU.

Gombosky, who has been broadening his base of clients, will continue to work for the university, Arevalo said. Gombosky’s contract, which lasts through next summer, pays up to $6,000 a month.

The salary was certainly a factor in taking the job, Buri said. His wife is expecting to give birth in December, he said, and she’ll be able to stay home with the baby if she wants to.

“That weighed into the decision,” he said.

Buri’s departure leaves a leadership gap for House Republicans. Elected in 2004, the former legislative assistant quickly rose to minority floor leader, directing Republican debate on the House floor.

Under state law, three nominees to replace Buri will be chosen by Republican precinct committee officers from throughout his sprawling district, which includes Adams, Asotin, Garfield and Whitman counties, as well as north Franklin County and south Spokane County. It stretches roughly from Medical Lake south as far as the Umatilla National Forest and from Othello east to the Idaho state line.

Which of the three nominees become Buri’s replacement will be decided by the county commissioners of all six counties. Possible contenders include farmer Joe Schmick, a former candidate for the seat.

It could be a long-lasting decision. The 9th District tends to have lawmakers that stay in office for long stretches. Buri was only the 33rd person to represent the district in the House of Representatives since statehood.

“In that sense, I’m a bit more in the tradition of early lawmakers,” Buri said. “They served for a few years and then when back home to live under the laws they’d passed.”