Gregoire picks new labor chief

OLYMPIA – Gov. Christine Gregoire on Tuesday tapped a top-ranking Oregon government official, Gary Weeks, to take over the sometimes fractious Washington Department of Labor and Industries.

The agency has managed to upset both of its major constituencies – business and organized labor – and it’s time to build bridges and be less heavy-handed, the governor said.

Gregoire also reappointed one of former Gov. Gary Locke’s most popular Cabinet secretaries, Agriculture Director Valoria Loveland, of Pasco. The governor said she and Loveland will lead trade missions to Europe and Asia this year.

Weeks, 58, is being hired away from Gregoire’s old friend, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski. Weeks is a 29-year veteran of Oregon government and has headed four agencies. He is director of Oregon’s largest agency, the Department of Human Services, which has 9,500 employees and a budget of $9.5 billion. He has been national chairman of the organization for state human services directors.

Weeks has also been director of Oregon’s state government operations and ran the Department of Consumer and Business Services. He was insurance commissioner and banking superintendent, and dealt with workplace safety and workers’ compensation. He negotiated the state employee contract for Oregon two years ago, and also headed the state lottery.

Weeks also has worked with the Casey Strategic Consulting Group, which helps states and local government overhaul their human services programs, particularly in the areas of child welfare and juvenile justice.