Retains seats on Sentencing Guidelines Commission, Council on Aging
OLYMPIA – State Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-Poulsbo, 23rd district) was reappointed this month to continue serving on the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission and the state’s Council on Aging. This will be Appleton’s third term on the sentencing commission and her second as a member of the Council on Aging.
According to its website, the Sentencing Guidelines Commission is directed by state law “to evaluate and monitor adult and juvenile sentencing policies and practices, recommend modifications to the governor and the Legislature and serve as a clearinghouse and information center on adult and juvenile sentencing.” In addition to serving as one of 28 members of the sentencing commission, Appleton retains her role as co-chair of the commission’s Juvenile Sentencing Guidelines Committee.
The Council on Aging, like the Sentencing Guidelines Commission, is a statutorily created body. Its members are charged with advising the governor, the Department of Social and Health Services and the state Office of Aging on matters pertaining to policies, programs and services affecting older Washingtonians.
“Two of my longtime priorities, dating back to well before I entered public life, have been increasing public safety by advocating for fair and effective criminal justice, and championing programs that allow older citizens to live in dignity and comfort, preferably in their own homes for as long as possible,” Appleton said. “I thank the Speaker of the House, Frank Chopp, for these reappointments, and I look forward to continuing this important work.”
Earlier this year, Appleton was asked to join the executive committee of the Council of State Governments-West (CSG-W), the division of the larger non-partisan Council of State Governments that comprises the 13 westernmost states in the U.S. The CSG-W executive committee serves as the organization’s board of directors, overseeing the work of policy committees ranging from economic development and education to international trade.
A former Poulsbo city council member, Appleton has represented Kitsap County’s 23rd legislative district since 2005. She is a former member of the Washington State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the state Commission on Judicial conduct, the Puget Sound Partnership and the Legislators’ Leadership Council on HIV/AIDS at the Center for Women’s Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.
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