Local News

Gov.-elect Jay Inslee has appointed a veteran legislative budget writer to head the state Office of Financial Management.

David Schumacher, former staff director for the state Senate Ways and Means Committee, will be Inslee’s budget director.

He will replace Gov. Chris Gregoire’s budget director, Stan Marshburn, who is retiring. Marshburn was filling in for Marty Brown, who left the job in August to become executive director of the state community- and technical-college system.

Schumacher spent the past two years as the Senate Ways and Means Committee staff director. He also held the same position from 2003 to 2008. In between he spent a couple of years as the Northwest government affairs director for Boeing.

Schumacher knows the state budget top to bottom and helped the Senate navigate the recession. “The Governor-Elect has given me clear direction to look for real, long-term solutions as we balance the budget and make state government more efficient,” Schumacher said in a statement.

Schumacher holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in economics from the University of Washington. He has worked as an economic analyst at the Department of Revenue, policy analyst at OFM, and was a Ways and Means Committee staffer for eight years before being named staff director.

Inslee is expected to make more announcements later this week regarding key posts in his administration.