Other LanguagesOLYMPIA...Government Technology, a media company providing information technology case studies, news and best practices by and for international, state, city and county government, has named Attorney General Rob McKenna and the AGO Information Services Director Andy Hill to its seventh annual Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers list.
The list was created in 2002 to showcase the work of public-sector professionals from around the country. In compiling the list, Government Technology looks for individuals who have strived to implement change while overcoming obstacles such as tight budgets and politics.
McKenna was named to the list for his work fighting identity theft. He has long been the champion for Washington consumers in battles against identity theft,phishing scams and spyware. In 2005, the Legislature approved Washington’s Computer Spyware Statute, making Washington one of the first states in the country to pass legislation to help stop this widespread consumer problem. The law made it illegal to install software that would take control of a consumer’s computer. Under the law, the Attorney General’s Office has brought five lawsuits against perpetrators.
During the 2008 Legislative session, Rob requested legislation to remedy loopholes and weaknesses in the state’s spyware statute. Substitute House Bill 2879 passed both the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor on March 18.
Last summer, Rob launched Guard It! Washington to educate citizens and businesses about preventing identity theft. The 14-city tour was a partnership with the AARP and the Federal Trade Commission that earned the office a “Totem award” from the Puget Sound Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
“This is truly an outstanding honor for the office,” Rob stated. “We continue to work hard to protect the interests of Washington’s citizens. The crooks are getting smarter in their efforts to victimize unknowing consumers online. We must work to make those efforts more difficult.
“In addition, I want to compliment Andy and his staff for the work they have done to put procedures in place that will not only save us time but money,” Rob said. “They have found a way to use technology to solve the ongoing problem of data storage and public records retrieval within state government.”
Andy Hill was named to the Top 25 for his efforts in creating a standard by which Washington could manage digital records. After taking over the information services division, Hill made electronic records issues a priority. Since that time, the office has implemented processes and tools that allow legal staff to search for attachments in addition to the standard e-mail text.
“Now we have the opportunity to manage this data in a much more robust way – in a way that you can apply retention schedules to individual documents now,” Andy said during a recent interview with Government Technology. “We’re working with the Secretary of State to figure out moving documents from our e-mail to our vault product, then eventually into the state archives.”
Andy was appointed the Director of Information Services in March of 2005. His 15-year career with the AGO includes the development and implementation of an enterprise case management system replacing 26 different independent systems and retiring the agency’s mainframe and moving all computer application into a PC network-based environment. He serves on the board for the Information Processing Management Association as a co-chair of their Professional Development Committee and is a graduate of The Evergreen State College.
For a complete list of the Top 25, visit Doers, Dreamers and Drivers.
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Contact: Janelle Guthrie, APR, Communications Director, 360-586-0725