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CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, News editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

County councilman honored for human services work

Enterprise staff

The Center for Human Services in Shoreline has honored King County Councilman Bob Ferguson with its annual Dorrit Pealy Award for Outstanding Community Support. Officials of the North End human service provider recognized Ferguson for raising awareness of the human service needs across the region with an award on March 7.

"Councilmember Ferguson has been a friend of CHS and a leading human service advocate since his first days in office," said Beratta Gomillion, executive director of the Center for Human Services, which provides counseling, education and support services to youth and families in Shoreline and surrounding communities. "Human service agencies like ours don't have high-powered lobbyists advocating for our clients, so we have a special need for public officials like Bob to raise the profile of our work and to advocate for families, seniors and the least fortunate."

Ferguson has worked to eliminate funding shortfalls for human services and public health that were brought on by the repeal of the state motor vehicle excise tax. He sponsored and worked for over a year to gain support for the Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Action Plan to improve wrap-around treatment services and therapeutic courts, and a one-tenth of one percent sales tax increase to fund the plan. The Veterans and Human Services Levy, which the voters adopted in 2005 and which generates $45 million annually for health care and housing assistance for vulnerable populations, was also developed under Ferguson's leadership.

As chairman of the Council Operating Budget, Fiscal Management and Mental Health Committee, Ferguson was worked to secure funding for CHS to continue serving North End families.

"CHS offers valuable programs that enrich our community by strengthening individuals and families," said Ferguson in a press release. "One of my top priorities as an elected official is to improve human services and assist organizations such as CHS in attaining the resources to perform their work effectively, so to receive this award from such a fine organization and in the name of Dorrit Pealy, one of our region's most impressive human service advocates, is a tremendous personal honor."

Ferguson's efforts to build a strong community stretch beyond his tenure on the King County Council. After graduating from the University of Washington, he spent a year with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Portland, Ore. He directed an emergency services office and tutored children in an inner-city environment. As an attorney in Seattle, Ferguson devoted hundreds of hours to pro bono work, particularly with non-profit groups.

This award is named in honor of the late Dorrit Pealy, a professor of political science at the University of Washington and founding board member of CHS. In her work with CHS, Pealy served as a community leader in addressing the human services needs in North King and South Snohomish Counties.

In presenting the award to Ferguson, Pealy's son, Nick Pealy, invoked the group of women leaders with which she worked to improve human services in the North End -- including current U.S. Sen. Patty Murray -- by proclaiming Bob an "honorary 'mom in tennis shoes.'"

Home Depot of Bothell also received a Dorrit Pealy Award at Friday night's event. Home Depot donated services and materials for the construction of the playground and landscaping at the new Northshore Family Center operated by CHS.