by Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard
June 17, 2026
Another original member of Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson’s administration has departed.
Tim Reynon resigned as executive director of the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs following his election to the Tribal Council of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians earlier this month.
Reynon won a three-year council term on June 6 and was sworn in on June 11. He submitted his resignation prior to assuming the tribal leadership post, which is a full-time job.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am so grateful to have been able to serve alongside the governor, his executive team and cabinet,” Reynon said in a statement.
Reynon joined Ferguson’s staff in December 2024 and had led the Office of Indian Affairs since the start of the governor’s first term in January 2025.
“His knowledge and leadership have helped us to bring about historic change in our government-to-government relations with tribes,” Ferguson said in a news release. “It’s no surprise to me that Tim has been elected to this important, demanding position. Our loss is the tribe’s gain.”
Reynon played a key role in the development of last fall’s sweeping executive order setting out new training requirements for state agencies aimed at bolstering their engagement with tribes.
That order led to a new law establishing the Office of Indian Affairs as a cabinet agency on June 11.
Reynon’s exit comes two months after the exit of another top adviser and original administration member, Jaime Martin, who was external relations director. Martin left for a job with a Seattle law firm.
Martin, an enrolled member of the Snoqualmie Tribe, is believed to be the first Native American to have served on the senior staff of a Washington governor. She, too, was an architect and driving force behind the executive order.
Following Reynon’s resignation, Ferguson appointed Gordon James as acting executive director during the search for a permanent agency leader. James has served as special projects and training manager for the office.
James is a former chairman of the Skokomish Tribal Council, the governing body of the Skokomish Tribe in Mason County. He is currently a Skokomish Gaming Commissioner.
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