by Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard
August 18, 2026
A reporter-turned-attorney is the newest member of Washington’s citizen panel that enforces state campaign finance laws.
Lisa Kremer, who works with Vandeberg Johnson Gandara PS in Tacoma, was appointed to the state Public Disclosure Commission on Aug. 7 by Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson. Her first meeting will be on Aug. 27.
Kremer will be completing the unexpired term of Jim Oswald, who resigned in June. The term runs through Dec. 31, 2028.
“I really believe in open government, and campaign finance disclosure laws are a key part of that,” Kremer said in a statement. “We’re putting our confidence and our faith in our candidates when we vote for them, so we need to know their motivations.”
Kremer earned a bachelor’s from Mills College, a master’s from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and a law degree from the University of Washington School of Law.
She said she became familiar with the commission as a reporter for the Tacoma News Tribune from 1993 to 2005.
After leaving journalism, she pivoted to the legal profession. With Vandeberg Johnson Gandara PS, her focus is on estate planning, probate, trusts and intellectual property.
All five members of the Public Disclosure Commission are lawyers.
Kremer is the panel’s third new arrival this year.
On April 16, Ferguson installed Matt Segal, a founding partner at Pacifica Law Group and former King County Superior Court judge. His firm is the governor’s private counsel. Democratic Attorney General Nick Brown previously worked for the firm.
Segal filled the vacancy left by the January 2025 resignation of Allen Hayward, the longtime counsel for the House Republican Caucus. Segal’s term runs through the end of 2030.
On April 24, Ferguson appointed Teebah Alsaleh of Seattle, a senior corporate lawyer for Microsoft. Alsaleh succeeded Nancy Isserlis, who left the commission a year ago, and will serve through the end of 2029.
Ferguson made those appointments under threat of recall. Campaign finance activist Conner Edwards filed a petition in early April to remove the governor from office to prod him into filling the two long-empty seats on the commission.
Edwards ended the effort following the appointments.
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