Health department chief studying run for Washington governor

The News Tribune - Tacoma, WA

Health department chief studying run for governor

KENNETH P. VOGEL; The News Tribune
http://www.tribnet.com/news/government/election/story/2863393p-2899938c.html

Federico Cruz-Uribe knows he doesn't he have the name recognition of King County Sheriff Dave Reichert or the personal fortune of Bellevue businessman John Stanton.

But Cruz-Uribe, the director of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, says he is considering joining Reichert and Stanton as a Republican candidate for governor in 2004.

"It's a big deal," Cruz-Uribe said of running for governor. "You pretty much have to sacrifice a year, a year and a half of your life."

Though he's never held elected office, the Tacoma resident said he was approached over the last year about the possibility and has "had a few conversations" with Republican Party types around the state, including state party chairman Chris Vance.

"Since I've never done this type of thing before, this is kind of like reconnaissance to see what it takes," said Cruz-Uribe, who periodically writes a column for The News Tribune.

Cruz-Uribe took over in 1993 as head of what was considered a troubled health department. He has been credited with turning the department around through progressive - and sometimes controversial - moves.

He's raised eyebrows with his ideas on needle exchange programs, mandatory AIDS testing for pregnant women and fluoridating the drinking water in suburban and rural Pierce County.

And he's shaken things up by pushing to slash budgets - in Pierce County, as well as at previous public health administration jobs in other parts of the country.

A Wisconsin native who became a Quaker in the 1990s, Cruz-Uribe once pursued a career as a dancer before volunteering at a rural health clinic in Guatemala.

As he's tried to implement changes at each step in his career, he said, "for whatever reason, the Republicans supported it."