New AG Nick Brown to headline WashCOG’s Sunshine Breakfast

Newly-elected Attorney General Nick Brown will be the keynote speaker for the Washington Coalition for Open Government’s 2025 Sunshine Breakfast and Awards Program on Friday, March 14, at the Embassy Suites in Bellevue.

Brown grew up in Steilacoom, the son of an Army veteran and a nurse. He is Washington’s 19th attorney general, elected this past November and sworn into office at the start of the 2025 legislative session. He is the state’s first African American attorney general and believes the attorney general’s “role is to serve as the people’s advocate and is committed to using the legal tools and the power of the AG’s Office to uphold and enforce Washington’s laws, to protect people’s rights, to stand up for our shared values, and to keep people safe.”

Attorney General Nick Brown

(Photo courtesy of Attorney General’s office)

Brown said he shares WashCOG’s commitment to open and transparent government. His appearance at the annual breakfast will allow him to provide transparency advocates a blueprint for his plans.

The annual Sunshine Breakfast is a chance for open government advocates to gather and celebrate the folks who work year-round to ensure the governing bodies in this state are open and accessible to the people who live here.

The awards presented include the Toby Nixon Award, named for former WashCOG President and current Sunshine Committee Chair Toby Nixon, who has been a lifelong advocate for open government as a legislator, a city council member, WashCOG president and now chair of the state Sunshine Committee The Nixon Award honors people who have succeeded in opening up state government, and it recognizes lifetime achievement. 

The James Andersen Award is given to someone who has dedicated time and energy to furthering the Coalition’s goals and mission. It is named after former Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice James A. Anderson, who had a long and distinguished career as an attorney in both private practice and the Washington judiciary.

Justice Andersen was a longtime advocate for open government and was a founding member of the Coalition.

The Kenneth F. Bunting Award is given to journalists or journalism organizations who successfully use the state’s Public Records Act or write about the act to help educate the public about the importance of transparency. The award is named for Kenneth Bunting, a co-founding member of the WashCOG board and former editor at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Seven lawmakers will be honored with the Ballard-Thompson Award, which recognizes state representatives and senators who are dedicated to open government. Those lawmakers have taken a pledge not to invoke so-called “legislative privilege,” which has been used to hide information from the public.

Tickets are available now for the 2025 Sunshine Breakfast and Awards Program.