Peter J. Goldmark

Peter James Goldmark (born August 4, 1946) was the 15th Commissioner of Public Lands of Washington, head of the Washington Department of Natural Resources, from 2009 to 2017. He is a Democrat from a rural part of Okanogan County, Washington, outside of the town of Okanogan.

Goldmark has placed a lifelong emphasis on agriculture, science, education, and public service. His primary career experience includes ranching in Eastern Washington; over thirty years of volunteering to fighting wildland fires; and a PhD in molecular biology. He has published papers in national and international scientific journals on plant molecular genetics and currently runs a wheat breeding program for crop improvement.

In 2008, Goldmark won the election for Commissioner of Public Lands against incumbent Doug Sutherland in a tightly contested race. The major focus points of his campaign for Public Land Commissioner include preventing forest from being converted into strip malls or development; encouraging sustainable timber practices to maintain steady income and areas of recreation for the state; cleaning up Puget Sound; promoting the use of biofuels; effective wildland fire management; and maintaining clean water for drinking, salmon habitat, and shellfish harvesting. He was succeeded by Hilary Franz after the 2016 election, where he did not run.

Goldmark was born in Okanogan, Washington, the son of Irma "Sally" (née Ringe) and John E. Goldmark, who bought the family property, Double J Ranch, in 1946. His father was of half Austrian Jewish and half British Isles descent, and his mother was from a Protestant family of German ancestry. Peter began his education in a one-room school house at Duley Lake near Okanogan, Washington. He graduated from Okanogan High School in Okanogan in 1963 and Haverford College in 1967. He completed an advanced degree in molecular biology before returning to Double J Ranch.

Goldmark's father, John, had been a Washington State legislator. After a local newspaper, the Tonasket Tribune, smeared him as a Communist and possibly cost him re-election in 1962, John and his wife Sally sued for libel and won, in a landmark case. Goldmark's brother Charles, along with his immediate family, was murdered in Seattle in 1985 by David Lewis Rice, who falsely believed them to be Jewish Communists.

Goldmark is the owner of Double J. Ranch, which covers 7,000-acre (28 km²) in Okanogan County. He also is the founder and chief scientist of a biotechnology research laboratory, DJR Research, Inc., in Okanogan. Most recently he served on the Washington State University Board of Regents.

Career awards include being named Washington State Conservation Farmer of the Year (1983). Additional career notes include thirty years as a volunteer wildland firefighter in Washington State. He was also former Director of the Washington Department of Agriculture, resigning in under six months (reports of exact time differs) saying "It is not possible for me to fulfill the requirements of this important and demanding job in state government and still meet the needs of my family." He was recently noted as saying he is ready for a full-time government post as Commissioner of Public Lands, and addressed concerns over the short period of time with the Department of Agriculture, citing that his children are now grown and he has hired additional staff to help manage the ranch.

In 2006, Goldmark ran for Congress against Cathy McMorris, who was hailed as a rising star and a heavy favorite for re-election. The increasing visibility and fundraising ability of Goldmark's campaign prompted CQPolitics.com to change its race rating to Republican Favored from Safe Republican in late August, 2006—stating that McMorris was still likely to win re-election, but that Goldmark was providing her with serious competition. McMorris ended up defeating Goldmark (56.4% to 43.6%) by 13% even after the DCCC designed the race as one of their "Red To Blue" races, targeting it for donations and support.