Wash. DOC Secretary, Dan Pacholke, submits resignation

Washington DOC Secretary Dan Pacholke has resigned from his position.

Pacholke said in his resignation letter that he hoped that his resignation would satisfy "the politicians who would use this tragic event for their political purposes."

Pacholke's departure comes a day after the state Senate ousted Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson.

At least two deaths have been tied to the early releases.

In his letter, Pacholke again apologized for "the tragic consequences" as a result of those errors. He has worked with the agency for 33 years.

Inslee said in a statement Saturday called Pacholke a dedicated public servant.

Statement from Gov. Jay Inslee regarding resignation of DOC Secretary Dan Pacholke: 

"Corrections Secretary Dan Pacholke submitted his resignation this morning, saying he hoped that his move would end the political blood thirst of Senate Republicans. I doubt it will accomplish that, and I'm sorry to see a dedicated public servant end his tenure this way.

Dan was working hard to get the Department of Corrections through difficult times and he clearly felt that would be impossible under the current political climate in Olympia. I will be working with Dan in the coming days on a transition plan for the department."

More details will be added as they become known.

Full text of Pacholke's resignation letter:

"Dear Governor Inslee,

The time has come for me to submit to you my resignation. It was the highpoint of my career to be asked to lead this agency. I thank you for trusting me with that responsibility. I have served this agency and this state for 33 years. I am proud to have worked for and help build what I believe to be the best correctional system in the nation.

That said, no system is ever perfect. Especially in complex organizations, there are just too many variables. What legislators who point to error as an indictment of leadership fail to recognize is the magnitude of things that could go wrong in any agency on any day. Errors will occur. The relevant test of leadership is how it mobilizes in response to error. In 2012, DOC leadership failed in its response to a sentencing calculation error.  As I have before, I apologize on behalf of the agency for the tragic consequences of this error.

What current leadership discovered last December was a system failure.  A tragic system failure. Understanding the system failure that occurred will take an earnest self-examination. I hope that in my short tenure as Secretary I have better aligned our administrative and headquarters culture to that which exists in field operations, a culture which recognizes and responds to disruptors, both small and large. It is a culture that strives to constantly improve, that recognizes that failures will occur but is prepared to act swiftly and decisively to respond and adjust.

It is my hope that with this resignation, the politicians who would use this tragic event for their political purposes will have satisfied their need for blood. The shaming and blaming needs to end. It exposes ignorance of the complexity of the work of state government and it is a grave injustice to the 8,200 staff who work for this agency.

What I am certain of, is that this agency has a strong foundation. The damage that has been done to the department by this error, though it will take time, will make it better if it is allowed to address this as a system failure and fix the issues this crisis has exposed.

It has been an honor to serve this agency and this state for more than three decades.

Dan Pacholke, Secretary

Washington State Department of Corrections"

[Information from the Associated Press is included in this report.]

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