The opportunity for Secretary Reed and his staff to move from a vision of the value of digital archiving to a successful digital archiving initiative depended on some major strategic factors. Perhaps the most important was the political resources of the Secretary of State. These derived in part from his close association with County Auditors, having been elected one for five terms, and his activities in the statewide County Auditors Association. As locally elected officials, County Auditors are in a strong political position, with close constituency ties, frequent and significant contact with voters, and linkages to their local legislators. As Secretary Reed pointed out, “Every legislator has an auditor in his home district.” Thus the Auditors were in a position to have a powerful role in any initiative affecting their record operations, either as an ally or an opponent. A second important condition was Secretary Reed’s status as a constitutional officer. This put him in a position to set his own priorities and begin a major project on his own initiative. Thirdly, he was newly elected and enjoying the “honeymoon” period in which the legislature was more likely to be receptive to his initiatives than in subsequent years. In addition, his chairmanship of the Washington Territorial Sesquicentennial (1853-2003) Commission provided a statewide platform for advocating improved archiving of and access to historical material and public records in digital form.