Christine Gregoire

Christine Gregoire
File:GregoirePicture.jpg
22nd Governor of Washington
In office January 2005 – present
Lieutenant	Brad Owen
Preceded by	Gary Locke
Personal details
Born	March 24, 1947 Auburn, Washington
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mike Gregoire
Profession	Lawyer

Christine "Chris" O'Grady Gregoire (born March 24, 1947) is the Democratic governor of the U.S. state of Washington. Gregoire's election to the office in 2004 was notable for her historically slim margin of victory over Republican Dino Rossi, who had actually appeared to defeat Gregoire until a second recount of votes reversed the outcome in her favor.

Biography

Gregoire was raised in Auburn, Washington, and graduated from the University of Washington and Gonzaga University Law School. She served as the director of the Washington Department of Ecology from 1988 until 1992, when she was first elected attorney general, a post to which she was twice re-elected. While Ecology director she negotiated a triparty agreement in 1989 with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy to clean up waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. As attorney general she sued several times to try to get a more adequate cleanup progress. Congress has not appropriated a sufficient level of funding to allow the pace of activity anticipated by the original agreement, now estimated to require a total of $50 to $100 billion. Dissatisfaction with the slow pace of cleanup led to a successful initiative in 2004 that requires the refusal of new waste shipments until past cleanup promises are back on track.

Gregoire was also heavily involved in the lawsuit against the tobacco industry in the 1990s and won the state a $4.5 billion share of the settlement, including a $500 million bonus for her lead role. She was also critical in preventing the Republican controlled House from diverting $90 million of the state's share of the money into the general fund, leaving only $2.5 million ear-marked for tobacco related issues.[1] Gregoire was also critical of a later securitization of the tobacco industry settlement to fill a budget gap in the 2002 state budget.[2] Some people were critical of the billions of dollars paid to trial lawyers that represented the states in their lawsuit against the tobacco industry and believed the settlement equated to a tobacco interest bailout.[3] Some of these lawyers, including one that represented the tobacco companies, later contributed a total of over $100,000 dollars directly to Gregoire's 2000 attorney general and 2004 gubernatorial campaigns due to her opposition to Republican backed tort reform. The lawyers also contributed over $1 million to the Democratic Governors Association at about the same time the DGA made a $2.4 million donation to the state Democratic Party.[4] In recognition of her leadership in the fight against the tobacco industry, Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund campaigned on her behalf in 2004 and stated "There isn’t a stronger tobacco control leader anywhere in the Country than Chris Gregoire". [5]

Controversy arose in 2000 when Gregoire's office failed to file documents on time in an appeal of a record $17.8 million personal-injury verdict against Washington state. An independent investigation forced state attorney Janet Capps to resign. Capps later sued the state for wrongful termination. Documents from the independent investigation show that Gregoire's deputies attempted to influence the report on who was responsible for the missed deadline. This event is considered one of the low points in Gregoire's career and her biggest political liability.

In the 2004 gubernatorial race, Gregoire was accused of racism when it was revealed that she belonged to an all-white sorority while at the University of Washington. She countered the accusations, noting that she spoke out after graduating. Gregoire defeated Ron Sims and four other minor candidates in the primary election on September 14, 2004. Sims campaigned on the need for tax reform. The racial issue was cited as a reason why Gregoire's performance among blacks and liberal whites was not as strong as expected.

During the general election against former state senator and real estate agent Dino Rossi, Gregoire proposed a major initiative in life sciences, especially stem cell research. She was criticized for being a part of the Olympia establishment but tried to counter the "time for a change" message by saying she would "blow past the bureaucracy" and bring change herself. This language surprised and disappointed many of her colleagues and supporters. She was also criticized for failing to give much mention or credit to the efforts and achievements of past Democratic governors while touting her own public service.

A major focus of ads attacking Gregoire was her failing to meet a filing deadline as attorney general that ended up costing the state millions of dollars. In 2002, during a wrongful death lawsuit against the state, Gregoire’s office did not detect an error in jury instructions; the state was eventually hit with a $22.4 million judgment as a result of that lawsuit. And in 2000, an assistant attorney general missed a filing deadline in a personal injury lawsuit against the state that eventually cost taxpayers almost $19 million. While Gregoire was not directly in charge of these cases, as Attorney General she was ultimately responsible for them.

When not in Olympia, Gregoire lives in the nearby suburb of Lacey with her husband Mike. They have two daughters, Courtney and Michelle, both graduates of Olympia High School.

The disputed election

Main article: Washington gubernatorial election, 2004

The election was held on November 2, 2004. The initial count showed her trailing Rossi by 261 votes; however, a legally mandated machine recount diminished that lead to only 42 votes. On December 3, the Democratic Party requested and funded a hand recount. They also filed a motion in the state Supreme Court to request that rejected ballots from King County that were not counted previously be reevaluated. A Pierce County Superior Court judge ruled that ballots should not be counted, but on December 22, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the rejected King County ballots should be counted. Of those 732 ballots, 566 were accepted as having valid signatures and were added to the existing total on December 23. The final results of the hand count, as of December 23,[6] had Christine Gregoire ahead by 130 votes, solidifying the 10-vote lead she had before the previously rejected King County ballots were tabulated. On December 30, Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed certified Gregoire as the winner by 129 votes (he removed one vote which had been counted in Thurston County past the deadline).

The GOP claimed they knew of military voters overseas who had never received ballots from King County, saying that "wounded soldiers in Falluja" had the right to vote and bringing forth veterans to confront King County election officials; King County election director Dean Logan disputed the charge, asserting that all the absentee ballots were sent on time, including ballots to military voters. The GOP then claimed that military voters registered in Snohomish County had not received ballots, and that King County officials allowed felons to vote. Election officials in Snohomish and King County disputed these latest charges as well. Republicans said they would use the courts to block any final election results, possibly even going to the federal courts by citing the equal protection clause in the US Constitution, or having a new vote. Gregoire's victory was certified in late December, making this the first time in Washington state history that a recount reversed an election result, and making Washington the first state with a female governor and two female US senators (Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell).

Republicans continued to dispute election accuracy in a case in the Superior Court for Chelan County, one of the most conservative counties in the state. They hoped to have Gregoire's election invalidated in time for a revote in 2006. On June 6, 2005, Judge John E. Bridges upheld the election, singling out King County's election methods for criticism but saying that the Republicans were unable to prove any fraud or invalidity, yet at the same time certifying 1,678 votes as fraudulent. Judge Bridges also subtracted 4 votes from Rossi's total, as four witnesses who were not eligible to vote testified under oath that they voted for Rossi. This brought the official margin of victory for Gregoire to 133. Later that day, Dino Rossi announced that the "political makeup of the Washington Supreme Court" made it "almost impossible to overturn this ruling" and was therefore "ending this election contest."

First legislative session

Gregoire's first legislative session, running 105 days from January 9, 2005 to April 24, 2005, was widely touted as productive, producing nearly 500 pieces of legislation. This is most likely due to the Democratic majorities in both state houses and the installation of a Democratic governor.

Bills passed in this session signed by Gregoire include:

• election reforms needed after Gregoire's narrow victory uncovered flaws in the voting process
• creation of a billion-dollar life sciences discovery fund
• lifting the blue law on Sunday liquor sales
• increasing health care insurance for the poor
• raising taxes for cigarettes and alcohol
• requiring new public buildings meet environmental standards for energy efficiency and water conservation (also known as green buildings)
• providing cost of living pay raises for teachers
• reinstating the estate tax
• funding voter Initiative 728 to reduce class sizes
• adding more seats at Washington state colleges and universities
• requiring health insurers to give equal treatment to mental disorders

Transportation policy

The session ended with Gregoire brokering new bipartisan transportation legislation. The package included a 9.5-cent-a-gallon gas-tax increase to help repair many roads in Washington, particularly around Seattle area, such as the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Interstate 405, and the Route 520 bridge. This proposal was initially rejected by the House but then passed with a revote the final day of the 2005 session.

The tax package was met with mixed reviews. While she was praised widely by Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate for her leadership skills regarding passing this deal, several state legislators disagreed with the merits of the tax. Their reasons included the heavy emphasis on funding Seattle area projects and the already high price of gas. An initiative to repeal the tax, Measure No. 912, was a part of the November 2005 ballot, but was rejected by the voters.

Gay civil rights bill

One notable bill that failed in the 2005 session was HB 1515, the "gay civil rights bill", expanding the scope of protected classes to include sexual orientation and gender identity in cases of discrimination. The bill passed the state House 61-37 but failed in the Senate by one vote; 24-25. The bill was subsequently passed in her second session, 61-37 in the State House, 25-23 in the State Senate. The bill was signed by Gov. Gregoire on January 31, 2006.

Future policy agenda

Speculation on where Gregoire is going to use her political capital in the next two years focuses around

• working with Mayor Greg Nickels to fix Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct, leaning on the city to contribute an estimated $1 billion or more if they choose to replace the bridge with a tunnel.
• forging a plan with Congressman Norm Dicks to receive federal dollars to clean up Puget Sound.
• pressuring British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell to stop dumping raw sewage from Victoria into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
• reducing dependence on foreign oil and supporting Washington State farmers by investing in biodiesel fuel and biodiesel technology. [7]
• education enhancements with investments to improve early learning, help high school students meet state WASL standards.
• energy cost concerns and providing heating assistance to low-income families. [8]
• reorganizing the state's various early education programs into a single, cabinet level, Department of Early Learning. [9]

Popularity

SurveyUSA (nonpartisan polling firm)

Date	Approval %	Disapproval %	Undecided %
May 10, 2005	34%	58%	8%
June 13, 2005	41%	49%	10%
July 11, 2005	38%	52%	9%
August 15, 2005	40%	51%	9%
September 19, 2005	45%	49%	6%
October 27, 2005	41%	51%	8%
November 21, 2005	44%	49%	7%
January 19, 2006	47%	46%	7%
April 12, 2006	48%	44%	4%
May 18, 2006	50%	44%	6%

Strategic Vision *The Washington State Democratic Party considers this relations firm run by Republican David E. Johnson a biased source aligned with the Republican Party in order to shape media perceptions.

Date	Approval %	Disapproval %	Undecided %
August 5-7, 2005	36%	56%	8%
September 19-21, 2005	38%	54%	8%
October, 2005	36%	55%	9%
December 2-4, 2005	37%	55%	8%
February 10-12, 2006	38%	54%	8%
March 24-26, 2006	39%	52%	9%
April 21-23, 2006	38%	53%	9%
May 19-21, 2006	39%	51%	10%

External links

• Campaign website
• Governor's official website

References

• Seattle P-I article about her first legislative session
• "Tribes are asked to end casino smoking" by Joel Connelly, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 9, 2005 retrieved December 9, 2005.
• State of the State speech, 2005.

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