Constituent Services
Contact the GovernorGovernor Chris Gregoire
As Washington’s 22nd governor, Chris Gregoire has delivered real results to the people of Washington. Combining effective leadership with a tireless work ethic, she has shown time and again that she has the courage and independence to stand up and fight for individuals and families. Under her leadership, we are building a better future for Washington families.
Facing a $2.2 billion budget shortfall when she took office, Governor Gregoire balanced the state’s budget as she expanded health care coverage to more than 73,000 low-income children, led an effort to make government more efficient and accountable, and introduced a plan to help struggling students graduate from high school. She championed the establishment of a rainy day fund to build a reserve for economic hard times. The proposal went before the voters in November 2007. Thanks to its passage and her prudently crafted budgets, Washington today has a healthy budget reserve.
She has continued to target investments in education, expand health care coverage to those most in need and worked to create family-wage jobs. Governor Gregoire introduced and won approval in 2005 for a landmark transportation package to create jobs and address critical challenges with our roads and bridges. She established a dedicated fund to reduce class sizes, helped increase enrollments at our colleges and universities, and protected vital social services for the state’s most vulnerable individuals and families.
Governor Gregoire’s hands-on approach has led to an unprecedented agreement among the insurance industry, medical profession and others to break the impasse on medical malpractice. She also helped broker an agreement among multiple parties to create water storage management programs for the Columbia River, ending a 25-year stalemate that benefits farmers, industrial users and local communities.
Governor Gregoire has not stopped working to make Washington even better. Building on her successes, she has made it clear there is still work to do. She continues to work to make government more efficient; lead the way to reduce health care costs and ensure that all Washington children have health insurance by 2010; and create a seamless, world-class education system from pre-school through graduate school.
Governor Gregoire’s hard work in Olympia is an extension of her lifetime of service to the people of Washington.
Prior to serving as governor, Governor Gregoire served three terms as Attorney General — the first woman to be elected to the position in Washington. She worked tirelessly on children’s issues and led a statewide program that resulted in a comprehensive reform of the state’s juvenile system. She worked to pass a tough new ethics law for state government and to find alternatives to litigation in resolving legal disputes. And, after the landmark tobacco settlements, Gregoire was named the most influential attorney general in the country by the Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids.
As Attorney General, Gregoire also led the effort to protect privacy and combat identity theft. She led a legislative effort to strengthen identity theft victims’ rights — a law that now helps prosecute identity thieves and makes it easier for victims to restore their good names.
In the wake of the Enron scandal, Gregoire led the effort to recoup $97.5 million lost by Washingtonians in Enron bonds. Gregoire investigated Enron and other companies engaged in illegal business practices in the Western power market. And she investigated and sued drug companies for violating antitrust laws by illegally manipulating the price and availability of prescription drugs.
While director of the Washington Department of Ecology, Gregoire negotiated the safe cleanup and permanent storage of radioactive waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The site is heralded as the largest environmental cleanup project in the world.
Chris O’Grady was raised in Auburn, Washington, by her mother, who worked as a cook to support the family. She rode horses, picked blueberries and learned the value of hard work and a good education. After graduating from Auburn High School, Chris entered the University of Washington. She graduated with a teaching certificate and Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and sociology. She met her husband, Mike, in September 1971 when they both worked for the Washington Department of Social and Health Services. Chris received her law degree in 1977 from Gonzaga University.
Chris and Mike have two daughters, Courtney and Michelle. Courtney is an attorney and Michelle just graduated from college with a major in environmental science.
