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Christine Gregoire - Washington Governor
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: Christine GregoireThe image above is a candidate for speedy deletion.
Christine 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 appeared to defeat Gregoire on election day and after a recount, until a constitutionally allowed third, hand-count of votes resulted in a reversal of the outcome in her favor. [1] She is Washington's second female govenor.
PersonalGregoire, born Christine O'Grady, was raised in Auburn, Washington by her mother, Sybil O. Jacob, who raised Gregoire alone after leaving an abusive marriage shortly after the future governor's birth. Gregoire grew up on a small farm in Auburn, at the time a rural community, helping care for the crops and livestock and working as a cook in town. Gregoire attended the University of Washington, graduating in 1969 with a teaching certificate and a bachelor's degree in speech and sociology. She is an alumna of Kappa Delta sorority. After college she worked as a clerk-typist, and later as a welfare fraud investigator for the state Department of Social and Health Services, where she met her future husband, Mike Gregoire. Roesler, Richard. "Gregoire aggressive in conflict; Democratic candidate for governor." The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.), Oct. 20, 2004.http://www.governor.wa.gov/about/ . Retrieved June 8, 2006. Christine Gregoire attended law school at Gonzaga University in Spokane, graduating in 1977, and went to work as an assistant attorney general in the office of state Attorney General Slade Gorton, a Republican. As an assistant attorney general, Gregoire concentrated on child-abuse cases, coordinating with social workers to get children removed from abusive family situations and placed with relatives or foster homes. The Gregoires' first child, Courtney, was born in 1979; a second daughter died within hours of birth in 1981. A third daughter, Michelle, was born in 1982. When not in Olympia, Gregoire lives in the nearby suburb of Lacey with her husband Mike; the couple also spends part of most summers at a cabin on the shores of Hayden Lake, Idaho that the family bought in 1979. Their two daughters, Courtney and Michelle, are both graduates of Olympia High School in Olympia, Washington. In 2003, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in an early stage after a routine check-up and a mammogram. She had surgery and recovered to good health. She mentions her fight with cancer in speeches about healthcare. [2] Director of Washington Department of EcologyShe 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. Washington Attorney GeneralChris Gregoire was elected to three terms as attorney general and was the first woman to be elected to the position in Washington. During her time in office, she worked on children's issues, reformed the state's juvenile system, led an effort to strengthen identity theft victims' rights, worked to pass a new ethics law for state government and to find alternatives to litigation in resolving legal disputes. Her office, in conjunction with other state attorneys general, investigated and sued drug companies for allegedly violating antitrust laws concerning manipulation of the price and availability of prescription drugs. 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. 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". [3] Gregoire was also critical of a later securitization of the tobacco industry settlement to fill a budget gap in the 2002 state budget.[4] 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.[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 by downplaying broad management problems in the office.[6] 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. While Gregoire was not directly in charge of these cases, as Attorney General she was ultimately responsible for them. 2004 electionGregoire defeated Ron Sims and four other minor candidates in the primary election on September 14, 2004. Sims campaigned on the need for tax reform. Gregoire's performed relatively poorly among blacks and liberal whites, and controversy over her sorority membership is offered as a reason why. 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. Vote count disputeThe 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 which gave Gregoire a 10-vote lead. 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,[7] 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 criticized King County's election methods, noted that there was evidence that 1,678 votes had been illegally cast throughout the state, found that the only evidence submitted to show how those votes had been cast were sworn statements from four persons that they had voted for Rossi, subtracted those four votes from Rossi's total and upheld the election. [8] [9]. This brought the official margin of victory for Gregoire to 133. Rossi did not appeal. Washington GovernorGregoire has been the governor for two years and has passed several pieces of major legislation. Transportation policyThe first legislative session ended with Gregoire brokering new bipartisan transportation legislation.McGann, Chris. "Gregoire: First the victory, now the triumphs." Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 7, 2005 retrieved May 7, 2005. 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 re-vote 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 billOne notable bill that failed in the 2005 session but subsequently passed in the 2006 session was the "gay civil rights bill", expanding the scope of protected classes to include sexual orientation and gender identity in cases of discrimination. The bill was signed by Gregoire on January 31, 2006. 2007 legislative session agendaGregoire's agenda for the 2007 legislative session includes:
PopularityA SurveyUSA monthly tracking poll released on July 20 showed Gregoire with a 52% approval rating and 45% disapproval, making her the 27th most popular governor in the nation.[10] This is her highest approval rating to date since assuming office.[11] Strategic Vision, a Republican polling firm, typically shows much lower approval ratings for Gregoire. Strategic Vision's latest poll, released July 26, 2006, shows a 41% approval rating and 49% disapproval.[12] External linksReferences
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia |
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