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Category: Gov. Jay Inslee

2013 General Election is officially in the books

2013 General Election is officially in the books

(Photos courtesy of Heather Lucas) To voters, this year’s General Election may have ended on Nov. 5. But the election didn’t officially go into the books until Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary of State Kim Wyman certified the results in Inslee’s conference room Wednesday. It was the first time for both statewide officials to certify a General Election. This year’s off-year election saw 1,772,290 votes cast, which equaled a 45.27 percent voter turnout.

Ho ho ho, the Holiday Tree is here!

Ho ho ho, the Holiday Tree is here!

Department of Enterprise Services employees carry the Holiday Tree to the Rotunda. (Photos courtesy of Samantha Sunderland) The rich scent of evergreen in the Capitol can only mean one thing: the state Holiday Tree is here! The giant conifer that now stands tall in the Legislative Building Rotunda arrived on the Capitol Campus early Monday morning. This year’s tree, a nearly 25-foot-tall noble fir, was donated by Port Blakely Tree Farms near Morton is east Lewis County. Lights and decoraations…

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Checking out the Governor’s library collection

Checking out the Governor’s library collection

Secretary of State Wyman and State Librarian Rand Simmons (left) visited the Governor’s Mansion Wednesday morning for a photo shoot with Gov. Inslee in the mansion library to help celebrate the upcoming 160th anniversary of the creation of the Washington Territorial Library, now the Washington State Library. During the visit, the guv showed Wyman and Simmons a rare literary item, Territorial Gov. Isaac Stevens’ poetry collection. A celebration of the big anniversary is taking place Oct. 15 from 2 to…

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Celebrating 50 years with Hyogo, Japan

Celebrating 50 years with Hyogo, Japan

Secretary Wyman (in red) stands with Gov. Toshizo Ido and Gov. Jay Inslee at the Welcome Ceremony where the Japanese national anthem played, followed by the U.S. anthem. On a beautiful day in Olympia, Japanese and Washington leaders and Secretary of State Kim Wyman renewed a 50-year friendship with a joint agreement on Monday afternoon followed by a celebratory dinner. The Governor of Hyogo, Toshizo Ido, told the ceremony gathering on the Temple of Justice steps that he was pleased…

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Budget breakthrough means no shutdown

Budget breakthrough means no shutdown

Gov. Jay Inslee and legislative leaders from both parties and both houses on Thursday announced the good news that had eluded them for weeks — a budget deal that will avert a partial government shutdown. The state is closer to the budget deadline than ever before — and the phrase “government shutdown” had moved into the state lexicon as anxious state employees, their managers and the public wondered if it could happen here. With just three days before the June…

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Graduation Day for new State Patrol troopers

Graduation Day for new State Patrol troopers

(Photo courtesy of Patrick McDonald) With several hundred family members, friends and veteran troopers watching, 27 cadets with the Washington State Patrol Academy’s 101st Trooper Basic Training Class became full-fledged troopers after graduating in the Capitol Rotunda Wednesday afternoon. They are shown here taking the oath of office from State Supreme Court Justice Mary Fairhurst. State Patrol Chief John Batiste and Governor Jay Inslee spoke during the ceremony.

WA lawmakers head into third session

WA lawmakers head into third session

Washington legislators are headed into an unusual second special session, still hoping to bridge stark partisan differences and avoid a June 30 deadline for averting a partial government shutdown. Dejected and weary lawmakers were closing out their 30-day special session Tuesday with little to show for their labors.  Gov. Jay Inslee, a freshman Democrat who once served in the state House himself, called a special session to convene at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. At a Capitol news conference, Inslee sought…

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Gun-control advocates file initiative to Legislature

Gun-control advocates file initiative to Legislature

Paul Benz and Cheryl Stumbo talk to the media after filing their initiative to the Legislature. Continuing the debate that began in the Legislature after the Newtown shootings, gun-control advocates have filed an initiative to the Legislature to require universal background checks on gun purchases. The measure was filed with the Secretary of State on Tuesday by Faith Action Network, including Cheryl Stumbo, who was gravely wounded by a gunman at the Seattle Jewish Center, and Paul Benz, a longtime…

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Governors’ bill-signing pens over the years

Governors’ bill-signing pens over the years

For the past couple of weeks, Gov. Jay Inslee has been busy signing bills into law as proud legislators and bill supporters cluster around and watch each pen stroke. As is customary, the governor shakes hands, poses for photos and hands out souvenir  pens with his name on them as a keepsake to be used or framed. Since it’s “bill-signing season” here in Olympia, here’s a look at the collection of the bill-signing pens used by Washington governors going back…

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Inslee signs bill boosting electors’ compensation

Inslee signs bill boosting electors’ compensation

Secretary Wyman stands with legislative intern Nate Hauger (middle) and Rep. Steve Bergquist outside the Governor’s Office prior to Gov. Inslee signing the  presidential electors’ compensation bill into law.   Gov. Jay Inslee has signed legislation raising the expense allowance for members of the state’s Electoral College, the party activists who cast the state’s electoral votes for the U.S. presidential ticket that wins the state popular vote. The rate had been unchanged since statehood. House Bill 1639 adjusts the travel,…

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