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Category: Governor’s Office

Classic gov bill-signing photos: Gardner and Lowry

Classic gov bill-signing photos: Gardner and Lowry

(Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives.) Latest in our series of blog posts featuring classic State Archives photos of previous Washington governors signing bills into law. Today we’re focusing on the late Booth Gardner and Mike Lowry. Gardner is shown at top signing a bill in his office. (Note the plate of souvenir pens.) The bottom photo features Lowry putting his John Hancock on a bill in the governor’s conference room as a group of legislators and bill supporters stand…

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Classic governor bill-signing photos: Rosellini and Evans

Classic governor bill-signing photos: Rosellini and Evans

(Photos courtesy of Washington State Digital Archives.) It’s Day 2 of our weeklong series of blog posts featuring classic Digital Archives photos of previous Washington governors signing bills into law. The top photo shows Gov. Albert Rosellini  putting his signature on a bill in 1959. The bottom photo has Gov. Dan Evans signing a bill in 1971. Both shots are found in the Digital Archives’ State Governors’ Negative Collection, 1949-1975. On Monday, we blogged about photos of Govs. Clarence Martin…

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From the Archives: Classic photos of govs signing bills

From the Archives: Classic photos of govs signing bills

(Photos courtesy of Washington State Digital Archives.) Since it’s Gov. Jay Inslee’s first “bill-signing season,” we’re getting in the spirit of things by digging deep into the State Archives for photos of previous Washington governors putting pen to paper and turning bills into law. Earlier, we blogged about photos of bill-signing souvenir pens used by earlier guvs. Here are photos of two governors who occupied the northeast corner of the second floor of the Capitol back when radio and newspapers…

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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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Today’s your Earth Day

Today’s your Earth Day

(Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives) Since 1970, April 22 has been observed as Earth Day. Over the years, the environment-themed celebration has meant a wide variety of activities geared toward protecting the environment and habitat, as was the case over the weekend and Monday. The State Archives dug up this 2005 photo showing then-Governor Chris Gregoire and then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson meeting with Olympia-area students who were doing environmental testing and habitat-restoration work at Priest Point Park…

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Inslee budget: $1.4b in new revenue, mostly for K-12

Inslee budget: $1.4b in new revenue, mostly for K-12

The Battle of the Budgets has begun. Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat in the third month of his tenure, unveiled his $34.4 billion budget blueprint in a lengthy televised news conference at the Capitol on Thursday. Headline: He would generate about $1.4 billion in new revenue by extending expiring taxes and by closing or reducing a variety of tax exemptions.  The new money would mostly go for education, a $1.2 billion down-payment on the state addressing a state Supreme Court…

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Revenue update: `Flat is the new up’

Revenue update: `Flat is the new up’

A new Washington revenue forecast was what passes for good news at the beleaguered state Capitol: at least things didn’t get worse. Lawmakers and the new governor still have a potential budget gap of several billion dollars, including court-mandated K-12 funding. Some old Olympia hands had expected a sizable new drop in expected revenue for the next 27 months, perhaps in the $200 million range, but the number from chief economist Steve Lerch was up $40 million. The forecast for…

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From Archives: Our governors `do solemnly swear’

From Archives: Our governors `do solemnly swear’

If you’ve watched a governor or other statewide elected official being sworn in during the first week of a legislative session, you’ve noticed that the Supreme Court justice reads the oath as he or she swears in that official, and then both of them sign that document.  Then it’s on to the next official and justice, and so on. But what happens to the oath of office documents afterward? They eventually wind up with the State Archives for safekeeping. In…

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Kim Wyman sworn in as 15th WA Secretary of State

Kim Wyman sworn in as 15th WA Secretary of State

Kim Wyman has been inaugurated as Washington’s 15th Secretary of State, following a line of Republicans stretching back a half-century. Wyman is the only woman and only Republican elected to statewide executive office in the last election, only the second woman Secretary of State in Washington history, and the first woman Republican Secretary in the Evergreen State. Wyman took the oath of office shortly after noon on Wednesday, drawing cheers at a joint session of the House and Senate when…

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