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Tag: Gov. Chris Gregoire

Governors’ executive orders over the years

Governors’ executive orders over the years

  Gov. Dixy Lee Ray issued several executive orders in 1980 that related to the Mount St. Helens eruption. (Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives) They might lack the authority and consensus of legislatively approved state laws, but executive orders are a powerful way that Washington’s governors have made things happen in state government over the years. Executive orders are formal orders issued by the governor, generally to cabinet agencies statewide, requiring that certain actions be taken. They may have…

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When Edgar Martinez came to Olympia

When Edgar Martinez came to Olympia

With baseball season under way, we’re remembering the day when one of the most beloved Seattle Mariners of all time visited the Capitol. Just months after he retired from an 18-year MLB career, all with Seattle, Edgar Martinez came to Olympia on April 6, 2005. While here, he was photographed with Gov. Chris Gregoire in her office and later signing autographs for fans in the front lobby of the Governor’s Office. Both photos are found in the State Archives. Martinez…

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Classic gov bill-signing photos: Locke and Gregoire

Classic gov bill-signing photos: Locke and Gregoire

(Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives.) We’ve reached the fifth and final in a series of blog posts featuring classic State Archives photos of Washington governors signing bills into law. Closing it out are Gary Locke and Chris Gregoire.  Locke is featured above at a 2001 bill signing, and Gregoire is shown below in a 2010 photo. Other governors featured in bill-signing photos are: Clarence Martin and Arthur Langlie; Albert Rosellini and Dan Evans; Dixy Lee Ray and John Spellman;…

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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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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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After 45 years in public life, Sam Reed bids farewell

After 45 years in public life, Sam Reed bids farewell

(Photo courtesy of  Legislative Support Services Photography) Secretary of State Sam Reed bade a fond farewell to the people of Washington Tuesday after 45 years in public life, including 35 years as a state and county elected official. Addressing a joint session of the Legislature, Reed brought along a special reminder of his family’s long connection to Washington politics and government — his grandfather Sam Sumner’s battered leather briefcase.  Exactly 100 years earlier, Sumner, a state GOP chairman and longtime…

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Gregoire unveils $34b budget & tax plan

Gregoire unveils $34b budget & tax plan

Gov. Chris Gregoire, in one of her last major acts as governor, has unveiled a $34 billion, two-year budget for state government, along with a tax package devoted largely to upgrading the K-12 budget. The Democratic governor, leaving office in January after serving eight years, laid out spending priorities for every sector of state government, including schools and colleges, parks, social and health services, prisons, the courts and Legislature, Puget Sound cleanup, and the departments of government.  She also released…

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WA Electoral College: All 12 votes for Obama

WA Electoral College: All 12 votes for Obama

Reflecting the winner-take-all nature of the Electoral College system, Washington’s electors on Monday awarded all 12 of the state’s electoral votes to the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The event, convened by Secretary of State Sam Reed and Gov. Chris Gregoire, went off the clockwork.  The carefully scripted, time-honored process was much like the one taking place in all state capitals. As flags outside the Capitol stood at half-staff, electors gathered in the State Reception Room and…

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Archives treasure #3: Olympics-related photos

Archives treasure #3: Olympics-related photos

(Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives.) In case you haven’t seen the ads and TV promos, the world’s biggest sports event is coming soon. People throughout the world are getting excited about the 2012 Summer Olympics starting in London in only two weeks. London might be thousands of miles from our state, but our State Archives has a small collection of  photos related to the Olympics that will remind us that Washington has been touched (literally) by the Olympic flame….

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`The race is on’: WA primaries next up

`The race is on’: WA primaries next up

Washington’s campaign season is officially underway, with hundreds of candidates signed up for 364 offices, from the U.S. Senate and statewide offices to key races that will determine control of the state Legislature and the future of 10 congressional districts. Secretary of State Sam Reed said he was pleased with the remarkable rush of interest in state and local office, given the difficult problems facing Washington state and the sometimes harsh nature of modern campaigning and the unpredictable influence of…

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