Exclusive Interview: Governor Chris Gregoire

Washington governor sets an example for the U.S.
ABJ got in touch with Washington Governor and former Attorney General Chris Gregoire, who tells it like it is—on issues ranging from responsible spending to health care. Washington’s 22nd governor is committed to delivering tangible results to her state and her effective direction and tireless work ethic make her an exemplary leader. Her role has positioned her as a role model for women and a champion for the citizens of Washington. Read on to find out what Gregoire has to say about the direction of the state under her leadership and her personal rise to becoming governor.


ABJ: Your responsible budget encompasses a plan to be extremely stringent and make huge sacrifices. How do you promote and commu­nicate this is a necessary evil to your public?

Chris Gregoire: We start with the premise that everyone has a budget — families and state agencies alike, and the state is no dif­ferent. Just as families are tightening their belts by cutting out unnecessary purchases, limiting spending to the essentials and still trying to squirrel away a little bit with each payday, so does the state. Just as families are making sacrifices, so are state agencies. In fact, as stewards of the public’s money, we are obligated to be as stringent and careful as we can with the revenues avail­able to us. We’re pinching every penny.
That’s why over the past several months, I’ve instituted several steps to limit spending. These have included freezes on out-of-state travel, personal services contracts and hiring. I’ve also directed state agencies to reduce their staffing by 2 percent and other costs by 1.6 percent to preserve essential state services.
And just like families do, the state has obliga­tions that must be met regardless of the size of the paycheck. For us, those obligations include making pension payments, paying for the chil­dren who enter classrooms, inmates who enter the correctional system, certain persons who need medical and other essential services, as required by law. We also have to pay for law­suits. These expenses cannot be reduced or post­poned, just as a family must meet a mortgage payment or pay for food at the grocery store.
Sometimes that’s not always easy for indi­viduals and families to understand—especially those that rely on state services. Many believe that government has an endless supply of cash. So to help families better understand the state’s budget, we put together a unique Web site that includes a tool that allows our constitu­ents to create their own budget. Our budget calculator shows individuals that if they want to keep one program, they are going to have to cut another in order to maintain a balanced budget. This was an effective tool to commu­nicate the necessity of making difficult cuts.


ABJ: How important is it for you to set an example to other states of implement­ing a tough budget, considering your plan to come out strong from this recession?

CG: I am proud of how our state has risen to the tough challenges presented by this recession. What’s most important to me, however, is to set an example for the people of Washington. When we entered the past legislative session, 42 states were in, or facing, budget deficits. Our Legisla­ture passed a balanced budget and put money in reserves without going into overtime, as did many legislatures across the country. We never issued IOUs, or ordered wholesale furloughs.
But since the Legislature adjourned, consumer spending continues to lag and unemployment rates have yet to stabilize in Washington. We’re going to have to make additional rounds of cuts in the next budget. We’re going to take another hard, critical look at what state agencies do. We’re going continue our work to make signifi­cant reforms that will lead to more efficient and cost-effective services. We’re going to scrub the budget once again to bring it into balance. While we do this, we will be mindful of the investments that poise us solidly for recovery: education, a competitive business climate and trained work force. While times are tough, we know they will end. And Washington will be ready for recovery.


ABJ: It’s been said that small business­es run the country. How does your prior­ity to promote business growth put entre­preneurs and small business owners at the front of future economic development?  

CG: About 60 percent of the jobs in our state are in companies of less than 50 employees. While we have a strong history of innovation and entrepreneurship in Washington, small businesses still struggle with the complexity of government requirements, getting access to capital, and getting advice and assistance. We can and should do more to help small busi­nesses succeed. For example, complex regula­tions are costly to small businesses.  Some level of “churn” in business start-ups and closures indicates healthy risk-taking and innovation, which we want to encourage. At the same time, we want small business to thrive in our state. A focus on helping small business succeed will pay off in growth and quality of jobs for Washing­ton families. Some of the actions my new De­partment of Commerce is working on right now will emphasize immediate efforts to consolidate and expand small business financing assistance, enhance regulatory assistance for small busi­nesses, and advocate for process improvements within state and local governments to simplify and improve interactions with small business.

For example, state government can make it easier, faster and more predictable to get a permit or a license, comply with required reporting, or pay a tax or fee. Improvements in the system will go right to the bottom line of every organization affected, but especially small business. Commerce is looking at how to deliver regulation more ef­ficiently, including establishing “service and de­livery” standards for all regulatory requirements, maximizing use of technology and e-government, and synchronizing permit reviews for complex projects to decrease overall permitting time.
Strong partnerships with the state-wide network of local economic development or­ganizations, local governments, chambers of commerce, port districts, business leaders, and others are also vital to economic growth. In 2007, Washington introduced Innovation Part­nership Zones (IPZ’s) as another of many efforts to stimulate the growth of industry clusters and to build regional economies.  IPZ’s bring together research, workforce training and com­panies in close geographic proximity for a co­operative, research-based effort that will lead to new commercially viable products and jobs. Our newest IPZ is the Central Washington Re­source Energy Collaborative, a partnership to advance low-carbon technology through lever­aging alternative energy sources, wind and so­lar, in Kittitas County.  The IPZ will research and develop new wind, solar, and other renewable technologies. Our state-wide economic develop­ment efforts also actively engage the resources provided to Washington businesses through federal Small Business Development Centers.

Finally, I would emphasize that competitive­ness is critical. Washington State is a product that competes every day to attract and retain businesses of all sizes. Above all, we must en­sure that we have a business climate, reputation and innovation culture to compete. Washing­ton ranked second overall on the 2009 Forbes best states for business list—first for our growth prospects—and near the top of the 2008 State New Economy Index.  That speaks to our many strengths, including a strong education sys­tem, skilled workforce and a history of inno­vation and entrepreneurship in industry sec­tors from aerospace to software, biotech and life sciences, clean energy and agriculture.


ABJ: Your values and priorities are very family-centric. How has your family influenced your de­cision to put family at the forefront of policy?

CG: I don’t meet the profile of someone who had a great shot at success. I had a single mother who worked as a short-order cook. But she and my family made the difference for me. I’ve been a case worker and a lawyer who has observed child abuse cases, and I learned families make the difference.  I’ve been blessed with a great husband and two wonderful daughters that have made the difference in my life.
I know family is the center of success.


ABJ: As a female politician, what are some of the challenges you’ve faced in your career?

CG: When I first ran for office, for attorney gen­eral of Washington, I was greeted by some with, “Women can’t be tough enough to be the at­torney general.” Those kinds of stereotypes have diminished, but they were clearly there.
I feel fortunate in that I’ve always been sup­ported and been able to overcome those kinds of obstacles. The people of Washington liter­ally gave me a vote of confidence in the last election, and I won’t lose sight of that.


ABJ: Does being a female politician auto­matically make you a role model for wom­en? Do the two go hand in hand?

CG: It does. I hear it particularly from young girls. It’s a non-traditional career for some one of my age, and yet I was rais­ing a family as I worked. That facet, balanc­ing family and career, often comes up.


ABJ: You are a champion of accessibility to high quality health care, including mental health care. As health is a primary focus for us this month, can you tell us why mental healthcare reform is so important to you?

CG: Physical health and mental health are in­terconnected.  A person with serious physi­cal health concerns may well develop mental health symptoms as well.  Likewise, a person with a serious mental health disorder may well develop consequent physical health prob­lems.  Treating these two fundamental compo­nents of health separately results in less than optimal patient outcomes and is inefficient.
I would like to transform mental health ser­vices so they are better integrated with physical health care services and so they are more effec­tive in assuring long-term patient recovery.


ABJ: You were a major supporter of the men­tal health parity that you signed in March 2005 that was also passed recently at the fed­eral level. Why did you believe this was an im­portant part of legislation that needed to be passed and how has it benefited the people?

CG: I believe that everyone should have access to appropriate, high quality, and affordable health care. Why should this be any different for some­one who suffers from a mental illness as op­posed to a physical ailment?  When I signed HB 1154 in 2005, it was reported that nearly one in five people struggled with mental illness each year and that one in three would do so at some point in their lives.  Yet fewer than half of these people sought treatment, largely because it was not affordable.  The bill helped address historic discrimination faced by mental health so that people could get the treatment they needed to enjoy a healthy, productive life.  And the bill was good for business.  Giving people access to the care they need to be both mentally healthy and physically well reduces sick days and increases productivity as some more forward thinking companies had already discovered even before the bill was passed.  The fact that over 30 other states had already passed some form of mental health parity law was also a good indication to me that HB 1154 had merit, and that after eight years of trying by the bill’s tireless advocates, it should finally become law in our state.

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