Timeline of Chris Gregoire’s life and legacy

1947

March 24 — Born, Chris O’Grady, in Auburn, Wash.

1988

Appointed director of the Department of Ecology by Gov. Booth Gardner

1992

Elected state attorney general

1996

Re-elected to second term as attorney general

1997

Settlement reached in states’ lawsuit against major tobacco companies. Gregoire was one of five attorneys general to negotiate deal which became final in 1998

2000

Re-elected to third term as attorney general

2003

Announced candidacy for governor

Diagnosed with breast cancer, she had surgery and recovered

2004

Nov. 2 — General election

Dec. 30 — Gregoire certified as winner in third recount of ballots

2005

Jan. 11 — Republican-led effort to delay seating of governor fails

Jan. 12 — Delivers inaugural address

April — Negotiates passage of transportation package featuring 9.5 cents a gallon gas tax increase

June 6 — Chelan County judge denies election challenge; Rossi concedes

July — Department of Transportation made a cabinet agency

Oct. 31 — 1st press release issued identifying her as ‘Chris’ Gregoire, rather than Christine Gregoire

Nov. 8 — Voters reject Initiative 912, retain the gas tax increase

2006

Jan. 31 — Signs law banning discrimination against any person because of their sexual orientation.

2007

Nov. 20 – Four rusting Steel Electric class of state ferries pulled from service due to mounting safety concerns

December – Flooding closes I-5 in Chehalis

2008

Sept. 28 – Stock market tumbles by nearly 778 points, the largest single-day point loss in U.S. history

Nov. 4 – Wins re-election, defeats Dino Rossi

2009

Nov. 29 – Four Lakewood police officers slain in coffee shop

2011

Jan. 29, Corrections officer Jayme Biendl strangled to death in chapel of Washington State Reformatory

2012

Jan. 5 – Washington Supreme Court rules in McCleary v. State that the state is not amply funding the basic education of students in public schools

Feb. 13 – Signs law legalizing marriage for same-sex couples

2013

Jan. 15 – Scheduled to deliver final State of the State Address

Jan. 16 – Last day in office

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Traffic idles while waiting for the lights to change along 33rd Avenue West on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood seeks solutions to Costco traffic boondoggle

Let’s take a look at the troublesome intersection of 33rd Avenue W and 30th Place W, as Lynnwood weighs options for better traffic flow.

A memorial with small gifts surrounded a utility pole with a photograph of Ariel Garcia at the corner of Alpine Drive and Vesper Drive ion Wednesday, April 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Death of Everett boy, 4, spurs questions over lack of Amber Alert

Local police and court authorities were reluctant to address some key questions, when asked by a Daily Herald reporter this week.

The new Amazon fulfillment center under construction along 172nd Street NE in Arlington, just south of Arlington Municipal Airport. (Chuck Taylor / The Herald) 20210708
Frito-Lay leases massive building at Marysville business park

The company will move next door to Tesla and occupy a 300,0000-square-foot building at the Marysville business park.

A voter turns in a ballot on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, outside the Snohomish County Courthouse in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
On fourth try, Arlington Heights voters overwhelmingly pass fire levy

Meanwhile, in another ballot that gave North County voters deja vu, Lakewood voters appeared to pass two levies for school funding.

Judge Whitney Rivera, who begins her appointment to Snohomish County Superior Court in May, stands in the Edmonds Municipal Court on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Judge thought her clerk ‘needed more challenge’; now, she’s her successor

Whitney Rivera will be the first judge of Pacific Islander descent to serve on the Snohomish County Superior Court bench.

In this Jan. 4, 2019 photo, workers and other officials gather outside the Sky Valley Education Center school in Monroe, Wash., before going inside to collect samples for testing. The samples were tested for PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, as well as dioxins and furans. A lawsuit filed on behalf of several families and teachers claims that officials failed to adequately respond to PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, in the school. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Judge halves $784M for women exposed to Monsanto chemicals at Monroe school

Monsanto lawyers argued “arbitrary and excessive” damages in the Sky Valley Education Center case “cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny.”

Mukilteo Police Chief Andy Illyn and the graphic he created. He is currently attending the 10-week FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. (Photo provided by Andy Illyn)
Help wanted: Unicorns for ‘pure magic’ career with Mukilteo police

“There’s a whole population who would be amazing police officers” but never considered it, the police chief said.

Officers respond to a ferry traffic disturbance Tuesday after a woman in a motorhome threatened to drive off the dock, authorities said. (Photo provided by Mukilteo Police Department)
Everett woman disrupts ferry, threatens to drive motorhome into water

Police arrested the woman at the Mukilteo ferry terminal Tuesday morning after using pepper-ball rounds to get her out.

Bothell
Man gets 75 years for terrorizing exes in Bothell, Mukilteo

In 2021, Joseph Sims broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home in Bothell and assaulted her. He went on a crime spree from there.

Allan and Frances Peterson, a woodworker and artist respectively, stand in the door of the old horse stable they turned into Milkwood on Sunday, March 31, 2024, in Index, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Old horse stall in Index is mini art gallery in the boonies

Frances and Allan Peterson showcase their art. And where else you can buy a souvenir Index pillow or dish towel?

Providence Hospital in Everett at sunset Monday night on December 11, 2017. Officials Providence St. Joseph Health Ascension Health reportedly are discussing a merger that would create a chain of hospitals, including Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, plus clinics and medical care centers in 26 states spanning both coasts. (Kevin Clark / The Daily Herald)
Providence to pay $200M for illegal timekeeping and break practices

One of the lead plaintiffs in the “enormous” class-action lawsuit was Naomi Bennett, of Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Voters to decide on levies for Arlington fire, Lakewood schools

On Tuesday, a fire district tries for the fourth time to pass a levy and a school district makes a change two months after failing.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.