.gov

Introduced	1985
TLD type	Sponsored top-level domain
Status	Active
Registry	General Services Administration
Sponsor	General Services Administration
Intended use	Governmental entities
Actual use	United States government; formerly only federal government but later expanded to include state and local government
Registration restrictions	Must meet eligibility requirements and submit authorization letter
Structure	Registrations at second level permitted
Documents	RFC 920; RFC 1591; RFC 2146
Dispute policies	None
Website	dotgov.gov
DNSSEC	yes

The domain name gov is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet. The name is derived from government, indicating its restricted use by government entities in the United States. The gov domain is administered by the General Services Administration (GSA), an independent agency of the United States federal government.

The U.S. is the only country that has a government-specific top-level domain in addition to its country-code top-level domain. This is a result of the origins of the Internet as a U.S. federal government-sponsored research network (see ARPANET and National Science Foundation Network). Other countries typically delegate a second-level domain for this purpose, for example: .gc.ca is the second-level domain for the Government of Canada and all subdomains.

Some U.S. federal agencies use fed.us rather than gov. The Department of Defense and its subsidiary organizations use the mil sTLD. Some U.S. governmental entities use other domains, such as com domains by the United States Postal Service (which uses both usps.gov and usps.com for the same website, although it only advertises the com address), and the United States Army's recruitment website (goarmy.com, this trend is repeated at the recruitment websites of the other branches of the U.S. military).

Additionally, some technically private organizations having some formal association with the federal government make use of gov, such as the Federal Reserve System (federalreserve.gov).

All governments in the U.S. are allowed to apply for delegations in gov, such as atlantaga.gov for the city of Atlanta, loudoun.gov for the county of Loudoun, Virginia and georgia.gov for the U.S. state of Georgia. This was not always true; under an earlier policy, only federal agencies were allowed to use the domain, and agencies beneath cabinet level were required to use subdomains of their parent agency. There is a lack of consistency in addresses of state and local government sites, with some using gov, some us, some using both (the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania uses www.pa.gov, www.pennsylvania.gov and www.state.pa.us for the same web site) and still others in com, org or other TLDs.

Availability[link]

Use of the gov domain is restricted to governments entities. According to GSA guidelines, this includes U.S. Governmental departments, programs, and agencies on the federal level; federally recognized tribes (referred to by the GSA as Native Sovereign Nations, which must use the suffix -NSN.gov); State governmental entities and programs; cities and townships represented by an elected body of officials; counties and parishes represented by an elected body of officials; and U.S. territories.^[1]

The URL for registration services is http://www.dotgov.gov.^[2]

Authorization[link]

To register a gov domain, a letter of authorization must be submitted to the GSA. For federal agencies, the authorization must be submitted by cabinet-level chief information officer (CIO). For state governments, authorization from the governor or state CIO is required. Domain names for cities require authorization from the mayor or equivalent official; for counties, authorization may be submitted by county commissioners or equivalent officials, or by the highest-ranking county official.^[3] For Native Sovereign Nations, the authorization must come from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.^[4]

Naming conventions[link]

The GSA provides guidelines for naming of second-level domains, such as those used by state and local governments. For states, the domain name must include the full state name or postal abbreviation, and the abbreviation must not be obscured by inclusion in a larger word. For example, invalid.gov for Idaho would be an unacceptable domain name. For local governments, the domain name must include the state name or abbreviation. However, many .gov domain names (such as boston.gov and seattle.gov) do not conform to the naming convention because they were already registered before the GSA enacted this policy.^[5]

Policy[link]

This section requires expansion.

Policy regarding the gov domain is laid out in 41 CFR Part 102-173, a Final Rule promulgated by the GSA in the Federal Register on March 28, 2003.^[6]

No new gov domains for U.S. federal executive branch departments have been allowed to be registered since June 13, 2011, as a result of the implementation of Executive Order 13571^[7] issued by President Obama. The move is part of a general attempt to improve the efficiency of U.S. governmental Web usage by weeding out unnecessary, redundant, outdated, or wasteful sites. ^[8]

States in GOV[link]

As of November 2009, all states in the U.S. have operational domains in gov:

The District of Columbia follows this trend with dc.gov

See also[link]

• usa.gov
• .us

References[link]

External links[link]

• IANA .gov whois information
• RFC 920 defined .com and the other original top-level domains.
• RFC 2146 (U.S. Government Internet Domain Names)

This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (October 2011)

Sohail Mohammed is an India born, American lawyer who was appointed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as a New Jersey Superior Court Judge in 2011.

Mohammed was born in Hyderabad. He emigrated to the United States in 1980 while a teenager.^[1] He was naturalized in New Jersey, abandoned an engineering career and became a lawyer. He received his law degree from the Seton Hall University School of Law in 1993.^[2]

Sohail Mohammed specialized in immigration law with a practice in Clifton. He was involved in training “over 7,000 members of the law enforcement community about Islamic Cultural and Religious Practices.” As a lawyer he represented dozens of detainees swept up by law enforcement after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and Mohammad Qatanani, a Paterson imam who in 2008 fended off charges by the Department of Homeland Security that he had ties to Hamas. Mohammed publicly defended Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative Sami Al-Arian following a 2003 indictment which alleged he was a North American leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Fort Dix Six in 2007. He is a founder and board member of the American Muslim Union.^[1][3][4]

Sohail Mohammed was sworn into office in July 2011, becoming New Jersey’s second Muslim judge in the Superior Court.

References[link]

This biography of a judge of the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This Indian law-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Jennifer Granholm
47th Governor of Michigan
In office January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2011
Lieutenant	John Cherry
Preceded by	John Engler
Succeeded by	Rick Snyder
51st Attorney General of Michigan
In office January 1, 1999 – January 1, 2003
Governor	John Engler
Preceded by	Frank Kelley
Succeeded by	Mike Cox
Personal details
Born	(1959-02-05) February 5, 1959 (age 53) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Daniel Mulhern (since 1986)
Children	Kathryn Cecelia Jack
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley Harvard Law School
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-born American politician, educator, author and political commentator who served as Attorney General and 47th Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor John Engler. Granholm was re-elected on November 7, 2006, and was sworn in for her second and, due to term limits, final term on January 1, 2007. She has been mentioned as a potential Supreme Court justice for President Barack Obama.^[1] She was a member of the transition team for the presidency of President Obama before he assumed office on January 20, 2009.^[2] After leaving office, Granholm took a position at the University of California at Berkeley and, with her husband Daniel Mulhern, coauthored A Governor's Story: The Fight for Jobs and America's Future, released in September 2011.^[3] Since leaving office, Granholm became host of The War Room with Jennifer Granholm on Current TV.

Early life, education, and early career[link]

Granholm was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Shirley Alfreda (née Dowden) and Victor Ivar Granholm.^[4] Granholm's paternal grandfather, who immigrated to Canada in the 1930s, came from Robertsfors, Sweden, where his father was mayor.^[5] The Minister for Enterprise and Energy and former Vice Prime Minister of Sweden, Maud Olofsson, lives in Robertsfors, and when the two met in Sweden, it was revealed that Olofsson's husband is a relative of Granholm's.^[6]

Granholm's paternal grandmother was an emigrant from Norway. Granholm's family moved to California when she was four.^[7] She grew up in Anaheim, San Jose and San Carlos.^[8] Granholm graduated from San Carlos High School in 1977.^[7] She won the Miss San Carlos beauty pageant.^[8] As a young adult she attempted to launch a Hollywood acting career but was unsuccessful and she abandoned her efforts at the age of 21.^[7] She held jobs as a tour guide at Universal Studios, within customer service for the Los Angeles Times and was the first female tour guide at Marine World Africa USA in Redwood City, piloting boats with 25 tourists aboard.^[8] In 1980, she became a United States citizen and worked for John Anderson's independent run for President of the United States, and enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley. She graduated from UC-Berkeley in 1984 Phi Beta Kappa with two B.A. degrees, one in political science, the other in French. Granholm then earned a Juris Doctor degree at Harvard Law School, also with honors.

She clerked for U.S. Judge Damon Keith on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 1990 she became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. In 1994, she was appointed Wayne County Corporation Counsel.

Granholm, like California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, was once a contestant on the daytime television game show The Dating Game.^[9]

Michigan Attorney General[link]

Granholm was elected Michigan Attorney General in 1998, defeating the Republican nominee, John Smietanka, 52 percent to 48 percent. The first woman to hold that position^{[citation needed]}, she served for four years (1999–2003)^{[citation needed]}, focusing on protecting citizens and consumers and establishing Michigan's first High Tech Crime Unit^{[citation needed]}. After the September 11, 2001, attacks, Granholm directed state agencies to work with lawmakers in keeping the fight against terrorism within the powers of the state^{[citation needed]}. She also imposed a regulation on gasoline dealers^{[citation needed]} to keep them from raising prices dramatically, something which occurred sporadically across Michigan immediately following the attacks.

2002 campaign for Governor[link]

In the 2002 election, she defeated former Governor James Blanchard and House Democratic Whip David Bonior in the Democratic primary, and then went on to win the gubernatorial election against the Republican nominee, Lieutenant Governor Dick Posthumus, to become governor.

Governor[link]

Granholm was sworn in as the 47th Governor of the state of Michigan on January 1, 2003.

First Term: 2003-2007[link]

The main issue facing the governor was the massive budget deficit. Granholm had to eliminate upwards of $200 per person from state budget expenditures, successfully resolving over $14 billion^[10] in budget deficits. She emphasized the need for the state to attract young people and businesses to Michigan via the Cool Cities Initiative.^[11][12] As Governor, she was a member of the National Governors Association. She was chair of the Health and Human Services Committee and was co-chair of the Health Care Task Force of the National Governors Association. She is also a former Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association. She lived in the official Michigan Governor's Residence located near the Capitol Building.

Jennifer Granholm (second from right) with Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (first left), Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius (second), United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (center), and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue (right)

In 2003, Granholm ran five miles across the Mackinac Bridge, which connects the state's two peninsulas, in 47 minutes during the Mackinac Bridge Walk. Her run began a new tradition, and 2004 saw the first annual Governor’s Labor Day Bridge Run^[13] held hours before the Annual Bridge Walk. This time she finished the run in under 45 minutes.

During Granholm’s first year in office, she made a significant number of budget cuts to deal with a $1.7 billion deficit (about 2% of the annual state budget). She was upset by proposals to cut state funding to social welfare programs, such as homeless shelters and mental health agencies. During an interview, she reflected on her view of the proper perspective of budget cuts:

"Often those who cloak themselves in a cape of religiosity happen to be some who are the biggest cutters. Now, some of that can balance out. But when you get to cutting the services for the least of these – in the 25th chapter of Matthew in the 37th verse the Lord says, 'Whatsoever you do to the least of these, so also you do unto me' – that's when I question whether somebody is really living out the faith that they profess." The interviewer noted that Granholm would be criticized, but she hoped that everyone would “keep those values in mind . . .through the budget process.” Betsy DeVos, the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party (1996–2000, 2003–05), was upset that Granhom had decided “to cloak her views on balancing the budget in religious terms in order to demonize her political opponents.” Granholm responded that she did not think her response was controversial, and she said that many people of faith are serving in state government.^[14]

Granholm has been a proponent of education reform since the first year of her term. In her first State of the State Address in 2003, Granholm announced Project Great Start to focus on reforming education for children from birth to age 5. Project Great Start has coordinated public and private efforts to encourage educating new parents and encouraging parents to read to their children.^[15]

Granholm emphasized post-secondary education for Michiganders following the decline in Michigan manufacturing jobs, many of which did not require a college degree. In 2004, she asked Lt. Governor John D. Cherry to lead a Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth to double the number of college graduates in Michigan. Many of the Commission's recommendations were enacted into law during Granholm's tenure as governor, like increasing high school graduation standards (The Michigan Merit Curriculum) so that every Michigan high school student takes a college preparatory curriculum, which includes four years of math and English/language arts and three years of science and social studies, beginning with students who entered high school in the fall of 2006.^[16]

At an awards ceremony on October 28, 2004, Granholm was inducted into the "Michigan Women's Hall of Fame". She has also been the recipient of the Michigan Jaycees 1999 "Outstanding Young Michiganders" and the YWCA "Woman of the Year" awards.

In February 2005, Michigan's Republican-dominated Legislature refused to vote on Granholm's proposed state budget, citing concerns over cuts to state funding for higher education.^[17] In the previous years of Granholm's term, many cuts to higher education had been demanded and voted in the Legislature in order to balance the state budget. The year before, Republican leaders had called Granholm a "do-nothing Governor", claiming that she failed to lead, while Democrats accused legislative Republicans of being obstructionist. In January 2005, Granholm presented an early budget proposal, demanded immediate response from the Legislature, and held a press conference outlining the highlights of the proposed budget. After refusing to consider, debate, or vote on the proposed budget, Republicans stated they would prefer that the Legislature have more involvement in the formation of the state budget.^[18]

Michigan's economy has been losing jobs since 2000, largely based on the decline in the American manufacturing sector. Granholm supported diversification Michigan's economy away from its historical reliance on automotive manufacturing. She pushed through a $2 billion 21st Century Jobs Fund to attract jobs to Michigan in the life sciences, alternative energy, advanced manufacturing, and homeland security sectors.^[19] Granholm also supported alternative energy jobs to Michigan to replace lost auto manufacturing jobs.

2006 campaign[link]

Governor Jennifer Granholm

Granholm ran for a second term in the 2006 election. Her opponents were Republican businessman and politician Dick DeVos, Libertarian Gregory Creswell, Green Douglas Campbell, and the Constitution (US Taxpayers) Party candidate Bhagwan Dashairya.^[20]

The state's unemployment rate hovered around seven percent for much of her term. Additionally, Michigan ranked #49 in retaining young adults between 2000 and 2005, again attributed to the sluggish economy.^[21][22]

Both the Granholm campaign and the Michigan Democratic Party put out television commercials produced by Joe Slade White which focused on her efforts to revive Michigan's economy and accused Dick DeVos of cutting Michigan jobs while he was head of what was then called Amway. Granholm won re-election, defeating DeVos. The margin (rounded to the nearest percent) was 56 percent (Granholm), 42 percent (DeVos), one percent (Gregory Creswell), one percent (Douglas Campbell) and one percent (Bhagwan Dashairya).^[20] Granholm polled 4.9 percent higher than she did in her first gubernatorial election in 2002.

Second term: 2007-2011[link]

This section relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (January 2012)

The 2006 elections saw a return to power by the Democrats in the Michigan State House of Representatives but the retention of Republican control over the Michigan Senate. The partisan division of power in Michigan's state government led to a showdown between Granholm and Republican lawmakers over the FY2008 state budget that resulted in a four-hour shutdown of non-essential state services in the early morning of October 1, 2007 until a budget was passed and signed.^[23] The budget cut services, increased the state income tax and created a new set of service taxes on a variety of business activities, from ski lift tickets to interior design and landscaping, to address a state budget shortfall. As a result of the controversial budget, some taxpayer and business advocates called for a recall campaign against Granholm and lawmakers who voted for the tax increases.^[24]

The budget crisis eventually led Standard & Poors to downgrade Michigan's credit rating from AA to AA-. Additionally, the crisis contributed to sinking approval ratings for Granholm, which stood at 43 percent in August 2007,^[25] to a low of 32 percent in December 2007. She had one of the lowest approval ratings for any Governor in the United States.^[26] The divided Michigan legislature received an even lower approval rating of 18 percent in the same poll.^[27]

In 2007, Granholm proposed and signed into law the No Worker Left Behind program to provide two years of free training or community college for unemployed and displaced workers.^[28] Since its launch in August 2007, over 61,434 people have received training through No Worker Left Behind. The program caps tuition assistance at $5000 per year for two years, or $10,000 per person, and covers retraining in high-demand occupations and emerging industries.^[29]Results of this program were mixed. More than two years after the program was launched, only 16,164 people had completed the program and found new jobs. Over twice as many people had enrolled in the program had either dropped out or were still unemployed after completing the program. In fact, 47% of those who did complete the program failed to find a new job.^[30]

Granholm delivered her sixth State of the State address on January 29, 2008. The speech was focused mainly on creating jobs in Michigan's economy through bringing alternative energy companies to Michigan.^[31] Through passing a Renewable Portfolio Standard, which would require that by 2015, 10 percent of Michigan's energy would come from renewable sources and 25 percent by 2025, Granholm expects the alternative energy industry to emerge in Michigan.^[32] Since the passage of the standard, Mariah Power, Global Wind Systems, Cascade Swift Turbine, Great Lakes Turbine and 38 other companies have all announced new projects in Michigan.^[33] Solar and Wind power now provide over 10,000 jobs in Michigan. As a result of Granholm's efforts, Michigan is now fourth in the nation for number of jobs in the solar industry and first in the nation for clean energy patents.^[34]

Granholm also called in the speech for an incentive package to offer tax breaks to filmmakers who shoot in Michigan and use local crews in production. A package of bills offering film industry incentives was approved by both houses of the Michigan Legislature and signed into law by Granholm on April 7, 2008.^[35]

Granholm hosts a panel of advisers to Barack Obama's presidential campaign during the second day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

Partly because of pressure from Granholm, Michigan's Democratic presidential primary was moved up to January 15, leading the Democratic National Committee to strip the Michigan Democratic Party of its delegates (Michigan historically held its caucuses on February 9). Granholm has been named by some as a possible candidate for United States Attorney General. She is currently the Policy Chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

On April 29, 2008, Granholm had emergency surgery to fix a bowel obstruction that stemmed from a 1993 accident. Because of the surgery, Granholm had to postpone a trip to Israel and Kuwait.^[36] She finally made the journey in November 2008 and signed a water technology partnership agreement with the Israeli government. In addition, she delivered the keynote address at an automotive event organized by the Michigan Israel Business Bridge and the Israel Export Institute.^[37]

In response to a May 14, 2008, resolution by the Detroit City Council to request that Granholm remove Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office in response to eight (later ten) felony counts against him,^[38] Granholm began an inquiry,^[39] which culminated in a removal hearing on September 3, 2008.^[40] On September 3, Granholm outlined the legal basis for the hearings, arguments were made and three witnesses were called.^[41] In the morning of September 4, Kilpatrick agreed to two plea deals, pleading guilty to two counts of perjury and no contest to one count of assaulting and obstructing a police officer in two separate cases. Both of the deals required his resignation. When the hearing reconvened later that day, Granholm stated that the hearing would be adjourned until September 22 as a result of the plea deals; if Kilpatrick's resignation becomes effective before that date, the hearing would then be cancelled.^[42]

In September 2008, Gov. Granholm undertook the role of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin in a series of practice debates with Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph Biden.^[43]

With the election of Barack Obama as President, Granholm joined his economic advisory team and there was speculation that she might join the Obama administration.^[44]

On May 13, 2009, the Associated Press reported that President Obama was considering Granholm, among others, for possible appointment to the United States Supreme Court. Eventually Obama chose Sonia Sotomayor.^[45]

In 2010, Granholm was unable to seek re-election due to Michigan's term limits.^[46] Governor Granholm's tenure ended on January 1, 2011, when Republican Rick Snyder was sworn in.

Post-gubernatorial career[link]

Governor Granholm is a Distinguished Practitioner of Law and Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. In autumn 2011, she is teaching a graduate class entitled "Governing in Tough Times." As a Senior Advisor to The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Clean Energy Program, Granholm leads a national campaign for a national clean energy policy that promotes and funds research and manufacturing for wind, solar and advanced battery industries in the U.S.. She’s a regular contributor to NBC’s political talk show, “Meet the Press,” authored a book, A Governor's Story: The Fight For Jobs and America's Economic Future (Release Date: Sept. 20, 2011), with her husband on the lessons Michigan’s experience can offer to America, and serves on the board of directors for The Dow Chemical Company.^[47]. On October 12, 2011, Current TV announced that Granholm would be joining its new political prime-time lineup as host of the new program The War Room with Jennifer Granholm.

Personal life[link]

In 1986 she married Daniel Mulhern, a Michigan native, and took his surname as her middle name. They have three children: Kathryn, Cecelia, and Jack.

As governor of Michigan, Granholm was afforded the courtesy title of Her Excellency while in office. Upon leaving office, she retains the title of Honorable (abbreviated to Hon. or Hon'ble) and Governor for Life.

On October 21, 2010, Granholm was made a Commander of the Royal Order of the Polar Star, First Class, by the King of Sweden "for her work in fostering relations between Michigan and Sweden to promote a clean energy economy.".^[48][49]

Electoral history[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jennifer Granholm

	Biography portal
	Michigan portal
	Politics portal

• Granholm Leadership Fund official leadership fund site
• Biography at the National Governors Association
• Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Michigan Department of State 2002 official election results
• Michigan Department of State 2006 official election results
• Goldstein, Amy (May 20, 2009). "Governor Granholm's Rise to Politics". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/20/AR2009052002570.html. Retrieved 2011-09-20. "At San Carlos High School south of San Francisco, she was chosen as a mediator during a period of racial tension. She also was selected "foxiest" in her graduating class and won the Miss San Carlos pageant." 

v t e Governors of Michigan Territorial (1805–1837) Hull Cass Porter Mason Horner State (since 1837) Mason Woodbridge Gordon Barry Felch Greenly Ransom Barry McClelland Parsons Bingham Wisner Blair Crapo Baldwin Bagley Croswell Jerome Begole Alger Luce Winans Rich Pingree Bliss Warner Osborn Ferris Sleeper Groesbeck Green Brucker Comstock Fitzgerald Murphy Fitzgerald Dickinson Van Wagoner Kelly Sigler Williams Swainson Romney Milliken Blanchard Engler Granholm Snyder

Christine Gregoire
22nd Governor of Washington
Incumbent
Assumed office January 12, 2005
Lieutenant	Brad Owen
Preceded by	Gary Locke
16th Attorney General of Washington
In office January 13, 1993 – January 12, 2005
Governor	Mike Lowry Gary Locke
Preceded by	Ken Eikenberry
Succeeded by	Rob McKenna
Personal details
Born	Christine O'Grady (1947-03-24) March 24, 1947 (age 65) Adrian, Michigan, U.S.
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Michael Gregoire
Children	Courtney Michelle
Residence	Governor's Mansion
Alma mater	University of Washington Gonzaga University
Profession	Attorney at law
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Website	Official website

Christine O'Grady Gregoire ( /ˈɡrɛɡwɑr/; born March 24, 1947) is the 22nd and current Governor of the state of Washington, and a member of the Democratic Party. Gregoire defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again in 2008. She is the second female governor of Washington. She was the National Governors Association chairwoman for the 2010-11 term.^[1]

Early life, education, and early law career[link]

Christine O'Grady was raised in Auburn, Washington, by her mother, who worked as a short-order cook to support the family. After graduating from Auburn Senior High School,^[2] she attended the University of Washington in Seattle, graduating in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech in sociology. She attended law school at Gonzaga University in Spokane, receiving her Juris Doctor in 1977. She is a member of Kappa Delta Sorority.

She went to work as an assistant attorney general in the office of state Attorney General Slade Gorton, a Republican.^[3] As an assistant attorney general, Gregoire concentrated on child-abuse cases, coordinating with social workers to get children removed from abusive family situations and placed with relatives or foster homes.

Attorney General[link]

Elected to office as Attorney General in 1992, Gregoire's term included a scandal wherein her office failed to file a timely appeal on a $17.8M judgment against the state; at that time the largest such judgment in Washington State history. The court determined "the Attorney General's Office lacked any reasonable procedure for calendaring hearings".^[4]

2004 gubernatorial election[link]

Gregoire defeated Ron Sims and four other minor candidates in the primary election on September 14, 2004. She had come under fire during the primary for her membership in Kappa Delta and for that sorority's nonwhite membership policy in the late 1960s.^[5] She clashed with Sims over her position at the sorority and Sims later dropped the issue and dismissed any claims of racism.^[6] Sims campaigned on the need for tax reform and the institution of a statewide income tax.^[7] Gregoire won the primary with over 60% of the vote.^[8]

During the general election against former state senator and real estate agent Dino Rossi, Gregoire proposed a major initiative in life sciences, especially by increasing state funding for embryonic stem cell research.^[9] In debates, Gregoire tried to counter voter unease about the state government by saying she would "blow past the bureaucracy" and bring change herself.^[10] With a focus on change, but with little detail on specifics, many state Democratic leaders expressed concerns about the kind of leader Gregoire would be.^[11] Gregoire would win the backing of the Legislature within six months after pushing through a number of important measures on car emission standards and unemployment benefits.^[11]

The election was held on November 2, 2004, with the initial count showing Gregoire trailing Rossi by 261 votes. However, a legally mandated machine recount reduced that lead to only 42 votes, then a hand count that was requested and funded by the state's Democratic Party gave Gregoire a 10-vote lead. Following a State Supreme Court ruling that allowed several hundred ballots from King County to be included, her lead was further increased to 130 votes,^[12] but when the vote was certified by the state's Secretary of State, Sam Reed, at the end of December, one vote which had been counted in Thurston County past the deadline was disqualified and her lead was reduced to 129 votes.^[13] Washington's Republican leadership then filed suit, claiming that hundreds of votes, including votes by felons,^[14] deceased voters,^[15] and double voters,^[15] were included in the canvass, but on June 6, 2005, Judge John E. Bridges ruled that the Republican party did not provide enough evidence that the disputed votes were ineligible—or for whom they were cast—to overturn the election.^[16]

Judge Bridges did note that there was evidence that 1,678 votes had been illegally cast throughout the state,^[17] but found that the only evidence submitted to show how those votes had been cast were sworn statements from four felons that they had voted for Rossi.^[17] He subtracted those four votes from Rossi's total and upheld the election.^[18]

On October 28, 2004, the Seattle Times reported that out-of-state donors were contributing heavily to Gregoire's campaign coffers.^[19] More than $1,000,000 was given to the Democratic Governor's Association from trial lawyers who had worked closely with Gregoire on the 1998 tobacco settlement. According to the Seattle Times' analysis, nearly half of Gregoire's 2004 campaign contributions came from out-of-state.^[19]

Governor of Washington[link]

First term[link]

2005

The first legislative session ended with Gregoire brokering new bipartisan transportation legislation.^[20] The package included a 9.5-cent-a-gallon gas-tax increase to help repair many roads in Washington, particularly in the Seattle area, including the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Interstate 405, and the Route 520 bridge.^[21]

The bill was initially blocked by Republican leadership in the Legislature and when it came to a vote in the House on the morning of the last day of the 2005 session, it was blocked again in a procedural vote.^[22] After extensive lobbying from Gregoire, House Democratic and Republican leadership met and agreed to let the measure come up for a vote.^[22] It cleared the House shortly thereafter and was swiftly passed by the state Senate and she signed it into law later that week.^[23]

The tax package was met with mixed reviews. While she was praised widely by Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate for her leadership skills regarding passing this deal,^[23] several state legislators disagreed with the merits of the tax because of the already high price of gas.^[24] An initiative to repeal the tax, Measure No. 912, was a part of the November 2005 ballot, but was rejected by the voters.^[25]

2006

Gregoire's agenda for the 2006 legislative session included implementing education reforms, including early childhood education programs and using international standards for math and science.^[26] She also lobbied for a constitutional amendment to make a school levy approval contingent on a majority of voter support, rather than a 60% super-majority. The amendment got the necessary 2/3 vote in the state congress, but ultimately the state voters rejected the amendment.^[26] Governor Gregoire spearheaded the effort to set aside a portion of the state's $1.4 billion surplus for a rainy day fund .^[26][27]

On March 28, 2006, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a bill to add prohibitions to the Gambling Act and the State Lottery to prohibit online gambling in the state.^[28]

A landmark gay civil rights bill failed in the 2005 session but subsequently passed in the 2006 session. It was primarily responsible for expanding the scope of protected classes to include sexual orientation and gender identity in cases of discrimination. The bill was signed by Gregoire on January 31, 2006. She also signed a law on April 21, 2007 granting same-sex couples domestic partnership rights.^{[citation needed]}

2007

In October 2005, Gregoire sent a letter to the state's Gambling Commission recommending that it renegotiate a compact with the Spokane Native American tribe it had submitted for approval. The original compact would have allowed the tribe, and any other tribe that signed on to the compact, to have off-reservation gambling facilities, increase the number of slot machines allowed to 7,500, operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, removed betting limits for some card players, and give credits to high rollers in exchange for sharing the profits from gambling with state and local governments.^[29] It was opposed by many of the state's lawmakers of both parties and by anti-gambling groups that were concerned about the spread of gambling across the state, as well as other Native American tribes.^[29] The renegotiated compact, which was signed by the Spokane and 26 other Washington tribes, was signed by Gregoire in early 2007 and eliminated the revenue sharing and off-reservation facilities, but included an increase of allowed slot machines to 4,700 with a limit of 2,000 per location, increased the betting limit of some of its slot machines to $20, and allowed high-stakes gambling on blackjack and poker tables to players who pass financial screening and aren't known problem gamblers. The tribe also agreed to donate 2 percent of the gross revenue from table games and 1 percent from gambling devices to charity.^[30]

Following a ruling by the state's supreme court that a 1% property tax cap voted into law via initiative was unconstitutional, Gregoire ordered a special session to reinstate the cap. In the days leading up to the special session Gregoire and the Democrats were accused by liberals that they were caving in to Tim Eyman, the person who submitted the property tax initiative, and rushing the legislative process to reinstate the cap but not making other, more meaningful, property tax reform.^[31]

2008 gubernatorial election[link]

Gregoire at a campaign stop in August 2008

During the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, Governor Gregoire was heavily lobbied by both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for her endorsement as a superdelegate.^[32]

Gregoire officially endorsed Barack Obama on February 8, 2008, hours before an event at Key Arena in Seattle where she introduced Senator Obama before a crowd of 18,000 people.^[32][33] The Washington caucuses were held the next day with Obama beating Clinton in every county in the state.^[34]

Governor Gregoire began her re-election campaign at her late mother's former employer, the Rainbow Café in Auburn, Washington, on April 7, 2008.^[35][36][37] Immediately after her announcement, Gregoire began a biodiesel bus tour of the State of Washington.^[35] Her opponent in the race, Dino Rossi, had announced his candidacy in October 2007.^[38]

Both Gregoire and her opponent fast approached fundraising records early in their campaigns.^[39] In April, Gregoire hosted a fundraiser with Bill Richardson at the Seattle Westin which net the campaign over $300,000.^[40][41] Later, in July, Gregoire held another large fundraiser with Michelle Obama at the WaMu Theater with 1,600 attendees raising over $400,000.^[42][43]

Governor Christine Gregoire in 2010 at a memorial dedication for the victims of the 2009 Lakewood police officer shooting.

The Seattle Times reported that Gregoire gave cost of living increases to state employees who hadn't received raises in "many years",^{[dubious – discuss]} and funded voter-approved initiatives to raise the pay of schoolteachers, all groups that gave money to fund her 2004 recount campaign.^[44]

Gregoire won Washington's first ever top two primary on August 19, 2008 with 49%.^[45] She advanced to the general election against Dino Rossi.^[45][46] The general election on November 4 was expected to be close, but Gregoire benefited from a large turnout among Democrats to vote for Barack Obama in the United States Presidential election and ended up defeating Rossi 53% to 47%. There was a marked geographical split in the 2008 election: the more populous and Democratic-leaning Western Washington counties supported Gregoire, whilst the less populous and more Republican-leaning Eastern Washington counties supported Rossi.^[47]

Second term[link]

2009

Before the start of the 2009 legislative session, four separate unions representing state workers filed lawsuits against the governor for suggesting that the workers' pay raises be dropped as part of addressing the looming state budget deficit.^[48][49]

2011

On June 13, 2011, Gregoire announced she would not be seeking a third term.^[50]

2012

On January 4, 2012, Gregoire announced her support for same-sex marriage and pledged to sign a marriage bill if it were passed by the legislature. The bill was passed on February 8, 2012.^[51] Gregoire signed the bill on February 13 and the law is slated to take effect on June 7.^[52]

Personal life[link]

Gregoire's first child, Courtney, was born in Spokane in 1979. Her second daughter, Michelle, was born in 1984.^[53] When not in Olympia, Gregoire lives in the nearby suburb of Lacey with her husband Michael.

In 2003, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in an early stage after a routine check-up and a mammogram. She had surgery and recovered. She mentions her fight with cancer in speeches about health care.^{[citation needed]}

Awards[link]

In 2009, the Governor became the recipient of a sort of tongue-in-cheek Fuse "Fizzle" Award. The awards program is aimed at promoting leadership and accountability in the Washington State Legislature.^[54]

Electoral history[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Governor Christine Gregoire official Washington state site
• Chris Gregoire, Governor official campaign website
• Biography at the National Governors Association
• Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Christine Gregoire in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Profile at Notable Names Database