Endorsed: Governor Gregoire

We are pleased to early-endorse Governor Chris Gregoire in her bid for re-election.

For four years, Governor Chris Gregoire has been a champion for our environment.  She has taken on tough challenges such as cleaning up Puget Sound and tackling the problems of global warming, and she is delivering results.When we endorsed her four years ago, Governor Gregoire promised to make Washington cleaner and greener; since then, she has worked tirelessly to advance environmental protections that are good for the health of our state, our economy and future generations.

Highlights from Governor Gregoire’s extensive record of environmental leadership:

2008:
•    Led the passage of the Climate Action and Green Jobs bill, bringing Governor’s request legislation to the state Legislature that makes Washington a regional and national leader in addressing the challenge of global warming by putting us on a path to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
•    Made significant investments to double the number of “green collar” jobs by 2020 that positions Washington state to be a global leader in a burgeoning green economy.
•    Signed the Children’s Safe Products Act into law, making Washington the nation’s leader in keeping toxic chemicals out of toys and other children’s products.
2007:
•    Created the Puget Sound Partnership in order to restore and protect this national treasure by bringing together communities, businesses, tribes and environmental groups to clean up toxic sediment, restore habitat for fish and whales, and reduce stormwater runoff that pollutes Puget Sound.
•    Signed the bill to eliminate PBDEs, making Washington the first state in the nation to eliminate this toxic flame retardant that is so prevalent throughout our homes and threatens our health.
•    Set goals to lower Washington state’s greenhouse gas emissions and to begin addressing the challenge of global warming.
2006:
•    Created a simple, free and safe way of recycling old electronic waste such as TVs and computers by signing the “Electronic Waste Recycling” bill preventing those electronics from turning into millions of pounds of waste containing lead, mercury and other toxic substances.
•    Reduced Washington’s dependence on foreign fuels and provided a new market for Washington by signing the “Energy Independence through Renewable Fuels” bill, which put Washington at the cutting edge of a new biofuels economy by establishing a minimum percentage of biofuels for both diesel and gasoline.
2005:
•    Signed a bill that has spurred the growth of green building requirements nationally, the first of its kind in the nation. Under the law, Washington schools and other public buildings will help protect the environment by saving energy and water, and using less-toxic and recycled materials.
•    Applied significant pressure to the state Legislature to pass the Clean Cars bill, a measure that joins Washington with other states in adopting stronger vehicle emissions standards that will will lead to a 30% reduction in global warming pollution from new cars. In 2007, Governor Gregoire brought a suit against the Bush Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency for refusing to allow these stricter car emission standards.