The Life and Times of Chris Gregoire

Since leaving the Governor’s office, Chris Gregoire has been focusing on family, being a first-time grandmother, gardening and travel. But retirement doesn’t seem to be part of her vocabulary and she hasn’t left public service behind.

“I never knew that we were living meagerly,” says former Governor Chris Gregoire about her childhood in Auburn, Wash. It was of no consequence to me because I had a mother with all the love in the world.”

Chris Gregoire as a baby with her mother Sybil Jacobs

The only child of a single mom who supported the family as a short-order cook, together the two made quite the team.

“Some of my fondest memories are sitting at The Rainbow Café in downtown Auburn where my mother worked 10-hour shifts. I’d sit in the back of the café doing homework, or I’d spend my allowance at the stores in Auburn.”

During WWII her mother dropped out of high school to work in a mill so that she could help her family. “She never did graduate, so my mom’s constant harangue to me was, ‘there are three things in life and get all three: education, education, education.’ ”

As you might imagine, the young Chris O’Grady did very well in school. In a preview of her life to come, the outgoing girl was elected to “a whole bunch of offices” while in school, and was voted ‘Most Likely to Succeed” in Junior High.

The future Governor not only learned the value of education and hard work from her mother, but also the value of play and she developed a love of the outdoors through her mother’s example. “Mom had horses and she was quite the fisherwoman, heading boots-in-river fishing for trout.” As a girl the Governor rode horses and picked blueberries. To this day our 22nd Governor enjoys hiking, downhill skiing, gardening, and immersing herself in nature whenever the opportunity presents itself.

After graduating from Auburn High School, Chris O’Grady entered the University of Washington, earning a teaching certificate and Bachelor of Arts degrees in speech and sociology. She received her law degree in 1977 from Gonzaga University. From 1988 to 1992 she was director of the Washington State Department of Ecology. She then ran for Attorney General in 1992 and served three terms before becoming Governor from January 2005 to January 16, 2013.

While her mother didn’t live long enough to see her daughter become Governor, she certainly celebrated when Chris Gregoire was elected Washington’s first woman to hold the office of Attorney General.

And she was proud of all her daughter’s accomplishments including her first job out of college—Clerk- Typist II.

“It was a different time as a female back in ‘the day.’ You were either a nurse or a teacher. I innocently turned to teaching because I love kids, but I probably didn’t sit down and think through my career choices,” admits the Governor. “I did my student teaching at Newcastle, but there were no teaching jobs available at the time. I graduated on Saturday and went to work on Monday.”

Her typing job was in Adult Probation and Parole in Seattle’s central area, considered the toughest office in the state at the time. “I received more education in that office than I could have gotten in the classroom,” she says. “From there I decided to use my degree and took the exam to become a probation officer myself.” But her supervisor told her that he had already hired a ‘token’ and didn’t need another one. When a case worker position opened up at the Everett office of Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services, Chris O’Grady took the job.

Governor Gregoire with her family at the Governor's Mansion during the Inaugural Ball: (l-r) Michelle, Chris, Mike, and Courtney

“It was there that I met my husband,” she explains. She met Mike Gregoire in September 1971.

An Everett native, Mike graduated from the UW with a history degree, but during finals week, he received his draft notice. He served a tour of duty in Vietnam as platoon leader and convoy commander in the Mekong Delta.

“Mike had returned from Vietnam and got into fraud investigation,” says the Governor. Their first date was a picnic and a hike. Despite getting lost on the hike, the relationship stuck and they married three years later. Mike remains connected to his high school friends— “he and his football buddies regularly get together to practice the art of poker,” reads his bio on the State’s website.

Chris was working hard for the State, but she was inspired by John F. Kennedy’s call to public service. “JFK convinced me that public service was a noble calling.” She realized she could be more effective as an attorney. “Off I went to law school.”

From there her career went on an upward trajectory, helped in no small measure by those in power who recognized her great potential. When she finished law school Slade Gorton was Attorney General. “He asked if I would join his office as Assistant Attorney General.” Within a few years she was heading up the Spokane office, until asked by then Attorney General Ken Eikenberry to become the state’s first female deputy attorney general. While there she was assigned a case involving comparable worth.

“It was a big case that showed people should have equal pay for comparable work.” Deputy Attorney General Gregoire won the case in federal court, which brought her to the attention of Governor Booth Gardner. “He asked me to head the Department of Ecology.” He later asked her to run for Attorney General. “He had a very convincing way about him,” she says.

“I was naïve and didn’t know what I was getting myself into running for that first statewide office.” But she won. And in 1998 Attorney General Chris Gregoire gained national fame as lead negotiator for states against tobacco companies. That case led to what has been called the largest financial settlement in the world and remains highly influential to this day.

Her platform as Governor focused on improving the education system, creating family-wage jobs, protecting the environment and streamlining state government. Her time in office was not without controversy, especially after the contested first election. In a 2013 interview with KOMO News, Gregoire recalled that some Republicans turned their backs on her during her first inaugural address, and that occasionally people she encountered in public would say “revote” to her face.

“The traditional Cinderella period? I didn't get one,” Gregoire said in the interview. “It was a tough beginning.” Dealing with the worst recession since the Great Depression made for a tough ending, too. And yet she looks back on the many accomplishments during her two terms—from transforming the state’s education and health care systems to signing marriage equality into law and working to make Washington a great place to work and to raise a family. She is proud of her efforts on early childhood education and favorably positioning the state on the international marketplace.

Her biggest challenge?

“That’s easy to answer. I believe in helping those who find themselves in circumstances where they have nothing—the developmentally disabled, the elderly, subjects of child abuse, and here I had to pass budgets to cut those programs, and so my second term was the most challenging time. After four years of negative, negative, negative, working twelve, fifteen hours a day, seven days a week, it really got challenging.”

The best thing about her time as a lifelong public servant?

“I’ll tell you a story,” says the Governor. She recalls a case right after law school involving an infant. “A foster home was found for the child and they wanted to adopt her,” she says. Because of her position, Gregoire could have no more affiliation with the family. “Later, when I was Attorney General, I got a letter from the mom. She told me that the baby had grown up, went to Eastern Washington University in social work and then into law school because she wanted to be like me. To me, that is what public service is all about.”

What has she been up to since leaving the Governor’s office?

“One through ten is spending time with family,” she says, “the chance to spend as much uninterrupted free time as I can with my family. It’s the simple pleasures I enjoy.”

Her family includes daughters Courtney and Michelle and now granddaughter Audrey Christine, who turns one this month.

First-time grandparents Chris and Mike Gregoire with Audrey Christine, who turns one this month. Proud mom, their daughter Courtney, is on the left

“If you haven’t had a grandchild, it is the greatest invention ever!” exclaims the first-time grandmother. “You know, the amount that a family sacrifices when in public office is never really understood by anyone including me,” she says. “So I’ve been spending wonderful time with my family. We have a family dinner every Thursday night, and we take care of the little one on Fridays.” She has spent more time at the small lake cabin the Gregoires bought when Chris was nine months pregnant with her first daughter. “We celebrate family birthdays there. It’s where my son-in-law proposed to Courtney.” It has become a very special place for the entire family.

She and her husband Mike celebrated their 38th anniversary this year. With more free time, they’ve been gardening and working around the house.

“We have one of the largest gardens in the entire neighborhood and it’s been productive with organically grown veggies for the little one.” Travel for the sheer pleasure of it has been another joy. Since leaving office, they took a trip to explore the National Parks in Utah.

The Gregoires are back in their long-time house in Lacey now, but when asked what it was like to live in the Governor’s Mansion, the Governor says without hesitation, “It was an honor and a privilege. It is historic. In fact, it turned 100 years old when we were in office.” The week following the Mansion’s centennial, the Governor’s daughter Courtney was married at the Mansion— the first marriage to take place there.

The Governor goes on to say that in earlier times there was a trend for governor’s mansions around the country to be demolished or sold off. “Washington State’s Mansion was saved by the actions of First Lady Nancy Evans. She was adamant.” Today the Mansion is run by a private foundation. “This state is very fortunate,” says the Governor. The mansion is open for tours by reservation.

The Gregoires worked to make it as friendly a place as possible and they became well-known for opening the Mansion to hundreds of kids at Halloween and Christmas.

It often surprises folks to learn that, although the Mansion is spacious and grand, the Governor’s space is quite small. “Amazingly enough, if you look at the actual space that we lived in, it was smaller than our first apartment,” says the Governor. “Living there was a fascinating experience,” she adds. “You’re never alone because there are always two guards.” And people were surprised to see the Governor in the grocery store. “They’d ask, ‘Why are you buying food? Doesn’t someone make it for you?’ The answer is no. We make our own food,” she relates. “Mike became the cook because he was retired by then. I did all the cooking while the kids were growing up, but he became a fabulous and amazing cook,” she proclaims. “And now that we’ve left office, he still likes to cook, but now we work as a team.

“He is a historian and a veteran and he cares passionately about those two issues.” When she took office, they talked about what Mike would do as ‘First Husband.’ “He said, ‘I want to do all I can for veterans. And especially to honor Vietnam veterans because they have never been recognized.’ ” He lobbied the Governor over dinner on veterans’ issues. “He worked hard for all veterans, and he especially goes out of his way to say thank you to Vietnam vets,” she adds. He was also an enthusiastic advocate for children’s and family literacy, and read to students in at least one elementary school in each county. “He did an amazing job for the people of this state and for the Veterans’ community.”

Praise for all members of her family comes easily to Chris Gregoire, not least of all for ‘the little one,’ as the doting grandparents call Audrey Christine. “She was born on November 8th and she is 100 percentile in height, 100 in weight, and 100 percent in head circumference. She is one healthy baby! She is as happy and healthy as any baby I have ever seen. She is mellow and goes along with us and seems to enjoy everything.”

Both daughters are attorneys. The younger daughter, Michelle, is a deputy prosecuting attorney for King County, and daughter Courtney, who worked in the Obama administration and is currently an attorney for Microsoft, is running for Seattle Port Commissioner [with the election taking place a few days after press time].

When asked what it was like to be such a busy working mom, the Governor responds: “Well, I should tell you a story that is pretty revealing. I was trying to decide whether to run for office. Whatever I did, my girls were involved. Mike and I had the big talk with them and told them at Sunday dinner. I told them I was interested but I knew it would keep me away from them.” She told the girls she decided she wasn’t going to run. “Our oldest daughter got up and was angry and slammed the door. Remember, I am my mother’s daughter and she is mine. She said, ‘You have always told me there is nothing as a woman I couldn’t do and now you are telling me that if you are a woman and you have two children you can’t run for office.’ One week later I told them, ‘For you girls, I am going to run.’ I was modeling my mother’s mother when I said I wasn’t going to run and modeling my mother when I said I was going to run.”

But still, she knew that running for the Governor’s office was going to be bruising and she kept her girls out of it. “But the second time around they wanted to be involved.

“Our daughters remain involved and engaged in public service.”

Chris Gregoire doesn’t plan to retire. “I am talking to a lot of folks about possibilities.” She clearly wants to continue in public service. But she hasn’t said yes to anything since leaving office, except agreeing to serve on Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Board of Trustees.

The topic of finding a cure for cancer is near and dear to her heart. In 2003, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The cancer was caught at an early stage during a routine check-up and mammogram. She had surgery and recovered. “It was not detectable by self-exam. I became an example of the importance of preventative health care.” Her husband had colon cancer, which was also detected at an early stage due to routine screenings. “Sequestration is taking quite the toll on ‘the Hutch,’ and I want to do what I can to help. They are on the verge of discovering miracle cures for some types of cancer. I couldn’t sit and do nothing,” she says about agreeing to serve on the Board.

Does the Governor, who turned 66 in March, have any thoughts on growing older?

“I really believe that you’re only as old as you make yourself to be. We’re out there hiking with 30- and 40-year-olds. I want to age gracefully. Health is the key. My goal is to remain physically active and to continue to stimulate my brain. I’m probably more active now that I've been in a long time.

“And our granddaughter keeps us young,” she adds with a smile.