Posted on 02/04/2005 7:46:13 AM PST by vox_freedom
OLYMPIA -- Two days after her inauguration, Gov. Christine Gregoire came home from a long day at her new job and decided to relax and order a pizza. But when she picked up the phone and dialed, she found out that when you're the governor, the tough questions never end.
Before she ordered, the pizza girl wanted to know:
"What's your telephone number?"
"I don't know."
"What's your address?"
"I don't know that either."
"Pardon me? What's your name?"
"My name is Chris Gregoire -- that's C-H-R-I-S G-R-E-G-O-I-R-E."
"And you don't know your address?"
"It's the mansion."
"What?"
"You know, like the governor's mansion."
"Can you hang on a minute?"
Gregoire eventually managed to order the pie -- she said someone else at the pizza parlor helped clear things up -- but when she walked downstairs to the guard station to pick it up, she realized just how much her life had changed.
In an interview with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer this week, three weeks into her disputed term as Washington's 22nd governor, Gregoire discussed issues including gay marriage, education, the state budget and her personal and professional transition into office.
Since moving into the mansion last month, she said, stepping out of the role of state attorney general and into the role of governor has been perhaps the most profound change -- and she likes it.
"I'm free," she said. "I'm free to say what I feel."
She recalled answering a question about the Department of Social and Health Services at a recent news conference. Midway through, she said, she caught herself answering in the cautious language of an attorney. She said she shifted gears and told reporters how she really felt, admitting there were problems to be addressed.
"I couldn't do that as attorney general. Why? Because they (DSHS staff) are my clients. You can't say they're not doing what they ought to be doing when you are the attorney general," Gregoire said.
"It was very constraining, much more than I ever would have thought, to run for governor," she said. "I actually feel like some chains have been released from me. I can speak my mind. I can say how I feel. I don't have to watch every word for some legal misinterpretation."
No longer constrained, Gregoire opened up about her thoughts on gay marriage, an issue that exploded early on in the governor's race but that she never fully addressed for voters.
On the campaign trail, Gregoire refused to articulate her position on gay marriage because, she said, as attorney general, there was the possibility that she would be representing the state before the Supreme Court.
The high court is now scheduled to rule on the issue next month, and Gregoire said she'd defer to the justices as to the legality of same-sex marriage in Washington.
But as governor, she can do a lot to either promote or oppose the broader issue of gay rights, and in the interview this week she said she would side with advocacy.
"Washington state has a long history of embracing diversity and clearly standing up against any and all vestiges of discrimination," Gregoire said. "I'd like the civil rights bill (which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation) to reach my desk."
"I want to work on respecting individuals' dignity. Equal rights, that's where my heart is," she said.
Gregoire said she would support legislation for civil unions. "That means equal rights and benefits, and that's what we need."
But as for how she felt about gay marriage itself, Gregoire refused to comment.
"I'm not going to get us and the state off on that issue when we ought to be focused on: How do we make sure we have non-discrimination, respect and dignity and embrace diversity?"
She said she would vocally oppose the constitutional amendment President Bush is pushing that would define marriage as solely a union between a man and woman.
Gregoire also opposes amending the state Constitution in a similar way -- though she noted that such an amendment becomes law by a vote of the people, not her signature.
"Both constitutions were intended to confer benefits, equality, protection of people. At no time has our constitution, in my opinion, ever been used to take away, to deny. Take away one thing today and then you are going to what? Take away my religion from me?Are you going to take away my free speech?
"I think this is a very troublesome direction for the country," she said.
Gregoire said looking for better ways to fund schools remains among her top priorities.
She said the transition between early learning, K-12 education and state universities needs to be more seamless, and she has commissioned a study to examine the finances in all three of those areas.
She also wants to centralize the bureaucracy for K-12 education in Olympia and eliminate a fractured system of commissions and boards spread throughout the state. Gregoire is considering revamping the state's tuition policy for each of the state's six universities and possibly allowing some of them to charge tuition on a sliding scale, depending on family income.
Leaders in the House and Senate said Gregoire's style is quite different from that of her predecessor, Gary Locke. Gregoire, who, like Locke, is a Democrat, has already earned praise for working on legislation with lawmakers, raising concerns early instead of solving problems with the veto pen as Locke sometimes did.
An example is a much-touted bill that passed out of the House on Wednesday, calling for regular performance audits of state agencies.
"I want the bill, but there were parts of it I didn't like," she said. "So I've been very honest rather than allowing it to come here and meet a veto, part of it or all of it, when it's fundamentally a good bill. I'd rather work with them and see if we can't get it to the point where we all agree."
Perhaps the most daunting task Gregoire faces in the coming weeks is balancing the state's $26 billion two-year budget, which is currently $1.8 billion in the red.
Budget writers for Locke, the House and the Senate have suggested that the task will be nearly impossible without new revenue -- in other words, higher taxes.
But Gregoire, who has decided to wait until the March 17 revenue forecast to release her proposal, said she's still working toward a no-new-taxes budget.
Her late transition because of the complications associated with the governor's race recounts has caused her to scale back how much she could comb through the budget line by line.
"I will never be able to create a budget from scratch with the amount of time that I have, but my instructions remain the same: Give me a budget that has no new revenue."
She said Victor Moore, the director of her Office of Financial Management, has been outlining some possible trade-offs.
"If that's what I want, then here are the trade-offs I have to make," she said, adding that they're all ugly.
Though she said it's premature to talk about a new tax package for the general fund -- she said new transportation taxes are practically inevitable.
"We're going to have to look at something," Gregoire said.
If improvements are not made on several key highways, the entire state economy is in jeopardy, she said. The details of that tax package have yet to be determined.
Gregoire spent a good part of the lunch hour talking with the P-I, and as the interview concluded, another group was already coming in for more meetings.
The governor said the days have all been long since her inauguration -- but if she's too tired to cook, at least now she knows how to call out for delivery.
"Washington state has a long history of embracing diversity and clearly standing up against any and all vestiges of discrimination," Gregoire said. "I'd like the civil rights bill (which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation) to reach my desk."
Here's another example of how she is out of the mainstream in the state of Washington. Pro-homosexual marriage runs contrary to the "political center" that she pledged in her inaugural address.
Bring on the Revote!!!
Oh, like cool baby. Almost as cool as like stealing an election.
The woman can't even order a pizza? She doesn't know her address. Obviously the pizza person didn't vote for her. Oops, I'm sure many didn't vote for her!
She didn't want to state her cases before because she was afraid she'd offend someone so she kept the real Gregoire from the publics eye. Now she's "free" to speak her mind. Oh ya now is a good time to show your state who you are.
She's a Little League version of the Big Bopper, Clinton. Pizza parties for all the 30 somethings.
Pathetic news for the Evergreen State.
You can't say she's not doing what we expect. Newspaper headlines for the past three days, in order, have basically said: Raise Taxes. Fund new programs. Relax ethics rules.
It's way past time for Red Washington to join with North Idaho and Eastern Oregon to form a new state.
Namsman sends
Exactly. BTW, today is the day that the Superior Court in Chelan County will likely issue its view as to the revote challenge by the GOP and Rossi campaign. Wish us well. If this works out the way it should, the Dino Rossi family will be eating pizza in the Governor's Mansion later this year.
Yes, Washington has another mental giant on the order of Patty Murray. At least the governor knows how to spell her name.
Isn't that just cute! Now get the Demwit out of office!
My favorite picture of Governor Fraudoire.
Oh GAWD. That one needs a warning first.
Sorry. If only I could have graphically portrayed hands held at right angles with forefingers touching at the second knuckle. LOL.
SKANK.
Pizza after effects?
Her husband wanted the anchovies and she must have gotten one on her side of the pepperoni special.
Is that Beavis?
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