Governor of Washington

Washington Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
2011-2013 FY Budget:	$12,105,000
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Washington Constitution, Article III, Section 2
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Name:	Jay Inslee
Officeholder Party:	Democratic
Assumed office:	January 16, 2013
Compensation:	$166,891
Elections
Next election:	November 8, 2016
Last election:	November 6, 2012
Other Washington Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education• • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner• Natural Resources Commissioner• Labor Commissioner• Public Service Commissioner

The Governor of the State of Washington is an elected Constitutional officer, the head of the Executive branch, and the highest state office in Washington. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and has no term limit.

Current officeholder

The 23rd and current governor is Jay Inslee, a Democrat elected in 2012. He succeeded Christine Gregoire (D) on January 16, 2013.

Authority

The Constitution of Washington addresses the office of the governor in Article III, the Executive.

Under Article III, Section 2:

The supreme executive power of this state shall be vested in a governor...

Constitutional provisions

The constitutional duties, rights and responsibilities of the Office of the Governor of the State of Washington are primarily laid out in Article III of the Washington State Constitution. Article III has been amended two times since the constitution was approved in 1889. Two of these amendments are relevant to the governor's prerogatives:

Former Washington Governor Dixy Lee Ray's 1977 oath of office, from the Washington State Digital Archives collection of oath documents dating back to 1854.

• State of Washington Constitutional Amendment 6, Gubernatorial Vacancies (1910)
• State of Washington Constitutional Amendment 62, Gubernatorial Vetoes (1974)

Qualifications

A candidate for governor must be:

• a citizen of the United States
• a qualified elector of the state of Washington

Elections

See also: Washington gubernatorial election, 2012

Washington elects governors in the Presidential elections, that is, in leap years. For Washington, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 are all gubernatorial election years. Legally, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for noon on the second Monday in January following the election. Thus, January 14, 2013 and January 14, 2019 are inaugural days.

In the event of a tie between two candidates, a joint session of the legislature shall cast ballots to choose among the two highest vote getters.

In the event of a contested election, the legislature shall resolve the issue in the manner set out by law.

2012

Christine Gregoire (D) did not run for re-election in 2012. Jay Inslee (D) narrowly defeated Republican attorney general Rob McKenna in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Governor of Washington General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jay Inslee	51.5%	1,582,802
	Republican	Rob McKenna	48.5%	1,488,245
Total Votes				3,071,047
Election Results via Washington Secretary of State.

Governors
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 Lists of candidates
Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010
Breaking news

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

Washington governors do not face any term limits.

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Washington from 1992-2013.

Vacancies

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancy appointments are addressed under Article III, Section 10 of the state constitution.

Whenever the sitting Governor dies, resigns, is removed or impeached, or is unable to discharge the office, the duties shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor. After the Lieutenant Governor, the order of succession is as follows:

• the Secretary of State
• the Treasurer
• the Auditor
• the Attorney General
• the Superintendent of Public Instruction
• the Commissioner of Public Lands

If a Governor-elect dies, resigns, declines to take the office, or is disqualified, the Lieutenant Governor-elect shall take office as the Governor. If the Governor-elect is only temporarily unable to take the oath, the Lieutenant Governor-elect serves as Acting Governor until the disability is removed. If both the Governor-elect and the Lieutenant Governor-elect are unable to take the oath, same line of succession listed above applies.

If the Governor dies, resigns, is removed or if the Governor's disability is permanent and more than two years remain in the current term, a special election is held at the next general election, unless the next general election is less than 30 days away, in which case the special election is moved to the following general election.

Duties

John Spellman was the last Republican governor of Washington as of 2013.

The governor is responsible for ensuring that the laws of the state are faithfully executed (§ 5) and is responsible for the safety of the state, as he or she serves as commander-in-chief of the Washington Militia (§ 8).

Additionally, the governor has the power to appoint heads of departments, agencies, and institutions. The governor is also responsible for presenting the state budget.

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

• Requiring written information from any state officer any aspect of her duties and office (§ 5)

• Addressing each session of the legislature on the state of state and making recommendations (§ 6)

• Convening extraordinary sessions of the General Assembly (§ 7)

• Granting pardons (§ 9)

• Remitting fines and forfeitures (§ 11)

• Vetoing bills, subject to a two-thirds legislative override (§ 12)

• Filling vacancies in all offices not otherwise provided for, including making recess appointments (§ 13)

State budget

The budget for the Governor's Office in Fiscal Year 2011-2013 was $12,105,000.

Compensation

See also: Comparison of gubernatorial salaries and Compensation of state executive officers

In 2012, the Governor of Washington was paid an estimated $166,891 according to the Council of State Governments.

The governor's salary is set by law and may not be raised or diminished effective during the current term.

Contact information

Office of the Governor
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002

Phone: 360-902-4111
Fax: 360-753-4110

See also

• Jay Inslee, Current Governor of Washington
• Lieutenant Governor of Washington
• Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen
• Washington Attorney General
• Washington Secretary of State

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Washington

Partisan breakdown of the Washington governorship from 1992-2013

Throughout every year from 1992-2013 there were Democratic governors in office for Washington. Washington is one of seven states that were run by a Democratic governor for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992-2013.

Across the country, there were 493 years of Democratic governors (44.82%) and 586 years of Republican governors (53.27%) from 1992-2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states have divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Washington, the Washington State Senate and the Washington House of Representatives from 1992-2013.

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Washington Governor
• About the office of the Washington Governor