Gov. Chris Gregoire just announced via press release that Carol Cockrill Albert will be her new director of external affairs, a post formerly held by Marty Loesch (who was bumped to chief of staff when Jay Manning left).

Albert has worked for a number of state and national campaigns over the past 20 years. She was on the Clinton-Gore transition team and lead Washington state’s efforts to elect Barack Obama.

Gregoire said Albert will be a perfect match for her “bold, aggressive agenda” for the next 17 months. (She’s already announced she won’t run for re-election.)

She begins work Aug. 8.

Tags: Governor, staff

Tags: Governor, Inslee

The Seattle Times is reporting that Congressman Jay Inslee will announce early next week that he’s running for Governor. You can read the full story, which was verified via someone with “direct knowledge” of Inslee’s plans, here.

Attorney General Rob McKenna, a Republican, has already announced his candidacy. When Gov. Chris Gregoire announced she won’t run for a third term, she said she’s support Inslee’s bid for her job.

Tags: Governor, Gregoire, Inslee, McKenna

Today at 2:30, Gov. Chris Gregoire will hold another bill signing — at this one, she’ll be signing the budget.

TVW will be live with the action, and I’ll be blogging along right here. See you then!

Tags: Budget, Governor

Also: Congressman Jay Inslee told TVW today that he appreciates the governor’s service during the recession. As for whether he’s up for taking over the job: “Today is her day. I will make my intentions on the Governor’s race known shortly.”

Tags: 2012, Governor, Inslee

Gov. Chris Gregoire’s office just sent out notice that at 10 a.m., she’ll announce her “future plans.” The announcement will take place at the Governor’s mansion.

We’ll post updates as soon as we have more details!

Update: The AP is reporting that Gregoire will not run for re-election.

TVW will be in the mansion taping the announcement and will get it online and on-air as soon as possible.

Update 2: Gov. Chris Gregoire, surrounded by family, announced that she will not seek re-election. She said for the next 18 months of her term, she’ll work hard to ensure the state gets out of the recession. After that, she has no plans — except maybe taking a break to get to spend some time with her family.

I’ll post the video here as soon as we have it up.

Tags: Governor

Attorney General Rob McKenna announced tonight that he’s officially entering the race for governor. During the announcement, at his former high school, McKenna told the crowd that he wanted to create a government that matches the state’s “spirit for innovation.”

McKenna said government has overpromised during good times, then had to make drastic cuts during hard times, according to a news release sent out by his campaign. He wants to turn that around by focusing on creating jobs, reforming state government and improving the state’s public schools.

Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Gregoire said recently that she’ll announce whether she’ll run again soon.

Tags: Governor, McKenna

We’re still wrapping up legislative coverage — you can watch our one-hour Legislative Year in Review starting Friday evening — but campaign news is already coming fast and filing week starts in just a few days.

First, if you tuned into TVW’s Sine Die coverage last week, you learned that Sen. Phil Rockefeller will be leaving his seat to take a position on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (a position he was appointed to by Gov. Chris Gregoire). But you also learned that he’s recommending Rep. Christine Rolfes for his seat. She told the Bainbridge Island Review that she’s interested in the position. The Kitsap County Democratic Central Committee will choose three candidates and the county commissioners will make the choice.

And Denny Heck has decided to run for Congress again — in a yet undetermined district. As Brad Shannon reports, his Thurston County home could end up in a new 10th Congressional District that’s being hashed out now by the bipartisan Redistricting Commission. The Redistricting Commission is traveling the state holding public hearings now, which you can watch on TVW.

And former state Rep. Laura Ruderman has decided that if U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee runs for governor, she’ll run for his seat in Congress. You can read more about that on Jerry Cornfield’s blog here. Cornfield also notes that Rep. Marko Liias announced last month that he’s forming an exploratory committee to consider a run.

Now, what about Gov. Chris Gregoire? Will she be running for re-election in 2012? She said on Sine Die that she’s given it “absolutely zero” thought.

Tags: 2012, campaigns, elections, Governor, House, Senate

Gov. Chris Gregoire just held a press conference to discuss the end of the regular legislative session and the timing of the special session. She was joined by the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and the House.

The governor said she will call lawmakers back in for a special session beginning Tuesday at 9 a.m., with the purpose of finding agreement on the two budgets (Operating and Capital) and passing the bills necessary to implement their plans.

“They have done it in a way that is responsive to the people of Washington,” said Gregoire. She said that in addition to the budget, they must act on workers’ compensation reform. “I congratulate them on the hard work they have invested thus far.”

“This legislature has come together and it has done so in the toughest of times,” said Gregoire.

Several of the proposals she made at the beginning of the session, she said, were met with bipartisan support and acted on immediately. For example, Gregoire said, lawmakers worked to get extend unemployment benefits, give injured workers better health care and pass the Launch Year Act.

The governor said the TransAlta bill showed the legislature’s commitment to the state’s environment and future.

She congratulated both the House and the Senate for passing the Transportation Budget earlier today.

Total bill count is down from the past, said Gregoire. By the end of the day she will have signed 161 bills. As tempting has it might have been,  the governor said, they did not start new programs that demanded funding.

(more…)

Tags: Governor, special session

Gov. Chris Gregoire is holding a press conference now on the economic and revenue forecast (see below). You can watch live on TVW.org now.

“The size of the shortfall means we cannot trim our way out of it,” she said. “Everybody will sacrifice … we cannot wait for better numbers,” she said. “In 2009, we hoped that things would turn. In 2010, we hoped that things would turn. In 2011 … and they haven’t.”

“This must be a year of decision, not of deferral,” she said. “We need a budget that is both sustainable and long-term.” Speaking of: The 25th month, she said, is not sustainable. She said the last time it was used, “it took us 16 years — 8 full biennial budgets — to buy back that quick fix loan.”

How about securitization? “In 2002, the legislature borrowed money by securitization of tobacco payments … but quick cash is expensive.” She said the quick fixes look good now, but won’t in years to come.

“Two last reminders to myself, if no one else: In November, the voters told us decisively that they do not accept new taxes,” she said. And second, the legislature must balance the budget.

Asked about taxes, she said “what do we want to tax? … it’s much easier said than done.”

As for other revenue sources, like gambling? “I don’t like gambling … but I’m not going to remove gambling. I’m not going to remove liquor,” she said, adding that she’s not taking anything off the table. “They’ve given us an early heads up, there will be proposals,” she said.

She said releasing offenders early is “the last place I’d go.” She said Washington has truth in sentencing, plus she doesn’t want to do anything that would put the state’s residents in fear.

On the subject of marijuana: “The people of the state said that they wanted medical marijuana,” she said, and so she’s in favor of the Senate bill, with some “clean up.” But she said the House bill to legalize and tax marijuana is “of little interest” to her.

Workers’ comp: She said she’s concerned with a House bill that would allow retrospective rating groups to manage some claims.

Tags: Budget, Governor, revenue, shortfall