Former Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat who held the office from 2005 to 2013, delivered an unusually sharp warning to current state leaders over taxes, spending and the business climate.
Speaking at the Association of Washington Business 2026 Summit, Gregoire said Washington’s budget has grown dramatically since she left office, according to KXLY-TV.
“I left office with a budget of $33 billion, and the budget today is $80 billion. I think that’s a little bit too much of a growth,” Gregoire said, according to the report.
She argued that the state’s problem is not a lack of revenue, but what it is doing with the money it already collects.
“And yet how we find ourselves at the end of every legislative session now is in the hole and projected to be in the hole,” Gregoire said.
A Warning From Inside the Democratic Tent
Gregoire’s criticism stands out because Democrats currently control the Washington House, Senate and governor’s office. Her remarks were not a Republican attack from the outside, but a warning from a former Democratic governor who now leads Challenge Seattle, a coalition of business leaders.
According to KXLY, Gregoire said taxpayers are not seeing results that justify the growing burden.
“All too often, what we’re finding is, we’re paying the tax and things are getting worse. So how do we answer to that?” she said.
At the same summit, a moderator asked whether lawmakers understand how the state’s policy environment affects the economy, according to KIRO-FM.
“No,” Gregoire replied. “I really don’t.”
Estate Tax Fight Becomes a Flashpoint
Gregoire pointed specifically to Washington’s estate tax as an example of policy she believes is going too far.
“I argued with some folks about the estate tax. We were the highest in the country, tied with Hawaii at 20 percent. We went to 35 percent. We’re not just the highest. We’re beyond the highest,” she said, according to KIRO-FM.
Seattle Red reported that Gregoire warned higher taxes could drive some residents out of Washington, cutting off other sources of revenue and charitable giving.
“When they leave, they stop paying cap gains. When they leave, they stop giving significantly to philanthropy, which would otherwise be necessary by government. So do you understand? Do you see the consequences of what you’re doing?” Gregoire said, according to Seattle Red.
‘One More Tax, One More Rule’
Gregoire said Washington’s elected leaders are responding to budget pressure by piling on new costs and mandates.
“I would suggest to you we don’t really have an income problem. We have a spending problem, and we’re answering it by stacking one more tax, one more rule, one more regulation,” she said.
She added that businesses need a stable policy environment, not constant uncertainty.
“And the one thing that the business community doesn’t need is that lack of predictability,” Gregoire said.
Gregoire also questioned how many Democratic lawmakers have direct business experience, arguing that those who have not worked in business may not understand the impact of policies they pass.
“If you haven’t come from it, you don’t know it, you don’t understand it,” she said.
Her proposed answer was for the business community to explain the consequences of state policy more clearly, including how taxes aimed at large companies can also hit small businesses and customers.
