Bob Ferguson (politician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bob Ferguson
Ferguson in 2023
24th Governor of Washington
Incumbent
Assumed office January 15, 2025
Lieutenant	Denny Heck
Preceded by	Jay Inslee
18th Attorney General of Washington
In office January 16, 2013 – January 15, 2025
Governor	Jay Inslee
Preceded by	Rob McKenna
Succeeded by	Nick Brown
Chair of the King County Council
In office November 24, 2009 – January 16, 2013
Preceded by	Dow Constantine
Succeeded by	Larry Gossett
Member of the King County Council
In office January 1, 2004 – January 16, 2013
Preceded by	Cynthia Sullivan
Succeeded by	Rod Dembowski
Constituency	2nd district (2004–2006) 1st district (2006–2013)
Personal details
Born	Robert Watson Ferguson (1965-02-23) February 23, 1965 (age 60) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Colleen Ferguson
Children	2
Residence	Governor's Mansion
Education	University of Washington (BA) New York University (JD)

Robert Watson Ferguson (born February 23, 1965) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2025 as the 24th governor of Washington. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2013 to 2025 as the 18th attorney general of Washington, from 2004 to 2013 as a member of the King County Council, and from 2009 to 2013 as the council's chair.

Ferguson was elected governor of Washington in 2024, defeating Republican nominee Dave Reichert.

Early life and education

Ferguson was born in Seattle in 1965, the son of Murray and Betty (Hausmann) Ferguson. He is a fourth-generation Washingtonian, whose great-grandparents homesteaded on the Skagit River in the 19th century, near what is now Marblemount. He graduated from Bishop Blanchet High School in 1983 and attended the University of Washington, where he was elected student body president. After college, Ferguson joined Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest and directed an emergency services office for a year.

Ferguson earned a Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law. During law school, he received a grant to provide legal assistance to the Yaqui tribe in Guadalupe, Arizona. Ferguson lived in Guadalupe for a time, assisting community members on a wide range of legal matters.

Career

After graduating from law school, Ferguson began his legal career in Spokane, where he clerked for Chief Judge William Fremming Nielsen of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, who was appointed by George H. W. Bush. He then clerked for Judge Myron H. Bright of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, who was appointed by Lyndon Johnson.

After his clerkship, Ferguson returned to Seattle and joined Preston Gates & Ellis (now K&L Gates) as a litigator, representing individuals, businesses, local governments, and Washington corporations. Ferguson worked with the legal team that defended taxpayers from paying for cost overruns associated with Safeco Field construction. He was also part of the legal team that challenged the constitutionality of Tim Eyman's initiatives.

Ferguson worked on cases involving software piracy and sued companies that stole intellectual property from Washington companies. He also donated hundreds of hours of free legal advice to nonprofit organizations. For example, he assisted Kruckeberg Botanic Garden Foundation as legal counsel to turn a six-acre garden into a public park in Shoreline.

After four years at Preston Gates & Ellis, Ferguson decided to run for the King County Council.

King County Council

Elections

Ferguson was elected to the King County Council in 2003, defeating Cynthia Sullivan, a 20-year veteran of the council, by about 500 votes. At the time, the council was elected on a partisan basis. Ferguson faced no general election opponent in the heavily Democratic district. During his campaign to unseat Sullivan, Ferguson knocked on 22,000 doors in the district.

As a result of the council reduction, redistricting placed Ferguson in the same district as another Democratic county councilmember, Carolyn Edmonds of Shoreline. Ferguson narrowly defeated Edmonds and went on to defeat Republican challenger Steven Pyeatt in the general election with about 74% of the vote.

Tenure

Ferguson represented Council District 1, which includes northeast Seattle, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell, Kirkland, and part of Woodinville. During his time on the Council, he chaired the Regional Policy and Law, Justice and Human Services Committees and twice chaired the Law and Justice Committee. In 2005, he co-sponsored legislation to place a ballot measure before King County voters to generate revenue to improve health services for veterans and military personnel. Voters approved the measure and renewed it in 2011.

When King County Executive's office proposed spending $6.8 million for new furniture for the new county office building, Ferguson pushed the county to buy used furniture instead, saving taxpayers more than $1 million.

Ferguson led the effort to raise $50 million annually to assist those suffering from mental illness. He received the Booth Gardner Mental Health Champion award from Sound Mental Health in 2011. Ferguson successfully fought for $5 million to fund public health clinics in Northgate and Bothell that were threatened with closure.

Ferguson served on the Youth Justice Coordinating Council on Gangs. He pushed for civilian oversight of the King County Sheriff's office. In 2006, he helped lead the effort to create permanent oversight in the King County Sheriff's office.

He sponsored the Open Space Preservation Act, which protects 100,000 acres of open space. Ferguson authored legislation that prevents King County from doing business with companies known to repeatedly violate wage theft laws.

In 2007, Ferguson co-sponsored legislation increasing the sales tax by 0.1% to expand mental health and therapeutic court programs to reduce costly and unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice system by the mentally ill, and to save lives. The council approved the measure in a bipartisan vote. In 2009, Ferguson co-sponsored bipartisan legislation that called on the executive to streamline the county's procurement process. He and Kathy Lambert co-sponsored legislation that eliminated 15 pages of paper forms required to contract with King County (Ordinance 2010-0186).

Ferguson also worked to reform county government by connecting workers' wages to the economy, leading the Seattle Times to write, "This is brand new, necessary stuff in a county that can ill afford the existing approach. These changes would not be possible without the hard work of Republican Kathy Lambert and Council Chairman Bob Ferguson…Ferguson is taking considerable heat from labor for sticking his neck out on policies that may be anathema to his constituents. Ferguson's work should inspire other Democrats on the council to join him in moving the county forward to the 21st century."

Ferguson co-sponsored legislation promoting the use of small businesses in fulfilling county contracts. (Ordinance 2007-0146). In 2011, he co-sponsored legislation creating a "Small Business Accelerator" program. He declined to take a pay raise during tough economic times. Ferguson also helped lead the effort for an independent audit of the county's election office.

In 2010, Ferguson sponsored a ballot measure that would increase the sales tax to provide additional revenues to King County. Proposition No. 1 Sales and Use Tax. The measure failed, 54.9% to 45.1%. He wrote the law that reformed the county's public records process to ensure that citizens can easily obtain records and monitor their government.

Ferguson received the Landmark Deeds Award for Public Service by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Center for Human Services selected Ferguson as the 2008 recipient of its annual Dorrit Pealy Award for Outstanding Community Service. Food Lifeline gave him a Special Appreciation Award at its annual Ending Hunger Awards luncheon. In 2010, Ferguson was selected to join the Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowship, a program that brings together the nation's most promising political leaders.

Attorney General of Washington

Elections

In 2012, Ferguson was elected the 18th attorney general of Washington State, defeating fellow King County Council member Reagan Dunn with 53.5% of the vote to Dunn's 46.5%. He won even though an out-of-state group spent an unprecedented amount to support Dunn. During the campaign, Ferguson visited all 39 Washington state counties.

In 2016, Ferguson faced only Joshua Trumbull, a Libertarian with no political experience. Ferguson spent little of the money he had raised for the campaign and was reelected, 67% to 33%. He garnered the most votes of any state candidate and carried 37 of the state's 39 counties.

In 2020, Ferguson faced Matt Larkin, a political newcomer and strong Trump supporter, who said that Ferguson was too soft on crime and criticized his legal challenges of the Trump administration. Ferguson was reelected, 56% to 43%.

Tenure

Ferguson sued the Trump administration 97 times, leading 36 of the cases, winning 22 times and losing once.

2024 Washington gubernatorial campaign

Ferguson announced his candidacy for governor in September 2023. His management of more than $1 million in surplus campaign contributions drew scrutiny and criticism. In May 2024, State Senator Mark Mullet filed an ethics complaint against Ferguson claiming that Ferguson used his office to influence a decision on candidate ballot ordering in the secretary of state's office.

Ferguson’s campaign benefited from a massive advantage in Super PAC spending against Republican nominee Dave Reichert. In November 2024, Ferguson won the general election.

Governor of Washington

Ferguson was sworn in as governor on January 15, 2025. He signed three executive orders on his first day in office: directing a review of regulations that affect housing, addressing reproductive freedom, and permitting reform.

In May 2025, Ferguson signed a $9 billion package of tax increases, acknowledging that the increases contradicted statements that he previously made against tax hikes.

Personal life

Ferguson and his wife Colleen

Ferguson is an enthusiastic mountain climber, backpacker, and birder, and has hiked hundreds of miles of Washington trails and climbed many of the state's highest peaks. After college, he traveled around the country to see a baseball game in every major league stadium.

Ferguson is a chess master. His games have appeared in local, national, and international chess publications, and he has twice won the Washington State Chess Championship. In 2014, he had a 2146 rating, and he currently holds a 2232 FIDE rating.

Ferguson and his wife, Colleen, live in the Washington Governor's Mansion in Olympia with their two children. Ferguson is Catholic.

In 2017, Ferguson was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.

Electoral history

See also

In Spanish: Bob Ferguson para niños