Booth Gardner

Infobox Governor
name = Booth Gardner


imagesize =100px
order = 19th
office = Governor of Washington
term_start = 1985
term_end = 1993
lieutenant = Joel Pritchard
predecessor = John Spellman
successor = Mike Lowry
birth_date = Birth date and age|1936|8|21|mf=y
birth_place = Tacoma, Washington
death_date =
death_place =
party = Democrat
spouse = Jean Gardner (divorced)
Cynthia Gardner (divorced)
profession =
religion =

Booth Gardner (born August 21, 1936) an heir to the Weyerhaeuser fortune, was the Governor of the U.S state of Washington between 1985 and 1993. He also served as the ambassador of the GATT. He is a Democrat. Before serving as governor, Gardner was Pierce County Executive. His service was notable for advancing standards-based education and environmental protection.

His stepfather is Norton Clapp, one of the original owners of the Seattle Space Needle.

After his retirement, Gardner was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. He has become an advocate and promised to spearhead a campaign to pass an assisted dying law in Washington state, similar to Oregon's Death with Dignity law (see Oregon Death with Dignity Act), and worked to have Initiative 1000 appear on the 2008 statewide ballot in Washington.citation |last=Ammons |first=David |title='Assisted death' drive pledged | newspaper=The Seattle Post-Intelligencer |year=2006 |date=February 7, 2006 |url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/258607_gardner07.html] Gardner has said, somewhat controversially, that he wants to support a Washington law with fewer constraints than the Oregon law.citation |last=Bergner |first=Daniel |title=Death in the Family | newspaper=The New York Times |year=2007 |date=December 2, 2007 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/magazine/02suicide-t.html?pagewanted=1]

Gardner has also come out in support of eliminating Washington's WASL test, a standardized test required to graduate high school.citation |last=Shaw |first=Linda |title=Former governor now opposing WASL test for diploma | newspaper=The Seattle Times |year=2005 |date=December 9, 2005 |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002673317_gardner09m.html]

References

External links

*cite web |title=Washington Governor Booth Gardner |url=http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=cb57ae3effb81010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD|accessdate=2007-12-01