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Western Governors Association

Group of American governors in western states and territories

Group of American governors in western states and territories

The Western Governors' Association (WGA) is a non-partisan organization of all 22 United States governors (representing 19 U.S. states and 3 U.S. territories) that are considered to be part of the Western region of the nation.

The WGA also invites Canadian premiers (the leader of the provincial parliamentary party) of Western Canada to its annual conference.

Western Governors University, an autonomous private non-profit online university, was co-founded by Western governors from a plan that originated in WGA meetings in the 1990s.

Mission

The WGA addresses important policy and governance issues in the West, advances the role of the Western states in the federal system, and strengthens the social and economic fabric of the region.

WGA develops policy and carries out programs in the areas of natural resources, the environment, human services, economic development, international relations and state governance.

WGA acts as a center of innovation and promotes shared development of solutions to regional problems.

Strategies

The WGA takes up issues using six basic strategies:

  • Develop and Communicate Regional Policy
    • The WGA enables governors to identify issues of regional concern, to formulate regional policy for those issues, and to take action that promotes Western interests.
  • Serve as a Leadership Forum
    • The WGA provides a forum for governors and other leaders to exchange ideas, positions and experiences.
  • Build Regional Capacity
    • Through the WGA, governors and their staffs exchange information and ideas about problem solving for a wide range of practical management concerns. The exchange helps governors manage their resources more efficiently, for example, when they procure services jointly and share development costs for new programs. The exchange also helps build rapport among governors, cabinet officers and gubernatorial staffs in the region.
  • Conduct Research and Disseminate Findings
    • The WGA develops and maintains up-to-date information on a wide range of subjects important to Western policy-makers, business leaders and educators. WGA produces occasional white papers, reports and other analyses used in the development of policy on matters important to the West.
  • Form Coalitions and Partnerships to Advance Regional Interests
    • Through the WGA, Western governors form coalitions to collectively express their positions on matters of shared interest, and together advocate a Western agenda before Congress and the executive branch of the federal government.
  • Build Public Understanding and Support for Regional Issues and Policy Positions
    • Through its annual convention, meetings, media briefings, resolutions and background papers, the WGA provides timely information for the public.

List of current Western governors

The current chair of the WGA is Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and the vice chair is Republican Spencer Cox of Utah.

Current governorStatePastPartyAssumed officeTerm ending
Mike DunleavyAlaskaListRepublican20182026 (term-limited)
Pula Nikolao PulaAmerican SamoaListRepublican20252029
Katie HobbsArizonaListDemocratic20232027
Gavin NewsomCaliforniaListDemocratic20192027 (term-limited)
Jared PolisColoradoListDemocratic20192027 (term-limited)
Lou Leon GuerreroGuamListDemocratic20192027 (term-limited)
Josh GreenHawaiiListDemocratic20222026
Brad LittleIdahoListRepublican20192027
Laura KellyKansasListDemocratic20192027 (term-limited)
Greg GianforteMontanaListRepublican20212029 (term-limited)
Jim PillenNebraskaListRepublican20232027
Joe LombardoNevadaListRepublican20232027
Michelle Lujan GrishamNew MexicoListDemocratic20192027 (term-limited)
David M. ApatangNorthern Mariana IslandsListIndependent20252027
Kelly ArmstrongNorth DakotaListRepublican20242028
Kevin StittOklahomaListRepublican20192027 (term-limited)
Tina KotekOregonListDemocratic20232027
Larry RhodenSouth DakotaListRepublican20252027
Greg AbbottTexasListRepublican20152027
Spencer CoxUtahListRepublican20212029
Bob FergusonWashingtonListDemocratic20252029
Mark GordonWyomingListRepublican20192027 (term-limited)

The premiers of Canada's Western provinces are also typically invited to attend WGA meetings.

Current premierProvincePastPartyAssumed office
David EbyBritish ColumbiaListNew Democratic2022
Wab KinewManitobaListNew Democratic2023
Scott MoeSaskatchewanListSaskatchewan Party2018

References

References

  1. [https://calgaryherald.com/business/fp/Stelmach+takes+Alberta+energy+message/1684735/story.html]{{dead link. (May 2018)
  2. "Our Governors".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

state-governors-of-the-united-states government-related-professional-associations-in-the-united-states western-united-states canada-united-states-paradiplomacy
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