
Ferguson’s earliest roots trace back to Seattle. A fourth-generation Washingtonian, Ferguson grew up in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood and attended Bishop Blanchett High School. Later on, he ventured towards the University of Washington for his undergraduate career. Ferguson excelled academically and served as the president of the student body government for the institution and soon graduated from UW with a Political Science degree, prompting him to enroll in New York University’s School of Law, where he earned a Juris Doctor. Around this time, Ferguson involved himself in public service work. He briefly worked for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest, tutoring children and leading an emergency services office. Ferguson, thanks to a public interest grant, was also able to support both tribal litigants and death row inmates in Arizona.
After obtaining his doctorate at NYU, Ferguson relocated past the Cascades, beginning his legal career in Spokane. He briefly worked as a clerk for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington before returning to Seattle as a litigator for K&L Gates LLP. He worked at the firm for four years before shifting gears and running as a King County councilman.
As councilman, Ferguson represented Council District One. Throughout his tenure, Ferguson led and advocated several civic works, including efforts toward mental illness and drug addiction, youth gang prevention, land preservation, and labor wages.
Ferguson’s councilman career ended in 2012 once he ran for Washington State’s Attorney General and won, defeating Republican councilman Reagan Dunn. His role as state AG was relatively straightforward; representing the state in legal cases, acting as an advisor towards the governor and other legislatures, investigating and prosecuting liable organizations and individuals, and the like.
Ferguson involved himself with several well-known cases, such as him and Jay Inslee suing Donald Trump and his administration in 2017 for enforcing Executive Order 13769, which prohibited Middle Eastern refugees from entering the United States for ninety days. Ferguson was successful in suing the administration – the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled in his favor, allowing him to enforce a temporary restraining order on the ban.
Another well-known case Ferguson was involved in was the Arlene’s Flowers lawsuit. The case’s context was that a store owner refused to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding, prompting Ferguson to file a consumer protection lawsuit, which is designed to protect customers from unsafe work practices. Proceedings between the two parties were lengthy, spanning six years, before the Washington Supreme Court made a final ruling against the store owner.
In September 2023, Ferguson announced his bid to run for state governor.
Although well-regarded by many, he faced backlash throughout his campaign for several reasons. For one, he was under criticism for his management of his surplus campaign contributions of $1.2 million. This led to several complaints filed against him by the Washington State Public Discourse Commission, though they were quickly dismissed. Another instance was him facing ridicule from Washington State Senator and Democrat Mark Mullet for his previous comments on supporting drug decriminalization.
During the final stages of Ferguson’s campaign, and ultimately, the race for state governor, he faced Republican and former state representative, Dave Reichert. In Nov. 2024, Ferguson won the election against Reichert 55.96% to 43.86 %.
What does he want for Washington State? A few key things Ferguson strives towards:
Abortion and reproductive healthcare is a facet that Ferguson strongly advocates towards, and it was a focal point for the majority of his gubernatorial campaign. Ferguson has been leading a fight to lessen abortion pill restrictions, specifically with the abortion drug mifepristone, which is limited under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy. Recently, Ferguson signed Executive Order 25-01, which calls for the state’s Department of Health to assemble medical providers, health experts and lawmakers in finding ways to protect and ease access to reproductive care in the United States.
Affordable housing is another area Ferguson aims to address and hopefully reinvigorate during his term as Governor. Following the executive order on reproductive healthcare, he signed Executive Order 25-02, specifically focusing on the State’s future expansion for affordable housing. This order requires all executive and state agencies to assess any rules, regulations and potential discrepancies that could impact the construction of new housing.
Public safety and residential affordability are of main interests as well. On Jan. 9, days before inauguration, Ferguson proposed $480 million to ensure free school lunches, and an additional $100 million to amplify childcare eligibility for employees of small businesses. Simultaneously, Feguson arranged a program to increase the number of efficient law enforcement officers in Washington State to improve public safety.
Although some areas of concern were covered, this is barely scraping the surface of Ferguson’s broad agenda. His vision for the state goes much further than these key issues mentioned above. Additional information on Ferguson’s plan for the state can be learned through his website.