Gov. Bob Ferguson's salary frozen for 2 years after state workers go without raises." (KOMO News)

What We Found

The freeze: on Oct. 15, 2026, the Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials adopted a proposed salary schedule that keeps the governor's pay flat for two years. The attorney general and lieutenant governor would be frozen too.

Not final yet: the commission will take public comment at virtual hearings Nov. 12, Dec. 10 and Jan. 7, and takes final action at a Feb. 10, 2027 hearing in Olympia, where it can still revise the schedule.

Why: commissioners cited the state's tight finances and the new two-year contracts Ferguson's administration negotiated with state worker unions, which include no across-the-board wage increase or cost-of-living adjustment.

Context: legislators ($72,494 now), judges and several statewide offices would still get 2% raises on July 1, 2027 and 2028; the secretary of state, insurance commissioner and state auditor would get 5% a year. In 2024 the commission raised the governor's and AG's pay 14% over two years (the second step took effect July 2026, bringing Ferguson to $234,275). The commission, created by voters in 1987, can't cut the pay of anyone in office, and elected officials can't change what it sets.

Sources

1. KOMO News (via Yahoo News) (opens in new tab)
2. Washington State Standard (Oct. 15, 2026) (opens in new tab)
3. The Seattle Times (opens in new tab)
4. MyNorthwest (opens in new tab)
5. WA Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials, meetings (opens in new tab)
6. WA State Standard (Sept. 28, 2026), WFSE ratifies 2027-29 contract with no pay hike (opens in new tab)
7. OFM 2027-29 collective bargaining submittal (opens in new tab)