The camaraderie among Western Governors was on full display at WGA’s 2024 Winter Meeting in Las Vegas this week (Dec. 9-10).

Their interactions highlighted the strong relationships they’ve built with one another while developing effective bipartisan solutions for many of the region’s most critical issues.  

"This organization operates in what I would argue, isn't really bipartisan anymore, it's nonpartisan," WGA's Chair and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said. "We are having constructive conversations with experts from across the country, engaging both public and private sector individuals and organizations. We ask tough questions and work together to find meaningful solutions to these problems."

The effectiveness of their collaboration was evident in the Governors’ approval of five bipartisan policy resolutions focused on air quality, compensatory mitigation, energy, health care, and workforce development.

"As we know, if we act independently instead of together, our voices are often unheard [in Washington, D.C.],” Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo said. “But together, we have the momentum to create change in the western United States and address the issues we face in common."

Over the course of the two-day meeting, the Governors continued their bipartisan, and as Governor Lujan Grisham pointed out, nonpartisan work during public policy discussions about permitting reform, the use of public lands for housing developments, and insuring homes against wildfire.

“If I may offer a word of mahalo, which is a word for thanks, from Hawaii to these good Governors, and all of you who stepped up when we had our wildfire back about 15 months ago,” Hawaii Governor Josh Green said. “I learned a lot from the Governors who have wrestled with wildfires… It made a big difference to have mentors instructing us how to best begin to recover.”

The Governors also discussed strategies for improving access to health care in rural areas and addressing health concerns related to natural disasters with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra.

Finally, the Governors spoke with Steve Inskeep, the host of NPR’s Morning Edition and First Up, as well as the author of the recent book Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America, about what lessons they could take from President Lincoln – especially as it relates to healing this country’s partisan divide and overcoming political disagreements.  

Interspersed among in-depth policy discussions, the seven attending Governors engaged in lighthearted debates about which state had the best football teams and green chili as they attended the National Finals Rodeo and visited with students and teachers at Mission High School – the nation’s first publicly-funded high school designed for students in recovery from substance abuse.