Friend,

Jay doesn't love talking about himself. He prefers to focus on the issues. But I thought you might want to know a little about the man I've been married to for the last (almost!) 47 years.

Jay and I met in Spanish class when we were 15 years old. For our first date, we went water skiing on Lake Washington. He was a pro -- it took me awhile. Here we are at our prom:

We return to the water as often as we can. Nothing better than leaning on a log and listening to the waves. (By the way, he still has this hat!)

Even though this photo doesn't show it, our wedding day by Green Lake was a perfect August blue sky day in Seattle. I was the sixth in my family to wear my grandmother's dress. Jay wore a new polyester suit. We had cake and punch in the church basement.

Jay is also the one who introduced me to hiking. I remember thinking, "Why am I wearing a pack and heading uphill?" Here we are with his mom, Adele, and brother, Todd, near Mt. Rainier in the '70's:

Caring about the environment is in Jay's DNA. His favorite childhood memories are of exploring the tide pools with his dad, Frank, who taught biology. And now he loves to explore the beach with our grandkids:

When my mom first met Jay, she told him, "You should go into politics." We just laughed at the time. Turns out, she was right. Jay first ran for the Washington House of Representatives in 1988.

Here's a few photos of the family campaigning for Jay's reelection in 1990. The boys and I have always been really proud of their dad.

In '92, Jay was elected to the US House of Representatives. He knew he might lose his seat if he voted for a ban on assault weapons in '94. It was the right vote; he did lose his seat, but he's never regretted it for a minute. Ever since Jay lost his seat, I've been passionate about sensible gun safety legislation. I also believe every child deserves a safe place to call home and a great education, so I've focused on ending youth homelessness and providing more early learning opportunities.

From 1998 until 2012, Jay served in Congress again. And since 2013, he's been governor of Washington. Together, we decided he should run for president, because we want to do everything we can to solve the climate crisis.

Thanks for letting me tell you a little bit about Jay and our story. And thank you for joining us in the fight to defeat climate change. We can and must do this.

Talk again soon,

Trudi