Upthegrove is a descendant of the Dutch Op den Graeff family. He was born and raised in King County, Washington. He attended Lakeside High School before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in environmental conservation from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a Graduate Certificate in Energy Policy Planning from the University of Idaho. Upthegrove was appointed to the legislature in January 2002 and was elected to a two-year term in November of 2002. He was then re-elected at two-year intervals until running for King County Council. While serving in the Washington House of Representatives, Upthegrove was chair of the Environment Committee and also served on the Local Government and Transportation Committee. He is a former chair of the Select Committee on Puget Sound. He has been involved in education policy, sponsoring and passing legislation to improve the teaching of civics and to better meet the needs of recent immigrant students. The Washington Conservation Voters called Upthegrove "a leader on environmental issues and a rising star in the House." Upthegrove led high-profile environmental initiatives to clean up Puget Sound and to clean up soil at schools and day cares contaminated by a local Asarco copper smelter. The Seattle Times noted that "Upthegrove can bring opposing parties together, a crucial skill in Olympia." The non-partisan Municipal League of King County, which evaluates candidates based on involvement, character, effectiveness and knowledge gave Upthegrove the highest possible rating of "outstanding."
Awards
Upthegrove was one of four recipients of the 2009 Fuse "Sizzle" Awards Mother Jones Award. The award honored the lawmakers for their leadership of a coalition of conservation and labor legislators. Mother Jones was a famous turn of the century labor and community organizer; she was denounced on the floor of the US Senate as the "grandmother of all agitators." Washington Conservation Voters, an environmental non-profit, named Upthegrove their 2011 Legislator of the Year. In 2012, the Kent Chamber of Commerce recognized Upthegrove as their Public Employee of the Year for his work to support local small businesses. The NW Marine Trade Association, which represents hundreds of small businesses, also honored Upthegrove as their 2012 Legislator of the Year.
