Gov. Gregoire addresses the Whidbey Island Chambers of Commerce and Island Economic Development Council

July 21, 2008

*As Written*


Good Afternoon, and thank you, Mary Margaret, for the kind introduction.

Let me just say -- It�s been a real treat to work with Senator Haugen.

This woman knows her stuff -- and if you sit down to talk or negotiate with her -- you had better know your stuff too.

Hands down -- Mary Margaret knows more about transportation than anybody in the Legislature.

She�s my kind of woman, and we�re all well served by her dedication and hard work for 26 years at the Legislature.

(And if you ask nicely � she might do your hair too!)

It�s great to be here on Whidbey Island, and thank you for inviting me. You live in one of the most beautiful parts of Washington, and I always look forward to coming here.

Speaking of that, you know, it�s funny. I didn�t realize until recently that when I go to an event -- it seems there are always a few people who fret that I won�t show up. I don�t know why. I always show up!

(Tell the story about the woman in the restroom. For the punch line, you could say �Oh Shhhh�)

Of course, I can�t come to Coupeville without talking about the state ferry system.

First, let me say that when the State Department of Transportation came under my control during my first year in office, we moved quickly to change the culture of that very large agency.

One thing I learned is that DOT had no plan for retirement or replacement of aging ferries, or of ferry terminal upgrades.

Well, as you know, not long after that, the chickens came home to roost and we found ourselves having to quickly retire our unsafe steel electric-class ferries.

I know this community relied heavily on those ferries for the Port Townsend/Keystone route, and you now are using a vessel on loan from Pierce County, which is less than ideal.
But we are moving quickly to build two new Island Home style vessels for the Port Townsend/Keystone route, and expect to have them on the water in two years.

For now, I want to express my sincere thanks for your patience. And I want to thank Senator Haugen for her advice and support.

Both she and I understand very well the importance of ferry transportation � safe ferry transportation.

Ferries are not charming amenities. They are as vital to our state as roads, bridges, and rails. That has been the compact in Washington from the earliest days of our history. And they make Washington unique.

But we need a better way to finance them. We can�t keep going to the fare box for the answer. We are working on a long-term funding strategy, and we�ll get there.

I also can�t come to this pristine part of Washington without touching on your beautiful marine environment.

Our marine waters are a huge part of our wealth. They�re what bring tourists to Island County � a big part of your bread and butter.
But there�s trouble in paradise. We need to clean up our polluted waters, and this is no easy task. The issue even crosses state and national borders.

I signed an agreement with Premier Campbell to develop a BC/Washington Coastal and Ocean Task Force to work together on our marine issues.

And on July 29th, I, along with Governors Schwarzenegger and Kulongoski, will announce our West Coast Ocean Action plan. We will work together to understand and manage what we do and how it affects the ocean and its resources.

We need to understand why there are �dead zones� in the Hood Canal, and off our coast where species are dying for lack of oxygen.

We also must clean up the storm water and septic systems that pollute our waters and do a whole lot more.

That�s why I created the Puget Sound Partnership � and chose the best leaders I could find to lead the effort to clean up our Sound by 2020. They are working to build an action agenda, due December 1st..

I have asked the Partnership to encourage folks just like you to participate -- as many of you are doing already.
We have a chance to do it right, and I hope all of you will work with me as partners to make the Sound fishable, diggable, and swimmable for our kids and grandkids by 2020.

I want to thank Congressman Norm Dicks for securing $20 million in this year�s federal budget, along with his work on pending legislation to elevate Puget Sound recovery so that the federal government sees it as on par with the recovery of Chesapeake Bay.

Well into my fourth year as governor, I could talk about many other things today too:

I could talk about why the Pew Center on the States finds us one of the three best-managed states in the country.

I could talk about our substantial investments to create a world-class, seamless, learner-focused education system from pre-school through college to make sure our sons, daughters and our grandchildren have the knowledge and skills to thrive in our global economy.

Or, about our fiscal discipline that has left us the envy of other states with a savings account of $800 million going into the next budget year -- while 30 states are in deficit.

Or, about what we�re doing to make health care more affordable, and to make sure every low-income child in Washington has health insurance by 2010, and thousands can buy prescriptions at far cheaper prices.

Or about what we�re doing to make our streets safer, resulting in the lowest crime rate in 14 years.

Or about how we�re offering a gradual solution to high gas prices by moving our state into an economy where we create green-collar jobs and make transportation more affordable by offering alternatives.

Or about how Washington is becoming a center for Global Health research and delivery � through the Gates Foundation and our own state Life Sciences Discovery Fund � to name just two � and through our research hospitals and universities in Seattle and Pullman.

But in the time I have today, I want to share with you some of what we are doing to help us weather the nation�s economic woes.

Things are definitely tough out there right now for Washingtonians � fuel at record prices and grocery budgets that don�t go as far as they should -- tighter credit, which makes the housing market even tougher.

But a highly respected Economist Magazine writer recently confirmed something we already know. And it�s that Washington is still faring better than most for two big reasons...

One is our work to diversify our economy�and the other is our powerful export engine. These are the reasons our economy has created nearly 226,000 jobs since I took office.

By diversity, I don�t mean just the broad types of businesses, but where they are located too � from wineries in Walla Walla and machinery manufacturers in Spokane�

�To the Whidbey Naval Air Station that helps drive the local economy. And congratulations to all of you who helped us convince the federal government that this facility needs to stay!

I have a business plan for Washington � we call it �Next Washington� � and it promotes that diversity, and by the way, it also recognizes that small business is the lifeblood of Washington�s economy.

We have strategies to lower the cost of doing business in Washington, and at the same time make targeted investments to promote small business and commerce.
One way we have directly lowered costs for small business is through lower taxes.

We helped new businesses get off to a good start by reducing unemployment insurance taxes by 15 percent. We also have reduced L&I insurance costs for all businesses by a total of $465 million through a rate holiday last year.

We are embarking on an innovative experiment to help small businesses and their employees get affordable health insurance by combining public and private dollars in the new Washington Health Insurance Partnership.

And of particular interest for Whidbey Island, we have tripled state investment in tourism and, with rising fuel and food costs we�re out there telling Washingtonians -- You need a vacation � in Washington State.

We have made tremendous strides to cut red tape. One obvious example -- We are communicating with folks in simple English. We call it Plain Talk.

You know, sometimes that means something as simple as talking to
people in Plain English.

Let me give you an example.

Imagine you�re sitting at your kitchen table reading the following letter from the Department of Labor and Industries.

"We have been notified that you did not receive the State of Washington warrant listed on the attached Affidavit of Lost or Destroyed Warrant Request for Replacement form F-242."
Does anyone know what that means?

Today that letter has been rewritten, and here�s what it says: "Have you cashed your L&I check yet?�
That�s an example of our Plain Talk program where we are making government communicate in a way you and I can understand. What a concept!

For the first time in 16 years, we have provided funding to our local Economic Development Councils. We�re promoting economic development from the bottom up!

Those are all reasons Forbes Magazine ranked us among the top five states to do business. And Fortune Magazine ranked us in the top five for small businesses.

As the Economist magazine noted, Washington�s other big strength is International Trade.

We have decided not to fight the global economy � but to embrace it and make it work for us.

The fact is, we are a huge export engine, and it�s a big reason that even though times are tougher right now � we�re still in better shape than much of the nation.

I see exports at work every time I fly in a Boeing plane to far-off lands�Check e-mail from back home via Microsoft Outlook�And stop for coffee at a Starbucks on the way to a supermarket to put on an apron and hand out Washington cherries or French fries in Mexico and Korea.

I�ve led five trade missions to 10 different countries since I took office. And that�s not counting my annual trips to Canada.

One example -- In a trade mission to Mexico last year, I and leaders of Pearson Packaging of Spokane met with Grupo Modelo, which makes great Mexican beer including Corona.

Pearson landed itself $2 million in equipment sales to Grupo, and told us later that what made the difference was having the Governor of Washington at the table.

Led by aerospace industry sales, our exports rose to a record of nearly $67 billion last year. In fact, our exports have doubled since 2004, and they have increased by almost 30 percent this year alone. Believe me, that�s not just because of aerospace.

Across the board, exports are up. Our growers are reaping the rewards of a weak dollar and enjoying the benefit of worldwide demand for their products. This is why trade accounts for one in three jobs in Washington!

We have a strategy to keep international trade strong. Let me offer just one result of that strategy. If you�re going to do business abroad, you need to be able to get there easily.

That�s why we have worked to help establish new direct flights to five foreign capitals in the past few years � Beijing, Paris, Frankfort, Mexico City and London.

I think it�s time to stop and take a few questions. But I want you to know, I�ll keep working hard to keep our state one of the best places to do business by continuing to work across the aisle, across the state, and across the oceans.