Gov. Gregoire addresses the Puyallup/Sumner Chamber of Commerce highlighting economic development in Pierce County

September 12, 2008

AS WRITTEN

Good afternoon, and thank you Pat (Lewis, chamber president) for the kind introduction.

It�s great to be back in Puyallup. I wish I had time to �do the Puyallup� while I�m here.

I had such a great time at the fair last year. I think I ate my weight in scones. And I have to tell you that of all the great things I saw � I think it was the Mutton Busting event that took the cake.

It was so cute! Little kids riding sheep. Other kids being brave as they waited to. Kids bawling because they didn�t want to.

I laughed so hard I almost fell over. What a great show, and what a great, and very special state fair , we have here every year!

I hope everybody had a great summer! The highlight of mine was the Big Wedding. We saw our daughter, Courtney, to the altar, and in the process got a great addition to our family � Scott Lindsay.

For Mike, it�s been all females all the time in our household, (except for our dogs), so he�s very pleased to have a son to golf with.

I know you probably read about the wedding in the papers -- but would you like to hear the real, unvarnished story of that day?

�A story of suspense with a happy ending?

Anybody here who saw their kids to the altar this summer?

So you can relate, I�m sure.

I want to start today by taking note of how far the Puyallup-Sumner-South Hill area has come in just the past three or four years to establish itself as the truly vibrant hub of East Pierce County.

I think it is illustrated in your Farmer�s Market � which I visited just a few weeks ago Sunday. I�m told the market is doing $1 million a year in business selling locally grown crops and other local goods. What a great thing for this community, and what a great new draw for day tourists!

I am also very pleased to see that just last week, I had the pleasure of touring your a new City Hall � which will be among the most energy efficient buildings in Washington, and that Good Samaritan Hospital is breaking ground to expand.

And I want you to know I was very pleased to help your legislative delegation with a $400,000 appropriation to build a community center to serve South Hill. I�m sure the facility will be an important asset as you build and strengthen that vibrant community.

And finally, allow me to congratulate Sumner for the work it has done and continues to do to make that great community a tourist destination. Sumner is one of those jewels right in front of our eyes, and you�re smart to make the most of it.

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 almost $750 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 if people want them.

Or how when I took office in �05, DOT had completed only 12 transportation projects in all of 2004. Since the Legislature chose to put DOT under my control in July of �05, DOT has completed 162 projects!

Right now, DOT is working on 66 more, and will start another 43 in the next six months!

And these are not stop signs, folks. They are projects like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and the State Route 202 widening that just opened and now moving 27,000 commuters off the Sammamish Plateau to Redmond in 10 or 15 minutes instead of 45 minutes � (I�m dedicating that project next week.)

Or I could talk 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.

(By the way, our housing market, although weaker, still ranks in the bottom five in the nation for foreclosures. And let me tell you � every chance I get I tell people � if you can swing it, now is the time to buy a house! There are some real deals out there.)

Here�s the thing folks. A highly respected Economist Magazine writer, at a recent presentation in Tacoma, confirmed something we already know. And it�s that Washington is still faring better than most�

And for two big reasons...

One is our work to help diversify our economy�and the other is our powerful export engine. These are the reasons our economy has created more than 225,000 jobs since I took office, while, for example, Michigan and Ohio have lost 600,000.

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 bustling Port of Tacoma and the facility at Frederickson making the composite fins for the new Boeing 787.

By the way, I�ll be at the grand opening next week for the new IKEA distribution center going in at Frederickson to create 125 more jobs and help drive the Pierce County economy.

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 through a rate holiday.

Together, these steps have saved business a total of $465 million.

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 to this area � with your proximity to Mount Rainier and other beautiful environmental assets -- we have tripled state investment in tourism and, with rising fuel and food costs we�re out there telling Washingtonians -- You need a vacationn 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 � one the country�s best business magazines -- recently moved us from 5th best place to 3rd best state to do business. And Fortune Magazine has 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.