This is Part Two of EverettPost.com coverage on Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson’s decision to convene a 26-person economic development council “to identify practical actions that strengthen Washington’s economy, expand opportunity and help more Washingtonians succeed.”
To read Part One, click here.
EVERETT – Gov. Bob Ferguson’s formation of an economic development council was embraced by an array of Everett-based political leaders, who have included their suggestions for how the group focuses its efforts.
St. Senator, June Robinson (D-Everett), tells EverettPost.com, “I think it’s smart on his part. I’m glad he’s doing it.”
Robinson chairs the Ways and Means Committee which over-sees bills on the state budget and posits, “I think it’s forward looking rather than reactive. I think he’s wanting to understand what we need to do as a state to continue to be a strong place where businesses want to be. I think it’s important to listen to people and see what we can do going forward to keep it a place where people want to do business.”
Acknowledging the cross-roads Washington appears to be at economically, Robinson begins, “The state economy is…”, pausing to choose her words, “it’s healthy. I would say it’s slow. The projections for job growth, for example, are really minimal in the current and short term for the state. So, there are definitely concerns, and at the same time, I don’t want to say that the economy is bad, or that we’re in a lot of trouble, but I think there are enough signals that we need to pay attention. And so, I think the governor is smart to convene business leaders.”
For the critics of Washington’s current economic clime, Robinson says, “I know there’s a lot of concern in some circles about businesses that are leaving or making investments in other states, and I don’t want to say that I’m not concerned or that I don’t care. I think we need to put it all in context.”
From her perspective crafting and shepherding the state budget process annually, Robinson explains, “There’s a lot going on at the federal level. It’s a challenging time right now, across the board. The economy is changing worldwide. And I think what he’s (Ferguson) doing is calling people to say, you know, let’s look at the future. And how can we be responding to (those) needs. I mean, AI (artificial intelligence) is just one example of how the entire business culture is in flux. It’s changing.”
Ferguson’s 26-person economic council is made up primarily of big business leaders like Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, T-Mobile and Alaska Airlines. “And I think that’s a problem,” Robinson says flatly. “I mean, they (big businesses) have the loudest voice. They have the most money to buy expensive lobbyists. It is more challenging to get input from local, small businesses, and that’s where it is the job of every legislator to listen to small businesses in their district.”
Prompted by a comment last week from Gov. Ferguson that the Legislature—controlled by Democratic majorities–needs to “refocus on the impact of policies that are adopted and what that impact is on the business community”, Robinson volunteered, “We have definitely held hearings on the impact of the Climate Commitment Act”, citing the 2021 state law to cap and trade carbon emissions by requiring an auction on permits to emit fossil fuels in the state which increases the price of gas and diesel prices here.
“I think yes, we need to continue to look at decisions that we’ve made. I don’t think we necessarily need to overturn every rock (in the CCA), but Iof course, as policy makers, you need to go back and get evaluation of policies that have been put in place.”
State Rep. Julio Cortes echoed Robinson’s support for Ferguson’s formation of the economic development council, telling EverettPost.com, “Economic development isn’t just about recruiting companies. It’s also, in my mind, about supporting the small, medium and large businesses that are already here so they can grow and hire and continue to invest. So, I was very excited to hear the governor started this statewide economic development council.”
Cortes remarked that he hopes Ferguson’s council will see the Legislature, “as partners”, elaborating, “I hope that this council sees the Legislature as a team member. And an entity, I guess, that can make some meaningful change for small, medium and large businesses.”
Cortes believes the economic council is, “Going to eventually help Washington compete even harder at a national and international level. And I think this is a great, great first step.”
Cortes predicts the new economic council will bridge disparate areas of the state together for economic improvement, saying, “I think it’s gonna help create more of a statewide vision, right? Washington has world-class industry here. Aerospace is huge. Technology is huge. And just across the mountains, agriculture is huge. Here in my district, maritime, the Port of Everett, clean energy. We have great companies like Helion, Terrapower, so life sciences is big. Of course, manufacturing is big. So all these economic development efforts are often fragmented. Clean energy is doing their thing. Aerospace is doing their thing. I think here in Snohomish County, we do a pretty good job in coordinating in the 38th District. But statewide, I think we need a little bit more support in making sure that we’re aligning state agencies, that we’re aligning local governments, ports, our tribal partners and educational institutions. “
“I think it’s great for this council to be put together because it’ll create a statewide vision. It’ll bring business and governments together, which we need to do more of.”
Repeatedly, Cortes suggested that Ferguson’s economic council apply metrics for their vision. “What are the measurable goals that are going to come out of this Council?”, he asks rhetorically. “Is it job creation? Small business growth? Export growth? Whatever this council decides, I think that we do need to have the measurable goals for the first five, 10, 20 years.”
Asked to assess what brought Washington’s economy to this point of needing a gubernatorially appointed economic development council, Cortes points to two areas.
First, the sharp increase in spending for the state budget. “States need to make decisions on where tax revenue is going to come from, yes, but also, I think states including Washington, we need to make sure that we’re tracking every single dollar and ensuring that it’s getting spent and the best way possible to support Washingtonians,” he says acknowledging a point emphasized by former Gov. Chris Gregoire in part one of this EverettPost.com coverage.
Cortes continues candidly, “I think that, you know, we (the Legislature) overspent definitely on supporting folks, especially during the pandemic and after the pandemic. We’ve relied on a lot of federal funds that unfortunately are no longer there because the federal government is not supporting states any more.”
“We overspend because we wanted to help people, but we need a long-term plan for how that’s going to be sustainable. If it’s not going to be sustainable, then we need to make some tough decisions because the tough decisions will come. That’s what our job is to make tough decisions. If we don’t make the tough decision at the beginning, we’ll have to make them later on like we’re doing now. We do have to cut a lot of our spending. That’s what we did last year. That’s what we’ll have to do this next year, but it’s going to allow us opportunities to make sure that we’re using the funds in the most efficient and effective way possible for Washingtonians. It’s a hard thing to do but that’s what needs to be done.”
Second, the Legislature’s reliance on tax increases, highlighted by the recently enacted Millionaires Tax signed by Ferguson and reports of ‘high net worth individuals’ who are leaving Washington for more tax-friendly states like Nevada, Arizona or Florida. “Definitely, definitely paying attention to that,” Cortes replies. “Definitely making sure that we’re listening to everybody and watching the movement (of who moves out of state),” he adds, even name checking Starbucks founder, Howard Schultz, who has made public pronouncements about the sour state economic conditions.
Cortes pivots on the concern of capital flight facing the state, “I’m more concerned about the teachers or the nurses. I’m more concerned about that flight when they can’t afford to live in our state. That’s what I’m more concerned about. There’s a lot more teachers and nurses and middle-income working families. That’s who I want to stay in our state and that’s who we need to be supporting. When these billionaires are leaving because they don’t want to pay their fair share, I mean, that’s the decision that they’re going to be making, but we also in committee and I wasn’t in the Finance Committee (where the ‘Millionaire tax’ bill originated), but I did see that there were millionaires that testified in favor of it because they do want to kind of pay their fair share.”
Evaluating that future impact—the Millionaires tax doesn’t even go into effect until 2028 but it is being challenged for repeal in a statewide initiative, IP26-645—Cortes connects the tax question to Ferguson’s newly formed council, “You know, ultimately, I think that this formation of this group, isn’t because the things that we passed over the last two years isn’t working. The business climate is very dynamic. Things will change. We as a state want to continue to grow in aerospace. We want to continue to grow in Green Tech, and in order to do that, we need to have groups like this with subject matter expertise that represent a lot of different backgrounds to plan 5, 10, 20 years down the road. And I think that’s what this council is going to be doing.”
Everett Port Commissioner, Glen Bachman, immediately noticed something about Ferguson’s appointed economic council, telling EverettPost.com, “It’s disappointing, I think that we don’t see Snohomish County representation on this list. We’re the fastest growing County and the most trade dependent County in the state of Washington. And we don’t appear to have representation.”
Like Robinson and Cortes, Bachman applauds Ferguson’s decision to form the council to focus these economic objectives. “Putting a committee like this together is good. The Port, and myself, we support any proactive effort to strengthen and grow businesses.”
Applying his experience as a Port Commissioner, Bachman says, “I’ve been on numerous international trade missions. We have China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and…we should be always on point for working with our economy and strengthening it.”
Port of Everett CEO and Executive Director, Lisa Lefeber, released this statement about Ferguson’s economic council formation, “The Port of Everett supports proactive efforts designed to strengthen and grow the business activities that power Washington’s economy. Efforts to make our state more friendly to business should be encouraged. The inclusion of two port districts is encouraging – Washington ports have the unique ability to drive economic development in their communities that can bridge the gap between private business and public utilities. The Port is eager to see the Governor’s Economic Development Council succeed; however, as the most trade-dependent and fastest growing county in the state, Snohomish County is noticeable absent from this council and it would be nice if that could be revisited. ”
Everett mayor, Cassie Franklin, responded to Ferguson’s decision saying, “I strongly support the governor’s efforts to work with business, education, and labor leaders to boost our state’s economy. From reviewing our regulatory environment to supporting critical infrastructure investments, the state can do more to support the growth of family-wage jobs. Collaboration with job-creators and skill-builders will lead to more positive outcomes for working people.”