Governor Gary Locke’s Remarks
Boeing 7E7 Partnership News Conference
May 21, 2003

Good morning. Thank you for coming.

This morning I will be joined on the program by:

· Martha Choe, director of the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development
· Bi-partisan legislative task force
o Speaker Frank Chopp
o Sen. Luke Esser, R-Bellevue
o Other legislators here today include Rep. Eric Pettigrew, Rep. Fred Jarrett, Rep. Skip Priest and Rep. Phyllis Kenney
· Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel
· Everett Mayor Frank Anderson
· King County Executive Ron Sims
· Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels
· Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg
· Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma
· Charles Bofferding, Executive Director, SPEEA
· Steve Williamson, Executive Director of the King County Central Labor Council
· Judy Runstad, Chair, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce


There are also several important stakeholders I would like to acknowledge, some of whom are here today:
· John Engber, Washington State Director for U.S. Senator Patty Murray
· Tom Luce, District Director for Congressman Norm Dicks’ office
· Representatives from Reps. Jay Inslee and Rick Larsen’s offices All of these people represent the strong congressional support for the statewide effort to land the 7E7 final assembly.
· Doug MacDonald, Secretary of Transportation
· Sue Mauermann, Special Assistant to the Director for Regulatory Improvement, Department of Ecology (attending on behalf of Director Tom Fitzsimmons)
· Paul Isaki, Governor’s Special Assistant for Business
· Gary Chandler, Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Association of Washington Business (AWB), attending for Don Brunell who is out of town
· Port officials from Tacoma, Seattle and Everett
· EDC officials from Thurston, Pierce, King and Snohomish counties
· Tribal leaders from Pierce, King and Snohomish counties were invited to attend today, but were already attending an important conference in Bellingham
· The United Way of King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties. The United Way in the Puget Sound area receives substantial donations each year from Boeing and its employees.

We are here because we want to win Boeing 7E7 final assembly for our state. We intend to keep Boeing jobs right here in Washington where they belong.

Today I am surrounded by just a fraction of Boeing supporters here in Washington. Behind me—literally and figuratively—stand our state, county and local leaders, our businesses and unions, and our community service agencies. We stand united and determined to do our best to continue the honor of claiming: We are Washington state—home of Boeing commercial airplanes.

We believe that Washington is the best choice for Boeing. Every major Boeing commercial jetliner but one has been assembled here. We have history, but we have so much more than history. We have the manufacturing facilities, the equipment, and the tooling in place. The infrastructure is in place. The suppliers already work with final assembly here. We’re ready to build!

The best airplane assembly workforce in the world lives and works here. The best aerospace engineers live and work here. The best trained, most highly skilled, and most experienced aerospace workforce is here. The best hearts and minds in Washington have gone into Boeing airplanes. And we are proud of that fact.

We continue to improve our state’s business climate because we want to keep our top companies like Boeing. We want to attract additional top companies and provide economic vitality for future generations.

The Washington Competitiveness Council issued some very significant recommendations to make our state more competitive 18 months ago. Alan Mulally was the co-chair of that Council. We listened. We acted.

And we have enacted virtually all of the key recommendations by passing legislation or by administrative order.

We took a giant step forward on Monday when I signed our new transportation improvement package into law. This was the number one imperative of the Council. We took some detours. But we are now in the express lanes to a brighter future for our state, including Boeing.

We’ve cut red tape, and streamlined regulatory processes. The Department of Ecology has led the way in transforming to a more business-friendly approach, without compromising environmental priorities.

And yesterday, I signed into law a bill that consolidates the appeals process in the permitting of complex projects. This will speed up permitting and allow for timely economic development.

We’ve been working closely with Boeing the past year, focusing on specific needs of Boeing for the company’s future airplanes, such as the 7E7 project. State and local partners, with the support of our office, worked together to pass legislation to support a rail-barge facility to serve the Boeing Everett plant. I signed that bill into law last week at the Port of Everett.

And I’ve asked the Legislature to provide $16 million in state funds for this critical dock.

I have formed an advisory group to focus on how the state can best continue to meet the site requirements for Boeing’s 7E7. It will include representatives from the Legislature, local governments, business and labor across the state.

There is still much we need to do to convince Boeing that Washington is the best place to build the 7E7. And we will. The partnership represented here today is the key. This is a part of our team. Together, we will do our best to show Boeing that Washington is the smart choice. The best choice.

And now I’d like to introduce Martha Choe, director of the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development . . . .

Thank you, Martha.

And now, representing the 5-corners Alliance – the Boeing team in the Legislature - we have House Speaker Frank Chopp and Senator Luke Esser.

Thank you, Speaker Chopp and Senator Esser. Now here’s Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel . . .

Thank you Bob. Next up is Everett Mayor Frank Anderson . . . .

Thank you Mayor Anderson. Now I’d like to introduce King County Executive Ron Sims . . .

Thank you Executive Sims. And now a few words from Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels . . .

Thank you Mayor Nickels. Our next speaker is Charles Bofferding, Executive Director of SPEEA . . .

Thank you Mr. Bofferding. Now here’s Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg . . .

Thank you Executive Ladenburg. Our next speaker is Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma…

Thank you Mayor Baarsma. Next up is Steve Williamson, Executive Director of the King County Central Labor Council.

Thank you Mr. Williamson. And, finally, speaking for the business community, I’d like to introduce Judy Runstad, Chair, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce…

Thank you, Judy, and thanks again to all of our speakers.

As you can see, we are a committed, determined, and unified partnership. Together we intend to keep Boeing jobs here in Washington where they belong.

We face some very hard work in the next few weeks. We will do what it takes to win. We are highly motivated and determined. We want to continue being home to the world’s best commercial airplanes. We want those jobs. We expect to win. And we are confident that we offer the best choice to Boeing as it makes its business decision. We believe Washington is the best place in the world to successfully assemble the 7E7.

Thank you. Now we’ll take your questions.