Gov. Gregoire Presents State of the State in Eastern Washington

For Immediate Release: January 16, 2008

OLYMPIA � Spokane is fast becoming a regional cultural and business hub thanks to grassroots leadership and a strong economy, Gov. Chris Gregoire told the Downtown Spokane Partnership today.

�You have transformed Spokane into a vibrant community where people want to work and want to be,� Gregoire told her audience. �In partnership with us, it�s you making it happen, and that�s the way I like it. That�s the way to promote economic development in our state, from the bottom up.�

Gregoire said that�s why she strongly supported and helped fund several important downtown projects, including the Mobius Science Center and Children�s Museum, the Fox Theater, the YMCA/YWCA, WSU Academic Building, the WSU School of Nursing, Kendall yards, and affordable housing legislation.

�Downtown Spokane is unique, and in their own special ways, so is every part of Washington, from Walla Walla to Ocean Shores,� she said. �Each has its own strengths and its own needs, and one size does not fit all.�

That�s why the state will continue to tackle economic development as regional endeavors, rather than as a grand plan from Olympia, she said. Her Next Washington approach has situated regional managers around the state, working with local economic development councils.

A few months ago, the state designated 11 areas of the state as Innovation Partnership Zones to pull together research institutions, companies, and educational institutions to build the future.

To facilitate transportation of goods and services, the state also must work with the people of Spokane toward finishing a new north-south road corridor, she added.

�State government can and does help, but we are doing it carefully so we get the best outcome for the economy and jobs,� Gregoire said. �We are making real progress � here in Spokane and all over the state.�

Next Washington makes clear that education and skills are the most important investment we can make in our economic future, Gregoire said, so the state has made major investments in education.

Under the governor�s leadership, the state has tripled new investments in education in the past three years � investing $4.1 billion in education from early learning to graduate schools.

�The fact is, we have to invest in education if we are serious about economic development and good jobs now and in the future,� she said.

Meanwhile, the state has gone from a $2.2 billion deficit when she took office three years ago to $1.2 billion in reserves, while slashing the unemployment rate to a record low, she added.

�We�ve put our state back on track toward a safe, prosperous, healthy future,� Gregoire said. �Let�s continue to work as partners with and for the great people of this state.�

�We have spent wisely and carefully to give our kids a better education, make families healthier and safer, and helped bring family-wage jobs to this state,� she said.

After her presentation, Gregoire met with representatives of the Inland Northwest Aerospace Consortium and toured the Absolute Aviation Services and Empire Airlines facilities in Spokane.

The aerospace industry is a major contributor to the 218,000 new jobs added to the state in the past three years, she said.

�Aerospace is a key driver of our export economy,� Gregoire said. Empire Airlines and Absolute Aviation are two examples of the great success our small businesses are having in striving toward being world-class aerospace providers.�

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