Governor Gregoire addresses the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce

May 1, 2008

*As Written*

Good afternoon, and thank you Greg for the kind introduction.

I�m happy to be here in Lakewood. Actually, I�ll let you in on a little secret. Lakewood is where my husband, Mike, lives.

Well, maybe not fulltime � but for sure, it�s where his heart is � at your golf courses to be exact.

Mike, a Vietnam combat vet himself, loves the American Lake Veterans Golf Course.

He and I are always touched by the fact that this golf course has been used since 1932 to help thousands of veterans recover from the physical and mental wounds of war.

It�s a wonderful facility and wonderful legacy.

Mike is also fond � maybe a little too fond � of the new and incredibly beautiful Chambers Bay Golf Course.

I have actually banned him from talking anymore about a beautiful shot he made on the 15th hole. Or was it the 17th?

Anyhow, I�m as excited as you are about the fact that Pierce County will host the U.S. Open in 2015, and the U.S. Amateur event just two years from now -- and both of them at Chambers Bay Golf Course.

Mike�s right. This is a special course � reminiscent of the links of Scotland and Ireland � and right on the shores of Puget Sound. The two events will be incredibly valuable exposure for Lakewood to a world television audience.

Pierce County Executive John Landenberg says the U.S. Open alone should bring $50 million to $60 million in economic activity to this area.

I want you to know I�ll assist in every way I can to help make sure both events go off flawlessly. We�ve made a good start.

The capital budget I just signed provides $1.4 million to complete the Chambers Creek Pedestrian Bridge over the Burlington Northern line to link trails to the beach.

This will be wonderful for golf tourists, and open up beaches in your backyard that have been inaccessible for decades.

I�d like to thank the 28th District delegation � State Representatives Tami Green and Troy Kelley especially � for their work to secure this appropriation.

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

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 $850 million going into the next budget year, and a recent award from the Pew Research Center that finds us tied among three states as the best managed state in the country.

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.
Or about what we�re doing to make our streets safer by cracking down on sex offenders.

Or about how we�re confronting the high price of gas and beginning to move our state into an economy where we create green-collar jobs and make transportation more affordable.

Or, how we�re moving forward with a transportation system that works, all within realistic and identified financial resources.

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, what I�d really like to do is share what we are doing to help small businesses in Washington, and also talk about the engine driving so much of Washington�s economy � International Trade.

Maybe we can get to other issues during Q&A.

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.

But employment is holding up well, and we�re still in better shape than most of the country. And a big reason for that is because of our innovative and dynamic small business culture.

I have a business plan for Washington � we call it �Next Washington� � and it recognizes that small business is the lifeblood of Washington�s economy.

To that end, 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. A good example would be our significant new investments in promoting tourism.

One way we have directly lowered costs for small business is through lower taxes.

We help new businesses get off to a good start by reducing unemployment insurance taxes by 15 percent � saving them $9 million.

We also have reduced L&I insurance costs as 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.

To help small businesses start up and succeed, we have opened three new Small Business Development Centers in Longview, Aberdeen and Pullman. And through our Small Business Development Centers we are providing small businesses valuable economic research generated by Washington State University.

We have made tremendous strides to cut red tape � one of the things cited by Forbes. One obvious example -- We are communicating with folks in simple English. We call it Plain Talk. (Tell an abbreviated �Have you cashed your check, yet� story.)

We have been recognized nationally for our on-line business portal, which provides on-line business registration, and now provides a one-stop location for businesses looking to hire new employees.

We�re actively reaching out to small business to learn what their problems are and how we can help.

Selected state agencies such as Revenue and Employment Security have been holding �Open for Business� Community Forums around the state to hear from small business and provide advice to them on how starting and maintaining a business.

For the first time in 16 years, we have increased funding to our Economic Development Councils, which in turn look for opportunities to promote business growth in their regions.

I also want to talk a little about International Trade � truly a big reason our economy is stronger than in many other states.

Some in my political party are less than enthusiastic about free trade policies.

Well, let me be very clear right now that I differ on that score. Why? Because it�s our bread and butter.

We not only accept that we are in a global economy � we embrace it and make it work for us.

That�s a big reason Forbes and Fortune Magazine have ranked us among the top five states to do business � and that includes small business.

I had the opportunity recently in Tacoma to listen to a presentation by a writer for the respected Economist Magazine about the condition of our nation�s economy compared to the economy of Washington State.

She said what we already know. Washington�s economy is far more resilient, and a big reason is Washington has an unusually diversified economy...From Walla Walla wines to semi-conductor manufacturing in Vancouver�

�From solar energy component manufacturing in Moses Lake to the nation�s largest biodiesel refinery in Hoquiam�to our military bases.

The Economist also noted that along with our diversity, we are something else -- a huge export engine.

I see this reality just as sure as I�ve flown on Boeing planes to far-off lands�

�Checked e-mail via Microsoft Outlook�

�And stopped 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.

You in this room understand it too.

You understand that even for small business, the platform for our economy as a whole is international trade. One of three jobs in Washington depends on it.

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

That�s a lot in three years, and Don Brunell, head of the Association of Washington Business, says we can�t do enough trade missions. That�s because they pay off in big ways and small.

When I went to Mexico last summer, I helped launch Aeromexico service between Seattle and Mexico City.

In flying on Aeromexico (aboard a Boeing aircraft, I might add), I noticed that there was no Washington wine aboard.

I talked to the right people, and the latest word is that Aeromexico and Chateau Ste. Michelle are working on a way to offer Washington wine on this flight.
That was a small success.

A bigger one came after 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.

Those are just one small and one large success stories in the past few years. We all have them, and they�re the reason our exports are booming.

Led by aerospace industry sales, our exports rose to a record of nearly $67 billion last year, up 38 percent from the previous year. In fact, our exports have increased by 100 percent since 2004.

Believe me, our exports doubled not just because of aerospace � strong as that is.

Across the board, exports are up.
Our growers, who like everybody else are reaping the rewards of a weak dollar, are also enjoying the benefit of worldwide demand for their products.

The truth is, international trade is helping insulate our economy from the current national economic slowdown, and 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.

All boats rise on an incoming tide, so our strong international trade also helps Washington�s smaller businesses.

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 at the top of our global economy � across the aisle, across the state, and across the oceans.