Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 6, 2003
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Gov. Gary Locke Kicks Off Statewide ‘Jobs Now’ Tour at the University of Washington

Gov. Gary Locke today made the first stop on a statewide “Jobs Now” tour at the University of Washington. Locke pushed his plan to create more jobs through a seven-point economic recovery plan, which includes new construction and capital improvements at state colleges and universities.

“We need to start creating jobs now,” said Locke, who urged the Legislature to pass his capital budget as soon as possible. “A number of projects highlighted in my capital budget focus on new and existing construction that would put people to work right away. Our state’s economic recovery depends on how quickly we can put people to work.”

The governor emphasized that passage of his proposed capital budget would support new private-sector jobs at an annual average of 13,400 construction and related jobs during the next two fiscal years, and 11,000 jobs in the following two fiscal years. These jobs come from the $2.5 billion in spending for new public-works funding, including $223 million in new construction at universities and $312 million at community and technical colleges through bonding against lottery revenue and general obligation bonds.

While at the UW, Locke toured Johnson Hall, which is in dire need of renovations. The building is currently unable to provide students with clean water. The governor’s proposed capital budget calls for more than $50 million to be provided to Johnson Hall. The work would be done by private-sector contractors.

This week, Locke unveiled his seven-point economic recovery plan to create jobs now, spur the state’s economy and build for the future. The plan focuses on:
- Creating thousands of new construction jobs through building new schools, higher education facilities and public works projects;
- Capitalizing on Washington’s competitive advantage in international trade;
- Promoting state businesses and improving the climate for new business;
- Giving communities more effective tools to build Washington businesses;
- Promoting Washington’s emerging technology strengths;
- Improving education to create and fill skilled jobs for today’s competitive marketplace;
- Pushing Congress and the President for an economic stimulus package that helps our state’s workforce.

The governor’s visit to the UW is the first stop on a statewide tour to tout his economic recovery plan. The governor will visit Bremerton next week as well as Federal Way, Yakima, Wenatchee, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Aberdeen, Vancouver and other cities in the coming weeks.

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