Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 4, 2003
Contact:  Roger Nyhus or Kirsten Kendrick, Governor’s Communications Office, 360-902-4136;
Alt Contact:  Sharon Wallace, Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, 360-725-4019

Gov. Gary Locke, Business, Labor and Government Leaders Launch ‘Action Washington’ Campaign to Win Boeing 7E7

Standing on the tarmac of Boeing Field and flanked by business, labor and government leaders, Gov. Gary Locke today kicked off the official statewide campaign to land final assembly of the Boeing 7E7. The governor also issued the latest progress report on the state’s competitiveness.

Locke unveiled the “Action Washington” campaign name, logo and Web site (www.actionwashington.com), which contains updated information on the state’s coordinated, unified effort to win final assembly of the 7E7. In the coming months, “Action Washington” will gather support and move on several fronts to press the case for building the 7E7 here.

“Action Washington unites people from across our state to work together for the 7E7,” Locke said. “We will fight to keep those final assembly and supplier jobs in Washington. We are determined to win, and to make the 7E7 the most successful Boeing airplane ever built.”

Action Washington banners and the Garfield High School Pep Band were part of today’s kickoff. Joining the governor were Rep. Jeff Morris, D-Anacortes; Sen. Bill Finkbeiner, R-Kirkland; King County Executive Ron Sims; Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels; Judy Runstad, co-chair of the Washington Competitiveness Council and chair of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce; Mark Blondin, president of IAM 751; Phil Bussey, president of the Washington Roundtable; and Don Brunell, president of the Association of Washington Business. Other legislators, members of the Competitiveness Council, port and economic development officials and labor representatives were also on hand.

Locke said it all boils down to competitiveness. “We want The Boeing Company and our other great companies to stay here,” he said. “We want to attract new companies. Washington is changing to become an even stronger business partner for Boeing and other companies.

“This is plainly evident in how we’ve handled the recommendations of the Washington Competitiveness Council. Unparalleled effort and teamwork have led to unbelievable results.”

Locke today issued a progress report on the state’s implementation of the recommendations from the Competitiveness Council, a group of business, labor and government leaders from across the state the governor convened in 2001 to examine Washington’s ability to compete in the global economy of the 21st century. Council members identified competitiveness issues of greatest concern and developed recommendations to address them.

The council’s final report, issued in December 2001, contained 99 separate recommendations for improving the business climate in Washington state. The council’s top recommendation was improving transportation, and, under the governor’s leadership, the Legislature passed a major transportation-improvement package this session. The governor signed it into law last month.

Locke and the Legislature have taken steps to implement more than half of the Competitiveness Council’s recommendations. This is a significant achievement given the considerable cost associated with many of the proposals and the nearly $3 billion budget shortfall.

Locke has implemented many of these recommendations via executive order or through instructions to his cabinet agencies. Legislators adopted many others in the 2002 and 2003 legislative sessions. The full progress report can be obtained at www.governor.wa.gov.

The report includes 32 economic development bills passed by the Legislature this session that the governor signed into law, including:

· A transportation-improvement package;
· Consolidation of the permit appeals process for complex projects;
· Establishment of the Office of Regulatory Assistance within the Governor’s Office;
· Development of an integrated permit system through a multi-agency pilot project;
· Greater tuition-setting authority for universities – legislation supported by Boeing;
· Simplified municipal B&O taxation, elimination of taxation of same revenue by multiple cities;
· Creation of incentives for the use of biodiesel fuels; and
· Establishment of the state Economic Development Commission in statute.

Other bills signed by the governor this session that will benefit Boeing and other Washington businesses include:

· Legislation that clarifies regulatory requirements for shorelines, which supports a proposed rail-barge facility that would help Boeing expand its Everett facility;
· Legislation that allows the third runway project at SeaTac Airport to move forward;
· Legislation requested by the governor that establishes a permanent funding source for the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB), which helps fund infrastructure for economic development in rural areas; and
· Use tax correction legislation, which clarifies use tax exemptions that complement existing sales tax exemptions for repairs on industrial equipment.

Competitiveness highlights from last year include streamlining regulatory and permitting processes and transforming the state Department of Ecology into a more business-friendly agency without compromising environmental standards.

“We continue to improve our business climate,” Locke said. “Through Action Washington, we are intensifying our efforts. We’re championing legislative action on key Boeing criteria. We are focusing on worker’s compensation, unemployment insurance costs, worker training, education and regulatory certainty.”

The governor today also displayed more than 60 letters from businesses, labor groups, cities, counties, economic development commissions, ports and chambers of commerce across the state expressing support to Boeing for the state’s unified effort to win final assembly of the 7E7. The letters range from Everett to Spokane; from the Kitsap Peninsula to Seattle to the Lewis-Clark Valley; from Tacoma to Longview – all the way to Oregon; from the state Legislature to members of the state’s congressional delegation; from small businesses to large; and from non-profit organizations to chambers to economic development councils, ports and many more. The list continues to grow. Once all the letters come in, the governor will send them to Boeing. A sampling of the letters and a list of the groups that sent them can be found at www.actionwashington.com.

Boeing delivered its request for proposal to the state on May 19. The state must present its proposal to Boeing by June 20. The company plans to decide on the site for final assembly of the 7E7 by the end of the year. Boeing’s top criteria include:
· Transportation
· Facilities
· Total cost of doing business
· Workforce
· Environmental considerations
· Community support
· Additional infrastructure issues

Locke said he remains confident the state will win. “Action Washington is an unprecedented alliance,” he said. “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. We’re here with one common purpose – we are determined to help our state succeed, and to convince Boeing that Washington is absolutely the best place to build the 7E7.”

# # #

Related links: www.actionwashington.com; www.governor.wa.gov; www.cted.wa.gov

Editor’s Note: A list of the groups that have sent letters supporting the state’s unified effort to land the 7E7 is attached. The letters continue to come into the Governor’s Office and will ultimately be forwarded to Boeing. You can find a sample of the letters and the latest list at www.actionwashington.com.

Association of Washington Business
Bank of America
City of Ephrata
City of Everett
City of Moses Lake
City of Seattle
City of Tacoma
City of Tukwila
City of University Place
Comfort Inns and Suites
Cowlitz Economic Development Council
Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County
Ephrata Chamber of Commerce
Everett Area Chamber of Commerce
Everett City Council
Frontier Bank
Grant County Economic Development Council
Grays Harbor Public Development Authority
Greater Pasco Area Chamber of Commerce
Hawthorn Inns and Suites
Holiday Inn Express
JayRay Communications
Key Bank
King County Executive Ron Sims
Kitsap Public Facilities District
Lewis-Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce
Masters Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties
Metropolitan King County Council
Moses Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
Moses Lake Business Association
Northwest Country Inns
Oregon Department of Economic and Community Development
Paul Sommers, Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington
Port of Ephrata Board of Commissioners
Port of Moses Lake
Richland Chamber of Commerce
Snohomish Chamber of Commerce
Snohomish County Lodging Association
Snohomish County Tourism Bureau
South Snohomish County Chamber of Commerce
Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce
Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce
Sunnyside Incorporated
The Holiday Inn – Everett
The Regional Partnership
TRIDEC – Tri-City Industrial Development Council
Washington Economic Development Association
Washington Economic Development Commission
Washington Public Ports Association
Washington Roundtable
Washington State Congressional Delegation
Washington State Legislature
Washington Technology Center
West Plains Chamber of Commerce
WSA

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