Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 1, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact:  Michelle Zahrly, Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, 360-725-4019

Gov. Gary Locke Promotes Washington’s Economic Development Successes at Statewide Forum

Gov. Gary Locke today promoted Washington state’s economic development successes during his keynote address at the Governor’s Economic Development Forum at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center. Locke also highlighted Washington’s ranking as a Top Ten Pro-Business State in a new national study.

The Governor’s Economic Development Forum is sponsored by the Governor’s Office, the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development and the Association of Washington Cities, designed to bring together economic development leaders from around the state to share ideas and best practices.

“I am very proud of the progress we’ve made during the past eight years,” Locke told attendees at the forum. “From raising academic achievement and job growth to regulatory reform; from increasing sales of Washington agricultural products to foreign markets to improving services to Washington citizens, we have Washington right on track for a very bright future.”

Locke today also promoted the most recent economic development honor bestowed on the state. Pollina Corporate Real Estate, Inc., one of the top corporate site relocation experts in the country, this week ranked Washington as one of the top ten pro-business states for 2005. Pollina’s annual study evaluates state and federal economic development policies.

“While many of the overseas job losses are inevitable, a surprising number of jobs can be kept in the U.S. if we follow Washington’s example and make the right efforts to work with businesses,” said Dr. Ronald R. Pollina, president of Pollina Corporate Real Estate and a real estate economist. (For more information on the annual study, go to www.pollina.com.)

Locke said, “We’re proud to be named one of the top ten pro-business states in the nation. It’s a credit to all of our hard work during the past several years to make Washington more competitive.”

The governor pointed to several other recent studies by independent organizations that confirm Washington’s success in improving the state’s business climate:
· A study by the Tax Foundation ranked Washington 9th best in the nation for its business friendly tax climate.
· The Small Business Entrepreneurial Council ranked Washington the 4th friendliest business environment.
· The U.S. Census Bureau recently released state rankings for combined state and local tax burdens. Washington ranked 31st – meaning 30 states had higher combined tax burdens. This is the best the state has ranked in this category since 1981.

Locke also said today that, despite continued national economic distress, Washington state is showing clear signs of a strong economic recovery, and that the recovery is broad and deep across the entire state.

Employment in Washington is increasing more rapidly than in the country as a whole. Washington added more than 61,000 jobs in the last year, including 10,000 net new jobs in October alone. The state’s unemployment rate has dropped by almost two percentage points since a year ago, twice as fast as the rest of the country.

Locke said that, during the past two-and-a-half years alone, nine national companies have chosen Washington over Oregon, Idaho and even California for major regional distributions, operations or manufacturing centers, directly employing 2,500 new employees.

Locke credited several proactive economic development efforts for the state’s economic development successes. “From our Priorities of Government budget process to the nickel transportation package to our successful trade missions, to targeted tax incentives to skills training for specific business sectors, we have taken many steps to bring economic prosperity back to the state,” he said.

Locke said the trade missions are a great example of how the state has helped facilitate economic success for businesses from both sides of the state.

“We have worked hard to open markets in places like China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Mexico, and our efforts have resulted in significant success,” Locke said. “Our first trip to China in 1997 has resulted in the lifting of longstanding restrictions on the import of Washington wheat. We helped create record sales of cherries in Asia after our 1998 mission to Japan and Taiwan. We created a great market in Mexico for Washington potatoes and French fries. We had similar success with our potatoes in South Korea. We sent first-ever potato shipments to both these markets in 2003. Washington hops were introduced to Japan, with nearly $1 million in new contracts signed.

“Our last two trade missions to China have been very successful. Our business delegates reported actual sales of $3.9 million and approximately $81.4 million in projected new sales during the next 12 months. All these sales contracts create new jobs in Washington state. This is all as a result of our missions.”

Locke said partnerships between state and local governments and private organizations have also been significant contributors to the state’s success.

“A great example is the Action Washington team that convinced Boeing to locate final assembly of the 7E7 in Washington,” Locke said. “The statewide, bipartisan effort was unprecedented and very successful. Together, we’ve developed a powerful model of collaboration for business retention and recruitment. We need to bottle the energy, enthusiasm and collaboration we generated during the 7E7 effort to focus on other economic development objectives.”

Locke said the state is working to grow key industries. A good example is the Bio21 Initiative. Two years ago, the governor convened a group of industry experts, scientists, venture capitalists, and government officials to look at how our state can be even stronger in biomedical research by bringing together bio-technology and information technology to accelerate medical research and ultimately develop treatments and cures.”

“We have had great success in other industries as well,” Locke said. “Marine services, food processing, forest products, energy efficiency and various high-tech sectors are just a few examples of areas of targeted industries in the state that have resulted in economic success.

“Another tool we have used is the Community Economic Revitalization Board, or CERB,” Locke continued. “CERB is a valued program that creates significant economic impacts in participating communities. But the demand for CERB far exceeds the available funding. A stable funding source is needed to ensure the future of the program. Proposed changes to the current funding formula will allow critical local public infrastructure projects to continue – projects that encourage private development and investment in high-wage jobs.”

“We must give our communities the economic development tools they need,” Locke said. “We should partner with local communities to fund infrastructure to attract new businesses and help existing businesses grow and expand. Forty-eight states now use tax increment financing to allow growth to pay for itself. I’ve proposed in the past that we do the same. Our communities need this tool to keep moving in the right direction. It’s time we delivered it.”

“Our state is a leader in so many areas – and that didn’t happen by accident,” Locke said. “We’ve worked hard and made tough decisions over the years because we believe in this state. And we believe in an even brighter future for our citizens.”

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