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>> Enrique: Next on KCTS-9, it's
ask the Governor.
Governor jay Inslee is here to
take your calls and questions
about the current legislative
session, the budget, education
and transportation funding.
Plus other timely issues.
Jay Inslee's inaugural episode
of ask the Governor, coming up
next.
>> Local production of ask the
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¶¶
¶¶
>> Enrique: Good evening and
welcome.
I'm Enrique Cerna of KCTS-9
television in Seattle.
Welcome to "ask the Governor."
A live un-rehearsed call-in show
with Governor jay Inslee.
We're coming to you from the
KCTS-9 studios in front of a
live studio audience.
Tonight's live broadcast is also
simulcast state-wide on public
radio and television stations.
And we welcome those listeners
and viewers that are joining us
here tonight.
Now, if you have a question to
pose to Governor Inslee, you can
call this state-wide toll free
number.
It's 1-800-258-6463.
Now, as we mentioned, this is
Governor Insleeing first visit
to ask the Governor.
And it's timely, as he and state
lawmakers grapple with the state
budget and how to adequately
fund public education as
mandated by the state supreme
court.
We'll talk about that and much
more.
Welcome Governor Inslee.
Good to have you here.
>> Gov. Inslee: Thanks for
having me.
It's great to be here.
>> Enrique: So how is this
Governor gig working out for you
so far?
[LAUGHTER]
>> Gov. Inslee: This is the most
wonderful gig, as we call it.
You know, things are going well.
In my first inaugural meeting
with you as Governor, the
Mariners are undefeated tonight.
>> Enrique: We can appreciate
that!
>> Gov. Inslee: We had the
number 1 ranked team in the
nation for a while, the Gonzaga
bulldogs.
It's a wonderful opportunity,
it's a great state.
Just in the first few weeks,
I've met so many Washingtonians
that are doing bold adventurous
entrepreneurial things.
And it's a great opportunity to
work with people in our state.
>> Enrique: Let's talk about
that transition from spending so
many years in congress, where
you're working on national,
domestic, and international
issues as well, kind of those
big broad types of things.
And now, you're coming back home
and really focused on some meat
and potatoes stuff in the state
of Washington.
What's that transition like?
>> Gov. Inslee: It's wonderful.
There's no sorrow with D.C. in
your rear-view mirror.
Maybe that should be a country
music song of some sort.
Look, I came home because I
really believe that our state
can do bold things, we can
really help give our kids a new
type of education.
We can really grow new
entrepreneurial, innovative,
high-tech companies in our
state.
And I felt, and even moreso feel
now that a Governor can help
Washingtonians do that.
And I got to tell you though the
first few weeks, I'm much more
optimistic even when I ran for
office about our ability to do
those things.
And I just, in the first few
weeks, I've just met so many
people around our state that
are, you know, on the cutting
edge.
I was at a K-5 school at boren,
it's a stem school, science,
technology, engineering, math.
And I met these first graders
that were describing to me what
Ph is, between acid and base.
And I thought, you know, if more
legislators and Governors knew
what these first graders did, we
would solve ocean acidification.
And just great things going on
in our state.
I was in Moses lake on Friday
and saw the western
manufacturer's largest
manufacturer of silicon
substrate.
Hundreds of people in Washington
in the solar cell industry.
It was kind of fun today.
We signed a, my energy bill,
which is really the first step
to dealing with climate change
and ocean acidification at the
world's greenest office
building.
It was built by the bullitt
center here in Seattle.
First really six-story building
in the world to be totally
self-sufficient in energy.
So it's a great thing to be
Governor.
And I'm even more optimistic
than the day I took the oath of
office.
>> Enrique: Let's talk about
some of the issues and perhaps
the one that is right up there
at the top is always money.
And it always has to deal with
funding and it always has to
deal with how we're managing our
budget for the state and dealing
with deficits.
But in this case too, what we're
facing from, you know, the state
supreme court saying you're
mandated to fund more than just
adequately education in this
state.
You come out with an effort
basically to raise money that
closes some tax loopholes, keep
some other things going for a
while here.
And obviously, those on the
other side of the coin are
saying that no, you're really
extending taxes here.
How do you respond to all of
this?
>> Gov. Inslee: Well, the state
supreme court, as you know, has
issued a ruling, which is
binding on all of us, all
Washingtonians are bound by this
ruling that we are obligated to
fulfill our paramount duty to
the state to contribute
somewhere in the range of $3 to
$4 billion additional resources,
so that our kids can have
science labs, so that they can
have energy childhood education,
so that they can have stem
education.
All of these things are
dependent and the supreme court
has said that's a constitutional
responsibility.
But I even have a higher
obligation, and that is as a
grandfather.
You know, the constitutional
duty is important, but I got an
obligation as a grandfather, and
that's how I look at this issue.
So we do have an obligation to
create an additional funding
stream if you will for our kids'
schools.
Now, we also have an obligation
to make sure that that money is
spent wisely and prudently with
accountability to make sure
we're spending it and getting
the *** for the buck.
So we have accountability in our
school systems.
And the first thing when I
approached this issue, I
realized these are not mutually
exclusive.
We need to do both.
We have to have additional
resources and we have to target
it in a way to make sure we do
it in a way to have proven
results.
And we know it works.
Stem education, better teacher
evaluations, early childhood
education, mechanisms that can
improve the graduation rate, all
of which I built into my budget
priorities.
So what I've done is I've gone
out and said that's the highest
priority of our state.
It is a constitutional
imperative.
And when I was running for
office, I said, I'm going to do
that.
And I'm doing it.
Which is we're generating
$1.2 billion for our children.
And I think those kids are worth
it.
And the way we're to go it is
doing it exactly how I said I
would do it when I ran for
office, which's to close some
tax breaks, which are less
important than our children.
And I think, you know, to govern
is to choose, and I think we've
got to choose the education of
our children.
>> Enrique: All right.
Let's head to the phones now.
Get the public involved in this
conversation.
Let's go to Ellensburg and mark.
Mark has a question.
[beeping]
Are you there?
You're on the air with the
Governor.
>> Caller: Yes, good evening,
Governor.
Mark from Ellensburg.
I was wondering what is the
Governor's office position to
reconcile the conflict that
currently exists between the
state's legalization of
marijuana and the federal... We
know that officials from
Washington have traveled to the
capitol and just wondering where
we are with that versus the
federal government.
[beeping]
Thank you.
>> Gov. Inslee: Right.
Well, actually, our voters voted
for this initiative.
I actually did not vote for the
initiative, but I believe it's
my obligation to follow the will
of the voters in this regard and
effectuate what we're doing here
in the state of Washington.
So what I'm doing is I have met
with Attorney General holder,
both in person and talking to
him on the phone.
And I basically have suggested
to the federal government that
they respect the will of
Washington voters, that this is
a principle of federalism, that
the federal government needs to
honor the will of the democratic
process in the state of
Washington and allow the will of
the voters to move forward.
And I suggest that that makes
sense.
And I think the federal
government has the ability to do
that by simply recognizing that
they have limited resources, and
this is not a place to expend
those limited resources on folks
who are going to fulfill the
mandate of the voters in this
regard.
So I have presented to the
federal government a very
intensive plan to have a
well-regulated,
well-disciplined, well-organized
system of marijuana in the state
of Washington, so that it is not
looked at as a way to just leak
all that across the United
States.
This is something we want to
have a local impact for our
citizens on.
And I'm keeping the Attorney
General very well advised about
our efforts to move forward with
those rules.
We have not received any
inclination or intimation of
what the federal government
intends to do in this regard,
but we intend to move forward
with the will of the voters on
this issue.
>> Enrique: So you met with Eric
holder, who's the Attorney
General.
>> Gov. Inslee: Right.
>> Enrique: And when you were
having this meeting, I guess I'm
kind of wondering, how do you
talk about pot with the Attorney
General?
[LAUGHTER]
>> Gov. Inslee: Not the way
Cheech and chong would, I can
assure you.
>> Enrique: I hope not.
>> Gov. Inslee: Our intent was
to give the Attorney General a
briefing on what we intend to do
in the state of Washington.
And we intend to have a very
well-regulated system where we
can track the marijuana from the
grower to the distributor to the
retailer to make sure there's as
little leakage as humanly
possible outside of that growth
chain, to make sure that people
pay the appropriate revenues
that the voters voted on in the
state of Washington, to make
sure that users don't get things
that are going to poison them,
we don't want DDT in the product
chain.
So my job is to present to him
our intentions in a
professional, dignified way.
And he has, and I appreciate
that, he has listened with great
interest.
He hasn't shown his cards, so to
speak.
But I think that the federal
government is listening to us.
And I think that's important
that the federal government
listen to the state of
Washington.
Obviously, Colorado has done the
same thing.
We are in largely the same
situation in Colorado.
We're not the only state.
And our country is built on a
principle frequently that states
move forward before the federal
government.
We've seen that in multiple
instances where the states are
called the laboratories of
democracy, and we're moving
forward in a democratic
tradition here.
So I'm hopeful that the federal
government will allow our
voters' will to prevail.
>> Enrique: Well, let's go to
another phone call here.
Going to go to Yakima and is it
e Lisaa or Alicia?
>> Caller: Hi.
This is Alicia from Yakima.
I'd like to get an opinion as to
what Governor Inslee feels about
charter schools in the Yakima
area, meaning that we know that
there's a huge drop-out rate in
the Latino community over here,
and that's my question.
I'd like to hear what he has to
say about that.
>> Enrique: Thank you.
>> Gov. Inslee: Well, having
lived for 18 years and raising
my three sons in the Yakima
valley, I care a lot about the
public schools in the Yakima
valley.
In fact, the way I got involved
in politics was helping build
the Selah high school to make
sure that we had a bond that
could actually build the high
school.
So the kids' education in the
Yakima valley and all over the
state is something I feel really
important about.
And what you put your finger on
is really important.
We have almost a 50% drop-out
rate in a lot of our Latino
youth.
And I'm committed to improving
that.
That is unacceptable in our
state that we have any group of
Washingtonians have one out of
two of our students not
graduating from high school.
And I know we can do better.
Pasco has improved their
graduation rates, mostly Latino
students, by about 20% a year by
doing really smart things to
bring kids back to school and
make sure they graduate.
Now, the charter school
situation, actually, I did not
support the charter school
initiative as a voter.
But the voters voted for it.
So I'm going to see that it is
effectuated in a way that is
consistent with the law.
I have appoint my appointees to
the board.
They now are starting to work on
the rules that will govern the
adoption of the charter schools.
A number of cities and districts
around the state, just today, as
a matter of fact, have said that
they're going to move forward
with district-authorized charter
schools.
And we hope that they succeed.
And I think that's the right way
to move forward.
I think it's important not to
allow the charter school
initiative, though, allow us to
take our eye off the ball at all
and allowing all of these other
thousands of schools, thousands
of students and hundreds of
schools across the state, from
improving the lot of our
students.
And I got to tell you, I have
seen some incredibly exciting
things going on in our public
schools.
Just since I've been Governor.
If I could list some of the
things.
I was at Cleveland high school
the other day where I saw
juniors in high school doing
college level genetics at
Cleveland high school, because
we had freed public school
teachers to do stem education.
I've seen students at this K-5
students, first graders who
understand acid and base because
we've empowered teachers to move
forward with innovative new ways
of teaching.
We should not wait for charter
schools to embrace innovation in
our schools.
And I'm going to make sure that
the innovative spirit that
exists in many places in our
schools spreads across the state
of Washington.
And in my budget priority,
that's a very important part of
the money I want to invest, to
make sure those seeds of great
things are spread across the
state of Washington.
I know we can do this.
>> Enrique: We're going to go to
a call now, it's in Indianapolis
now of all places.
This is Leslie.
You're on the air with the
Governor.
And she's web streaming I
believe from Indianapolis, about
an issue that concerns her and
others out here.
[beeping]
Leslie, go ahead.
Leslie, are you there?
>> Caller: Hi, Governor.
>> Enrique: Go ahead, Leslie.
>> Caller: I was in Washington
state last week, and Oregon, and
I witnessed of government
workers harass and I also saw
them at the Bonneville dam being
shot at and being bombed in the
water.
I wondered what, if you were to
actually go to these places like
the Bonneville dam, for
yourself, what are they doing?
And how do you feel about it?
>> Gov. Inslee: Well, first off,
thanks for coming to our state.
I'm going to have a vigorous
tourism effort and we're going
to welcome you back, hopefully
for a happier experience in
Washington.
This is a very vexing issue for
us in our state.
And I'll tell you why.
We have been investing hundreds
of millions of dollars in our
state to try to recover the
salmon runs on the Columbia
river.
And I know you care about those
salmon runs as I do, and 6
million Washingtonians.
And we've been exercising
herculean efforts to improve
habitat, to change the operation
of the dams, to embrace
efficiency, so we don't waste as
much energy and we can save
electricity.
We're doing very vigorous things
in our state to try to save
salmon runs that are endangered.
And the fact of the matter is we
have these sea lions who are
creatures of the divine and just
like salmon.
But the only way we can recover
some of these salmon is to
reduce some of its take.
So my view is we should try to
use the most humane systems
possible to relocate some of the
sea lions in these situations,
reduce any trauma that these sea
lions experience, and try to
make that as humane as possible.
I will review any of the
information you want to send to
me, and at some point, I may go
down there.
I've got a little budget problem
I've got to deal with right now.
But I'd be happy to review in.
We want to do this as humanely
as possible.
>> Enrique: All right.
Let's move on to an e-mail
question that we have here from
Jim popper from gold bar,
Washington.
And Jim writes this:
Beer tax, really?
Tax the heck out of those coal
trains that will undoubtedly be
allowed to drag coal through our
country side.
Tax that mess.
Will you tax them?
How do you feel about that?
>> Gov. Inslee: Well, we do in
my proposal as one of the
several tax breaks that we
intend to close, it's not coal
specifically, but it does reduce
the tax break that's been given
to fossil fuels.
There's a tax break worth about
$40 million that I think is
better spent on children's early
child education than giving the
oil industry a tax break.
It was originally meant for
what's called hog fuel.
These are things that would be
burned in a lumber mill.
And 98% of that that was meant
for the lumber mills are now
used in the fossil fuel
industry, in the oil and gas
industry.
So that thing has morphed into
something that it was not
intended for.
So I do think we ought to look
at that.
That will raise dollars for the
education -- excuse me -- of our
kids.
Now, when it comes to coal, we
know that we use electricity,
and we have made a decision in
our state to have phase out
coal-based electricity.
We have one remaining coal-fired
plant in the state of
Washington.
And we, through very bipartisan
efforts, have found a way to
over time phase that coal-fired
plant out.
And the reason is that we in our
state understand the
environmental dangers associated
with burning coal.
And we don't want our kids
breathing mercury and we
understand the dangers of carbon
pollution to the acidification
of Puget Sound and climate
change.
So we've made a decision to
phase out coal in our state.
So frankly, if we did do
additional revenue in coal, it's
going to disappear, because
we're phasing it out over the
next several years.
I think that's the right
decision for our state.
We ought to be moving to cleaner
forms of energy and energy
efficiency.
And this is not just an
environmental issue.
This is an economic issue.
Today, when we signed our
climate change bill that was, I
just signed it, it was my first
Governor's request legislation
that I signed today, at the
greenest building in the world
today, it's in Seattle,
Washington, really a pretty
amazing place.
And we had several businesses
whose economic future is
dependent on our ability to
reuse carbon pollution.
One of them was bill Taylor at
Taylor shellfish.
They grow the world's best
oysters.
We got a lot of oyster companies
that do that in the state of
Washington.
That industry is really in
jeopardy right now because of
the pollution from coal and oil
and gas and the carbon that gets
into the atmosphere and it turns
the water acidic.
And because it's so acidic, it's
30% more acidic now, and it will
be 150% more acidic by the time
my grandchild is, you know, my
age.
And we are already experiencing,
they can't grow the baby
oysters, that's not a technical
term, but the young oysters are
called seeds.
They essentially melt in the
acid that's in the water.
So we know we need to reduce the
carbon pollution in our state.
We took the first step on this
today when we signed this bill
that I got through legislature
in a bipartisan basis.
So we are moving towards new
types of energy in our state.
And I think it's the right thing
to do.
We want to mention beer, don't
want to forget beer.
[LAUGHTER]
I describe beer as the Amber
nectar of the gods.
>> Enrique: I'm with you there.
>> Gov. Inslee: And we're
working on a continuing existing
amount that we've paid for beer
over the last two years.
And I think that's the right
thing to do.
>> Enrique: And we want to
remind our viewers, you're
watching ask the Governor, a
state-wide broadcast on public
radio and television.
If you want to join us, give us
a call at our toll-free number,
which is 1-800-258-6463.
Let's move on to another phone
call here.
We'll go to Whidbey island and
marty.
Marty, you're on the air with
the Governor.
Go ahead.
Marty?
>> Caller: Good evening.
>> Enrique: Good evening.
Go ahead.
>> Caller: Good to talk to you.
Living on Whidbey island, I'm
obviously very concerned with
the ferries.
We depend on them.
And in all of the financial
pressure that you have, how do
you rank, where do the ferries
fit?
How do we keep them running?
We need to increase the fares,
maybe come back some way.
How do you finance the ferries
is the question.
>> Gov. Inslee: Well, I think I
have a pretty good understanding
of how integral the ferries are
to our economy.
I live on an island.
I understand that we've got our
economy absolutely dependent in
our state, not just western
Washington, but the entire state
of Washington on having a marine
highway system.
And our economy is dependent on
this.
This is not just an issue, I
mean we enjoy ferries on a sunny
day, we enjoy ferries that get
up to Whidbey island, some
people go to Seattle or their
cabins on Whidbey island.
But this is a jobs issue for our
state.
It is a jobs issue that if we
don't solve the ferry crisis,
we're going to lose thousands of
jobs in our state, because our
ferry system is eroding, it is
literally rusting, and if we
don't establish a firm financial
foundation for it, it's going to
erode, and we're going to lose
hundreds of thousands of jobs on
both sides of the water
associated with the ferries.
Now, to do this, it is very
clear that there is really only
one solution to this,
ultimately.
We can improve efficiency in our
operations through a process
called lean management.
And I'm dedicated to that.
We can improve some of the ways
that we finance our ferries and
build them.
And I've got some knowledge of
that.
I got to actually weld my
grandson's initials in the keel
of the next boat we're building.
There are some ways we can look
to improve the cost structure of
how we build these boats.
But ultimately, if we don't get
a transportation infrastructure
package through this year, we're
going to have the erosion of the
ferry fleet, and that erosion
will continue.
That's why I'm urging
legislators to pass a
transportation package this year
with ferries being part of it,
only one part of it.
Look, we have a 520 bridge
across lake Washington, we don't
have a way to finance its
completion.
We made fun of the bridge to
nowhere in Alaska.
I don't want to have a bridge to
nowhere across lake Washington.
And we don't have a financing
way to complete the connection
from 520, where it lands on the
west side of lake Washington, to
interstate 5.
We do not have a way to finance
the Columbia river crossing
right now.
We're losing $850 million of
federal money if we don't do
that this year.
We don't have a way to build
highway 167 in Pierce County
that thousands of jobs depend
on, so we can get product from
farmers in eastern Washington to
the docks in Tacoma in a timely
fashion.
This transportation package,
some people think it's just jobs
in the construction process.
Wrong.
It's jobs for everyone in the
state of Washington.
I'll give you an example.
A few years from now, the Boeing
company will decide where
they're going to build the next
replacement for the Boeing
777-X, it's a replacement for
the Boeing 777.
When they do that, we will be in
a competition with south
Carolina, with you know, Texas,
china, India, you name it.
This will be an international
competition, we're going to
build that jet.
And we cannot allow the Boeing
management company to say, you
didn't deal with your ferry
systems, I can't get my people
from Whidbey island to work in
the morning.
I can't move my engines from
Renton to Everett.
We have got to act and we got to
act this year.
So I'm urging my republican and
democratic colleagues to step up
to the plate and do something
for the ferries and the bridges
and the roads.
We can't wait.
>> Enrique: Let's go to another
call here in Bothell.
And this is Michelle.
Michelle, go ahead, you're on
the air with the Governor.
>> Caller: Hello, thank you.
Governor, the previous caller
was asking about the possibility
of taxing coal trains that are
going through our state.
And I am curious as to your
thoughts on that just because
we, um, have a cottage at point
Roberts that has quite a bit of
pollution there, polluted by the
British Columbia coal trains at
Roberts bank.
And now, we're talking about
coal trains coming to cherry
point.
And so how do you plan to
address the issue of the...
[beeping]
And expense of that.
>> Gov. Inslee: Well, I think
talking about taxes on coal is
getting a little bit getting the
cart before the horse.
We have to decide as a state
whether or not these facilities,
and there are about five of
them, or at least four of them
in the Pacific Northwest, that
potentially could be built.
And that is a very, very
important decision, not just to
those in the cherry point area,
not just to those in the next to
the ports in the Oregon but all
of us in the state of
Washington.
We are going to have a very
comprehensive review, both
because it's legally required of
all of the impacts of these
trains and because it's the
right thing to do.
And here's the reason it's the
right thing to do.
We may have somewhere between 12
and 20 trains running through
towns like washougal, small
town, beautiful place.
And when you get those 1.8 to
2-mile long trains running
through your town, you know, 12
to 20 times a day, you're going
to bisect, you're going to cut
that town in two.
And the small business people on
both sides of the tracks have a
real interest in knowing what
the impacts of that will be.
So we're going to insist in the
permitting process that we
review those types of economic
and lifestyle issues associated
with these trains all across the
state of Washington.
They'll enter in Spokane,
they'll go down the gorge,
they'll come up the I-5
corridor, and they'll go in your
neighborhood.
We're going to make sure that we
look at the environmental
impacts associated with coal
dust, and there are questions
about that that we're going to
get to the bottom of.
We are going to make sure that
we look at the consequences of
burning this coal.
Now, this is something that's
significant.
My scientific advisors advised
me that if we burn this coal, we
will increase our carbon
pollution emanating from the
state of Washington by 2-1/2
times.
We will increase the amount of
carbon pollution that's leaving
our state by 2-1/2 times above
what we're doing.
This is not an insignificant
thing for us to consider.
And the reason it's not
insignificant is, as we talked
about earlier in the show, we've
made a decision not to burn coal
in our state.
We made that decision, it was a
rational, bipartisan decision.
I think we have to ask ourselves
a pretty important question.
Does it make sense now that
we've denied our manufacturers
the cheap electricity, does it
make sense to allow our
competitors in china to get
access to that cheap electricity
and have us get the pollution?
Where they get the jobs, we get
the pollution.
Because that carbon, of course,
comes back, it goes worldwide,
and ends up in Puget Sound.
>> Enrique: But how do you
respond to the people that say
there are jobs related?
How do you respond to the people
that say there are jobs
connected?
>> Gov. Inslee: There are.
And we're going to evaluate
those.
And there are jobs in
construction, which these are
significant construction
programs.
There are ongoing jobs in, you
know, the 200 or 300 perhaps,
maybe a little bit more for the
ongoing.
And we're going to evaluate
those jobs associated.
We're also going to evaluate the
job loss associated with cutting
towns in two or giving our
competitors cheap electricity
while we get the pollution.
And then we're going to make a
decision in our state.
And that decision's going to
follow the law, and it's going
to follow the values of our
state.
Now, it's very important that
you understand, I can't remember
the name of the question, was it
Mitch?
>> Enrique: Actually, it was
Michelle.
>> Gov. Inslee: Michelle, I want
you to know I have not made a
decision on the permitting
aspects.
We're going to follow the law in
this regard.
I can assure you we will have a
very vigorous review of all of
the environmental consequences
of this.
And then we'll make the right
decision for the state of
Washington.
>> Enrique: Well, you are
watching ask the Governor.
It's a state-wide broadcast on
public radio and television
throughout Washington state.
We want to note, and you
probably have noticed this,
every time we've taken a phone
call, you get this kind of beep.
It's our new phone system that
we're still working out the bugs
and we're still trying to work
out -- we're paying for this
too.
Anyway, we apologize for that
beep that comes along with this.
Bear with us.
We'll get it fixed sometime soon
I hope.
All right.
We're going to go to Seattle
here and to I believe tara.
Is it tara?
You're on the air with the
Governor.
>> Caller: Hi, it's tara.
Thanks for taking my call.
I was calling because I was
watching...
[beeping]
And we're talking about
infrastructure once again.
This time, it's metro buses.
And I'm finding out how this
state is going to address the
issue of bus transportation.
I know a lot of people in the
community here have decided it's
more cost effective just to
minimize car use as much as
possible.
So we're really dependent on the
buses.
And they talked about metro
losing some of its service,
which is a huge amount.
And, um, I'm wondering, you
know, there's a lot of
infrastructure issues in the
state.
>> Enrique: Let's let the
Governor respond to that.
>> Caller: And I'm wondering not
only how do we as a state
address that.
Why has it become such an issue
over the last few years?
[beeping]
>> Enrique: Sorry there.
>> Gov. Inslee: I'm sorry.
I think we got the import of the
question.
Look, I just think it's
unacceptable for us in the state
of Washington to suffer a
decline of 17% of bus service in
the city of Seattle or any other
city in the state of Washington.
Our economy depends on it.
Kids' ability to get to a
community college, so they can
learn a trade and work at
Boeing, depend on it.
People depend on it to get to
the grocery store.
To go backwards in a state as
vigorous, as technologically
adept as our state, to go
backwards in public transit is
unacceptable to me.
That's why I'm urging
legislators to join me this year
in adopting a transportation
package that will restore the
ability of cities and transit
authorities to maintain their
existing service levels at
least.
And there are multiple ways to
do that, some of which give
local communities the ability to
decide for themselves to have
revenue packages to move forward
to maintain this service.
Look, I've seen it up in my own
congressional district where
they had to cut off Sunday
service.
When people have a full day,
they can't go places.
We're better than this.
Our economy needs this.
So I'm urging them to agree with
me.
They might talk to their
legislators about this even.
They've got a first amendment
right.
Because frankly, we need some
people to step up to the plate
to help me on this to maintain
this service.
And look, my view between buses,
light rail, single occupancy
cars, H.O.V. lanes, sidewalks,
skateboards, you name it, we
should try to give
Washingtonians as many options
as we can and let them decide
what mode they really want.
We want to give people
individual choice on this.
But we can't do this if we're
going to erode the financial
base of these systems.
>> Enrique: Let's go to
Bellingham and Kimberly.
Kimberly, you're on the air with
the Governor.
Are you there?
Go ahead.
Are you there?
>> Caller: Yeah, I'm here.
>> Enrique: Okay.
Jump right in.
>> Caller: Okay.
Hi, Governor.
>> Enrique: It's only an hour
show.
>> Caller: My question is about
the sequester, starting to see
the effects of that.
I'm just wondering here in our
state what we can expect, what
programs might be cut.
I just got accepted into section
8 so...
>> Gov. Inslee: First off, I'll
just tell you what I see.
And frankly, it's very painful.
I'll give you an example.
So I was at Cleveland high
school, I noted that earlier,
where these students are getting
science technology engineering
and math curriculum that would
blow your socks off.
They're things that seniors in
college would have studied when
I was in college in the early
'70s.
And I saw a place where a
teacher had a machine to
essentially watch evolution in
action, to watch bacteria
changing their genetic makeup,
and students learning how to
manipulate that in real time, in
a real junior classroom in
Cleveland.
These kids are going to go on to
do great things if we allow that
continued thing to happen.
But that school is losing
dollars now in their ability to
continue this program because
they got this started based on
federal money.
And that federal dollars are now
drying up in part because of
sequestration and in part
because of just those federal
dollars.
To me, this is a heart break to
think we could see these
bright-eyed, Bushy-tailed future
inventors, who might cure cancer
someday, lose that opportunity.
And that's the kind of thing
we'll lose if we don't step into
the breach.
And it is really happening in
real time.
So that's in part why I've put
forward this $1.2 billion plan
to plug those gaps.
And what's happening in our
state is exciting.
I went to a company last week
called blaze biotech.
This researcher who's learned
the type of genetic thing that
the kids at Cleveland are
learning, they've discovered a
way to have cancer cells
bioLuminesce.
You can't see it with the naked
eye, but you can see it with an
infrared screen.
So you can distinguish the
healthy cells from the cancer
cells.
Now, think what it means for our
people.
And think what it means to shut
off a student at Cleveland from
having that opportunity.
That's what I'd like to move
forward in our state,
sequestration or not.
>> Enrique: We want to remind
our viewers that you're
listening and watching ask the
Governor, it is a state-wide
broadcast that you can call in
with our state-wide toll-free
number, 1-800-258-6463, if you'd
like to ask a question of
Governor Inslee.
And let's go to Carlos here in
Seattle.
Go ahead.
You're on the air with the
Governor, Carlos.
>> Caller: Hi, Governor.
I have a question about our
parks department.
[beeping]
As you know, it's in dire
straits financially.
And I'd like to know what the
state can do to rescue our parks
department.
>> Gov. Inslee: Well, I think
your word "rescue," Carlos is
the right one.
Because I think that's the
situation.
The parks department is
drowning, it's just not
providing people with anywhere
close to the things that I grew
up with.
And I grew up loving the state
parks, went to Tawanah state
park with my dad.
He took me out and showed me the
critters on the beach.
That's where I learned the
values of the state of
Washington.
And families aren't having these
experiences anymore.
And we're going to have to shut
a bunch of these parks if we
don't restore a basic level of
funding to them.
Now, the parks have been doing
some good things to try to find
new ways to generate revenues.
They're finding new ways to
bring efficiencies in how they
do their refuse collection and
how they do their human
resources.
They're finding every efficiency
possible.
But at some point, when you cut
30, 40% of these budgets, you
just can't operate the parks.
So what I've done in my budget
priorities is invest I think
about another $24 million to
help this rescue plan for the
parks.
This is the hundredth
anniversary of the Washington
state parks.
And I think it's the jewel of
the crown of our state.
This is where our kids go and
our grand kids to learn what
makes our state unique.
And they have those experiences.
You take one 5-year-old out one
time in a tent hiking, they
never forget that.
And we got to make sure they
have that experience.
>> Enrique: We want to take
another e-mail question here.
And this is from Marie
Winchester.
She's from Gig Harbor.
She says, "Washington is
considered to have one of the
most regressive tax structures
in the nation.
Will there be a change in our
tax structure that may alleviate
the effect of this system on
lower income people?"
>> Gov. Inslee: We do have one
of the most regressive systems
that is least fair to low income
working people.
And these are working people, by
the way, not just people laying
around on the couch.
These are hard-working people
that are working two or three
jobs to make ends meet.
They're the people that make
sure we have food to eat, they
make sure our backage works at
the airlines, they're the people
that take care of us when you're
senior citizens. And these are
hard-working people.
So one of the effects of what I
have proposed to fund our
schools does have the additional
benefit to making our tax system
a little less regressive.
And that is it closes these tax
breaks that have been handed out
to some corporation some years
ago for a reason that is now
obsolete.
And if we can give a low income
student a shot at a college
education and help with their
need, and I'm putting money in
to help the needs grant, if we
can help a low income kid who
otherwise can't go to school,
and pay for that by closing a
corporate tax loophole, that's a
good decision.
And it makes our tax system a
little less regressive, it
changes the burden of education
a little bit off hard-working
people, and a little more on
some of the businesses that, you
know, frankly are doing okay
right now.
Look, I pull up to the pump.
The oil and gas industry is not
working right now, they're doing
okay.
And if it comes to asking them
to put $40 million into the
education system, or telling a
kid he can't go to central
Washington university, I'm with
the kid going to central.
I'm with the 4-year-old that
maybe needs some speech
pathology work in an early
childhood education.
I'm with the student who has a
great possibility at delta high
school and a stem school in the
Tri-Cities.
Those things are going on all
around the state.
I'm with the kids on this one.
>> Enrique: Let's go to sandy,
who has a question about
Hanford.
Hi, sandy.
Go ahead.
You're on the air with the
Governor.
>> Caller: Governor Inslee, has
a nice ring to it.
Congratulations to you.
And I supported you and will
continue to do so.
I feel strongly about education,
especially science education,
which I can tell you has a lot
of support for as well.
And I think the more people know
about scientific issues, react
and respond to them
appropriately.
I know you were out here at
Hanford recently visiting.
And I'm curious to know what
your perceptions were before and
after your visit.
I suppose you've been here
before.
And whether or not you might be
able to come here and visit and
see it first-hand, which they
can do through the tours that
are available, and get an
understanding of exactly what
the Hanford site is all about.
And it's not an oozing mess of
chemicals the way my wife seems
to think it is.
>> Gov. Inslee: Well, I
appreciate the tenor of your
question.
Look, I represented the Hanford
area for two years in congress
in the early 1990s.
So I've been really intimately
involved in our efforts to try
to have the cleanup as
successful and as timely as
humanly possible.
And there are thousands of good
people in the Tri-Cities area
who are doing good work, trying
to do the world's biggest
cleanup.
This is the world's biggest
environmental cleanup right in
our state at the Hanford
facility.
Ands there's been a lot of
progress there.
We've shrunken the footprint of
the area that needs cleanup by
maybe 60 or 70%.
We've consolidated a lot of that
waste.
We've got a plot of the waste
into double shell tanks, which
gives us some additional
assurance of security, so that
this doesn't end up in the
Columbia river.
So there's been a lot of
progress at Hanford.
And we got to realize it's a
great place to visit and live.
We did the Hanford reach when I
was in congress, or shortly
thereafter, it was great
kayaking, great fishing, it's a
great place to take your
softball team.
It's a great place to visit and
it is a great place to live.
Having said that however,
though, we have some real
challenges at the Hanford site.
As you know, we've identified
several new leaking tanks that
are leaking several gallons a
day into the top soil.
And we have a zero tolerance
policy in this state for
radioactive leaks out of these
tanks.
So I've been working with the
federal government to assure
that they take the most vigorous
steps possible to reduce that
risk by basically getting that
material out of the leaking
tanks and have it go into a more
stable position, which is
probably going to be in New
Mexico.
And that's the right thing to
do.
I've also been working with them
to try to continue the
Vitrification plant.
And I want to make sure that
happens in a timely fashion.
But there's no imminent health
hazard at the Tri-Cities.
I'll take my grand kid there to
kayak on the river and play
softball any day.
But we're going to keep working
on this cleanup.
>> Enrique: All right.
Let's go to Sedro Woolley, and
dan, you're on the air with the
Governor.
>> Caller: Once again,
congratulations on the new job.
It's been a number of years
since I've gotten to shake your
hand.
Anyway, Your Honor, my question
is about the conditions of
public health here in the state
of Washington.
I've been a forest firefighter
here since 1978.
I graduated from high school and
got on the fire crew.
So my question is, with the
forest harvest opportunity on
the state and the federal side
of things, you know, we've built
up quite a population of stems,
trees, and that's what's caused
our problem and the beetle kill
and so on.
[beeping]
So especially in eastern
Washington, limited rainfall,
too many trees per acre,
drought-stricken tree, the
beetle takes effect, and you
have an extreme fire hazard with
the fact that we've got people
moving into those forest
environments now.
Case in point last year, taylor
bridge and so on and so forth.
But nonetheless, are we going to
work with our federal stake
holders as well as our
commissioner of public lands to
see that we do some real
scientific fuel reduction
activities in forest harvests,
so that we can avoid these
incredibly expensive forest
fires.
>> Enrique: Let's get a response
from the Governor now.
Thank you very much.
>> Gov. Inslee: I think there
are things we can do in a
responsible way to reduce the
fuel loading in our forest.
And I do want to create jobs but
the jobs I don't want to create
are firefighting jobs, and we're
going to be creating thousands
of those in the near future
because of the climate change
and drought and beetle kill and
folks moving into the areas
where there's a lot of dry
timber.
This has created the conditions
where we probably will have
double the amount of forest fire
threat in the next 10 years and
goodness knows thereafter.
Now, sometimes it's hard to
tease out the reasons for this
cataclysmic condition that we
have.
It's a combination of things.
But one of them is drought
caused by climate change.
And we are facing, according to
the scientific community, a very
significant increase in drought
conditions because of carbon
pollution.
That's why we've got to have an
energy system that's going to
help save our forests by
reducing the amount of carbon
pollution we put in the air.
That has changed the conditions
in the forest, increased
drought, made trees more
susceptible to beetle kill, and
we've had enormous beetle kill.
Now, we've also had some more
dense forests in part because of
fire suppression.
But it's not just fire
suppression.
If you look at the forest and
the tundra that mankind has
never touched, we've never had a
fire suppression in, you know,
millions of acres up in the
north tundra, but they're still
dying by the millions of acres
because of climate change.
And we got to recognize that.
So I think we got to do some
things locally, which involve
some reduction of fuel loading,
and we've got to do something in
the big picture, which is to not
allow climate change to swallow
our forest.
And that's going to happen if we
don't act.
So I look forward to working
with you.
>> Enrique: All right.
Let's go to Kevin here in
Seattle.
Kevin, go ahead, you're on the
air with the Governor.
>> Caller: Hi, Governor Inslee.
Last November when the voters
elected you, they also repealed
our long-standing prohibition on
marijuana possession.
And representative Fitzgibbons
had a bill this session to allow
people to go to court and have
previous convictions for simple
possessions removed, effectively
a pardon for a crime that is no
longer illegal.
What is your position on that?
And would you consider doing
that through your pardon powers
instead of the legislation?
>> Gov. Inslee: To be honest, I
really haven't thought about
this issue.
I hate to say that I've been in
the office for nine weeks and
there's something I haven't
resolved yet.
But this may be one of them.
I wouldn't say that I'm a
proponent of that right now, I'm
an old prosecuting attorney.
I'd like to think respect of the
law is important, even if it
does change.
But I have to tell you that
we've got to make some hard
decisions about our law
enforcement and where we put our
scarce resources.
So don't count me as a proponent
of the proposal, but as I said,
we should follow the will of the
votes and reduce law enforcement
associated with this part of
previous law.
>> Enrique: Let's take another
call here.
Let's go to Mountlake terrace.
And Debbie, you're on the air
with the Governor.
>> Caller: Hi, Governor.
The change is good.
>> Gov. Inslee: Thank you.
>> Caller: I had a question.
On the schools, I mean, you wish
they would be good.
I live in the Edmonds school
district, it's a school
district, they've built a lot of
new schools.
My kids are dyslexic and they've
had trouble in school.
And my daughter, she's 24 now,
they said that she's retarded so
we can get more funding.
And now she's 24, illiterate,
and on SSI.
My 22-year-old, his special ed
teacher said I just don't have
time to see if he gets it or
not.
The vice principal said he
doesn't have a choice, he's too
low on his credits, he just
needs to get his GED.
And well, he got his WASL test,
I got a letter saying that his
scores were so low, they weren't
going to include him on the
findings to the government.
>> Enrique: Debbie, did you have
a specific question we can get
to?
We're running short of time?
>> Caller: I went to the college
to see if my daughter could get
into illiteracy classes at the
college.
And they said, they'd only teach
it for the hispanics, it
wouldn't work for her.
So I don't know what to do with
her.
I don't know what to do about
her education.
She wants to go to school, she
wants to read, you know, she's
on SSI.
>> Enrique: Let's have the
Governor get a chance to quickly
respond to this.
Thank you.
>> Gov. Inslee: Well, first off,
I'm heartened that you care
about your kids.
That's a good thing.
And I hope that you keep a sense
of trying to give your daughters
an opportunity.
Now, I'm pretty sensitive to
this because I have a son with
really severe dyslexia.
And I saw some tremendous things
happen with him because, you
know, he got some great special
ed teachers who helped him.
And one of the reasons I'm so
dedicated to not allowing this
collapse of funding for our
special ed students to happen,
with all of the things that are
happening in our fiscal
condition, is I know what a
difference good teaching can
make.
So I'm dedicated to try to take
some actions to try to see as
many kids as possible, like your
son or daughter, have a shot at
this.
Maybe you ought to go in and see
somebody, your legislators or
your congress people, see if
there's something we can do with
your individual kids too.
Let's keep the hope alive here.
>> Enrique: Want to ask you one
very quick question here since
we're running short on time.
Session probably ends here the
end of April.
A lot of work yet to be done.
Where are you I guess in the
negotiations once it gets down
there, will you be a closer,
will you be in there
negotiating?
Will you be sharpening a veto
pen?
What's going to be your style?
>> Gov. Inslee: I don't know
that I think of it as a style.
I'm not like trying to be the
best cook or chef or movie
director, I'm not sure I think
of it as style.
I want to think of it as
performance.
I guess there's multiple things
I think I can do for the state
here.
I think I can help the state
lift its aspirations.
I think I can help the state
think of the last caller's
children when they decide what
we're going to do with the
fiscal condition of this state.
I can help legislators help step
up to the plate to help the
children who need it this year
and realize that they shouldn't
be boxed in.
You know, they've been cutting
things in Olympia now for
several years, they've cut over
$11 billion of things by
necessity because of the
recession.
The state had to tighten its
belt just like families did
during the recession.
But I think I can help
legislators realize the
opportunities we have by making
these investments in our kids
now.
And now is the time to start
making those investments.
I think I can help shine a light
on things that have been in this
sort of dirty little corner a
little too long in Olympia about
these tax breaks.
You know, these things have been
handed out sort of like sugar
candy to keep special interests
happy for too long.
And now, we need to bring those
out in the light.
And when you put them out into
the light of day on your
channel, people start to say,
wait a minute, why are we
cutting these kids off from
special ed, when we could be
closing some of these corporate
tax loopholes.
Now, if we shine a light on
those during the last month or
two of this session, we'll get
some good things done for the
kids of this state.
I think that's a pretty good
role for a Governor.
>> Enrique: Can we avoid a
special session?
>> Gov. Inslee: I have no idea.
I hope that we can move forward.
But I'll tell you what, I'm not
giving up on these kids.
If people think I'm going to
walk away from the table and
give up on the kids that I care
about, not gonna happen.
We're going to solve this
educational funding thing, and
we're going to do it in a way
that doesn't create more
homelessness for her kids.
We've got 27,000 homeless kids
in our state.
And I know it's very difficult
to educate a homeless, hungry,
sick kid.
And if people think they're
going to carve out money out of
the safety net for these
children in order to put it in
schools and think we've done our
jobs, it's not gonna happen on
my watch.
So we're going to solve this
problem.
And I've got a good way to do
it.
>> Enrique: Those of you unable
to get through during our
broadcast tonight can still pose
a question to Governor Inslee.
Here are some ways to do it.
The phone number for the
Governor's office in Olympia is
360-902-4111.
Or you can write the Governor at
P.O. box 40002, Olympia,
Washington, 98504-0002.
And finally, you can get
information online at the
Governor's website at
Governor.wa.gov.
This has been ask the Governor,
a production of KCTS-9
television.
Thanks to our studio audience
for being so patient.
And for those of you that had to
endure that you a nowing
beeping.
And to all of our participating
public television stations.
And thanks to Governor Inslee
for his first stop on ask the
Governor.
We look forward to doing many
more of these in the future.
[APPLAUSE]
¶¶
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