Our view: Our fair share
A few years ago, the state Legislature conducted a study in response to the perennial idea of drawing a line at the Cascade Range and creating two states. It found that West Side counties have 78 percent of the population, 83 percent of the sales-tax base, 85 percent of the property value and 82 percent of personal wealth.
Hmm … maybe sticking with West Siders wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Now, if we could just get more political clout, maybe we could tip more state revenue our way.
Imagine, for a moment, a haul that included substantial investment in such economic development initiatives as Spokane’s Institute for Systems Medicine, Allied Sciences Laboratory and Sirti, plus an expanded foothold here for the University of Washington Medical School. Imagine further:
“$99 million for the North Spokane Corridor
“$58 million for a biotechnology building for Washington State University
“$38 million for Eastern Washington University construction projects
“$11 million for the Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad
“$9.7 million for Spokane’s community colleges
“$6.7 million for the Geiger Spur rail line
“$4 million for the Omak Stampede arena
“$3.3 million for YMCA/YWCA projects
“$2.2 million for Eastern Washington State Historical Society
“$2 million for Fox Theater renovation
“$2 million for Avista Stadium renovations
“$1 million for Chewelah Peak Environmental Learning Center
“$860,000 for a West Plains transloader facility
“$800,000 a piece for Mirabeau Point Children’s Universal Park and Mobius
“$530,000 for Spokane’s whitewater park
Wait! You don’t have to dream. It happened this year. Yes, Eastern Washington just experienced one of its best years in terms of government spending.
When legislative leaders Jim West and Cathy McMorris Rodgers left Olympia to pursue other positions, it looked like East Side clout would wane.
But with Lisa Brown leading the Senate and the state’s economy riding high, we’ve done better than we could’ve imagined.
It helped that Chris Marr and Don Barlow were added to the Eastern Washington contingent and that Rep. Timm Ormsby was elevated to a key position for the House construction budget.
And it was critical that Gov. Chris Gregoire demonstrated with action a commitment to Eastern Washington’s needs that governors routinely state in words.
For sure, there are areas for disappointment. The boost for the North Spokane Corridor largely covers construction inflation. It won’t necessarily mean more miles of road.
But when taking in the overall spending picture and considering where the wealth resides in this state, we have to conclude that Eastern Washington had a very good year.