Getting Recompete right: answering your most common questions
Published 1:30 am Saturday, May 2, 2026
LARGE PUBLIC INVESTMENTS tend to arrive with big assumptions and questions. That’s certainly been the case with Recompete, a $35.6 million investment in Clallam and Jefferson counties aimed at connecting people to job opportunities and strengthening the local economy.
Because the initiative is complex, it’s worth clarifying a few common questions.
Who’s actually holding the checkbook?
It’s easy to picture Clallam County receiving a $35.6 million check and deciding how to spend it. But this is not how this grant is structured.
Funding is divided among seven entities across both counties. Each organization holds its own contract with the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) that outlines federally approved activities and budgets. These grantees are reimbursed for their expenditures only after careful review by the EDA.
As the lead applicant, Clallam County helps coordinate the coalition but does not control or distribute the funds.
The distinction matters. Without this understanding, it’s easy to assume flexibility or reallocation of funds that simply doesn’t exist. While all partners in the coalition are working toward a common goal, each award contract is managed separately and directly with the EDA, not at the county level.
Where exactly is the money going?
Recompete has a focused goal: to strengthen the local economy by connecting people to living-wage jobs. To achieve that, funding is going toward job skills training for in-demand careers, job creation projects and wraparound services that remove barriers to employment (such as childcare and transportation).
If the goal is jobs, where are they?
The answer comes down to visibility and timing. It may be clarifying to think of Recompete as two tracks: programs and projects.
Programs are available for individuals or businesses, including job skills training, transportation support and business advising. They’re highly visible, relatively quick to launch and are already reaching people in the community.
The second track, job creation projects, focuses on building the conditions for job growth through investments in infrastructure, equipment and supply chain improvements. These efforts take time.
Many have faced headwinds due to the government shutdown, rising material costs and broader economic shifts. Our partners are adapting to ensure these projects succeed in today’s conditions.
But that doesn’t mean they’re not in motion. Both projects and programs are in progress, but on different timelines. Procuring large equipment that will expand hiring capacity, for example, simply takes more time and is less public-facing compared to programs that an individual can enroll in now.
A pilot program in progress
Another important distinction is that Recompete is a pilot program. Early proposals envisioned a much larger, multi-billion-dollar investment over a decade. Instead, the initiative was scaled back to test the model in a handful of communities nationwide.
The goal is to learn what works and what doesn’t so successful strategies can be built upon. That means learning and adjusting along the way. Results won’t appear overnight.
The bigger picture
Skepticism is understandable for communities like ours that have seen initiatives come and go. With Recompete, grounding in the fundamentals is essential for moving beyond speculation into something we can all get behind. Improving economic conditions means improving the quality of life for all on the Peninsula.
This isn’t a blank check, and it isn’t a rapid solution.
It’s also a rare opportunity. Out of more than 500 applicants nationwide, the North Olympic Peninsula was one of only six regions selected. This investment could have gone elsewhere; the fact that it’s in our community is a huge win.
Visit RecompeteWA.org for more FAQs and details on the initiative.
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Carolyn Edge is the Recompete communications and media coordinator. She can be reached by email at carolyn.edge@recompetewa.org.
