PORT ANGELES — Infrastructure improvements would help create jobs and lift the 24th Legislative District out of the economic recession, state Rep. Kevin Van De Wege told Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce members Monday.
“That’s, I think, the area that the state can have the most bang for their buck,” Van De Wege, D-Sequim, said at the Port Angeles CrabHouse Restaurant during a forum featuring him and his Republican challenger in the Nov. 2 election, Port Angeles real estate broker Dan Gase.
Gase said the state should tighten its belt to balance the budget without raising taxes on businesses and individuals.
“My whole goal and dream of Washington state is to become the most business-friendly state in the United States — a state where people flock to come here and do business,” Gase said.
“I think that we should have put a larger hold on the increased spending earlier on.”
Legislative seat
Van De Wege, 35, and Gase, 57, are running for 24th District Position 1 in the state Legislature. The district includes Clallam and Jefferson counties and part of Grays Harbor County.
Gase, who served as president of the Port Angeles chamber in 2005, altered his usual speech and spent the first five minutes answering questions he asked of himself.
He pointed to three things that distinguish him from the incumbent.
Gase said:
• The state can balance the budget without raising taxes by living within its means.
• Private-sector job creation is the best long-term solution to the state’s economic challenges.
• He has never voted to raise taxes.
When the Legislature rolled back Initiative 960, it allowed for a tax increases without a two-thirds majority vote, Gase said.
“That creates a humongous amount of uncertainty because with all the talk of potential larger budget deficits, a business owner is going to be pretty conservative when it comes to putting up more investment and hiring people not knowing what’s going to happen,” Gase said.
“But the stage has been set. The fire has been lit, so to speak, for a tax increase. So I would be concerned about that.”
Job creation
Van De Wege said job creation is the best way to bring the state out of its recession. He said he helped create jobs during his first term through biomass legislation he introduced with Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam.
“What’s happening at Nippon is exactly what the state can do to help businesses create jobs,” said Van De Wege, referring to Nippon Paper Industries USA Inc.’s proposed $71 million biomass cogeneration plant that would turn wood waste into heat and electricity at the Port Angeles mill.
The project will help protect existing jobs at Nippon and create new timber and energy-sector jobs, Van De Wege said.
The incumbent said his work in Olympia helped Peninsula Plywood President Josh Renshaw reopen the former KPly mill earlier this year.
“He [Renshaw] opened a plywood mill in the middle of a recession, which is huge kudos to him,” Van De Wege said.
PenPly had 154 employees in August but laid off 35 on Oct. 1 in the midst of a seasonal downturn.
“To continue doing job creation, I look for providing some infrastructure in the coming years,” Van De Wege said.
“That, I believe, will really be a win-win for business. Carlsborg sewer project is an example. Battelle in Sequim — all they need is [to have sewerage added] to their facility and they’ll hire 30 more people.
“That’s what I view as being a way that I can help businesses create jobs from a state level.”
State ferries
Drawing a contrast with Gase, Van De Wege said his opponent supports privatizing the state ferry system. He said most of the cost to operate the Port Townsend-Coupeville ferry, for example, comes from state subsidies.
“So if you privatize that, the ferry run’s going to be shut down,” Van De Wege said.
“There’s no way around that. . . . And that’s going to have a big impact on our tourism dollars.”
Asked how they would vote on creating a state income tax — Initiative 1098 on the current ballot — both candidates said they were opposed.
Ballots for the Nov. 2 all-mail election were mailed last week.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.