Victory Press Conference by Governor Christine Gregoire (D-Wa)

VICTORY PRESS CONFIDENCE BY GOVERNOR CHRISTINE GREGOIRE (D-WA)

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GOV. GREGOIRE: (Applause.) Well, good morning, everyone. And thank you and thanks to both of my colleagues in the legislature and our great United States senator, Senator Maria Cantwell.

I've got to tell you, this is one of the more gratifying days I've had in four years, with this victory decisively last night, which I think is a reinforcement of all of the hard work that we've put in and the partnerships that we formed over the last four years.

I first have to say a big thanks to the greatest family in the world, who have been amazingly supportive: my husband, Mike, and our two daughters, Courtney and Michelle, and our new son-in-law, Scott Lindsay. They have worked hard on the campaign, but they've worked hard in supporting me throughout the last four years. Thank you. I love you. (Applause.)

And I know Barack probably said last night that he had the best team in the world. I really would disagree with him. This is probably the only thing I disagree with him on. But I really thank Kelly Evans as my campaign manager. And the team that she put together have been nothing short of amazing. I want to thank you. Thanks to each and every one of you for an amazing job and all the tremendous support that you have given. Thank you. (Applause.)

In the end, this race really was about volunteers. We had probably 2 million telephone calls that were made by volunteers throughout this campaign. Hundreds of thousands of doors were knocked on. And I -- I have to say that those volunteers from the bottom up saying, "We care and we want this state to continue in the direction that we set over the last four years," was unbelievably gratifying as I went out and about and thanked them over the last several days.

A big thank you to the voters of the State of Washington, some of them in very difficult circumstances, standing, literally, three hours in line. But they wanted to be a part of an historic election. And they participated in overwhelming numbers. So to all of them, no matter who they voted for in any race, thank you for participating in the great American democracy and casting your ballots.

I'd also like, if I could, to say now is the time -- it was a difficult race; there's no question about it. It was divisive; there's no question about it. And it's time for us to put that behind us, absolutely behind us. It is time for us to unite again as one, Washington, and move forward.

I got a call from Dino Rossi earlier today. He offered his help and I told him thank you and I asked God to bless he and Terry and his children for their willingness to step up and run for office. Anybody who's willing to run for office, I think ought to be thanked for their willingness to do so.

And I told him I would take him up on his offer because, you know what? We're going to have some tough times in the days ahead, and it's going to take every one of us working together, no matter party affiliation, no matter what. It is going to take every one of us. As Barack said, it's going to take some sacrifice. It's also going to take all of us helping out, our neighbors and our friends and our families and our work -- co-workers at work to make sure that we're watching out for every Washingtonian.

And I can't tell you how excited I am for the historical moment that we all experienced last evening when we elected Barack Obama as president of the United States. I am so excited to have him as a partner in the White House, working with our delegation. And all of the things that we really value here in Washington State -- Barack Obama is an individual who shares our values. He shares our vision. He shares what we want to accomplish throughout Washington State. He's going to be an amazing partner.

I'm looking forward to serving with him and to moving this country forward. And I want to congratulate he and Michelle and Joe Biden. It's going to be a tremendous experience to work with them.

And with that, again, I thank everyone who's made this day possible. I humbly serve as governor of the great State of Washington. Last night all of us were proud -- proud of this great nation, the greatest nation in the world. I am proud of the greatest state in the nation.

And I am really proud to serve as its governor.

Thank you. (Cheers, applause.)

Q (Off mike.) You'll be facing a deficit well over $4 billion. We're talking about celebrating here today. But you know -- (off mike) -- you've got to hit the ground running.

How are you going to handle that big of a deficit, bigger than --

GOV. GREGOIRE: Let there be no question. Priority one is jobs and the economy. We get to work today.

We are going to work again across party lines, in both the House and the Senate, to make sure that we can not only balance the budget, which we are capable of doing. I did it in 2005 with help of my colleagues, when it was a $2.2 billion deficit. I've already taken action to reduce it by $1 billion.

We have one of the few states in America with a surplus, over $0.5 billion in the bank. So we'll be able to do that. But you know, that's not good enough. And it's by no means enough. What we need to do, in partnership with Barack Obama, is put the country and Washington State to work. And that means, look at new ways to do that.

So I intend to work with President-elect Barack Obama and with our congressional delegation for another stimulus package. He and I have had multiple conversations, about what that might look like, that would be very helpful to the states.

I myself are working on a stimulus package for our own state. It's a work in progress. I hope to announce it over the next week to 10 days. And I have a second stimulus package that I'd like to consider, with my colleagues in the legislature, when we get into the legislative session. But job number one is jobs and the economy for state.

Q Tax increases?

GOV. GREGOIRE: You know, I said it during the session. I do not intend, during this, during this election cycle, I'll still say it. I do not intend.

Now is not the time you put taxes on people. Small businesses; I have been to visit small businesses throughout our state. And they are struggling; large businesses struggling as well.

Our people are struggling with the increased cost of gas and food. And so we need to be there helping them get through these tough times. And raising taxes is not going to help them.

Q Governor, you talked about -- (off mike) -- this campaign was.

What are your first steps to put that behind you?

GOV. GREGOIRE: You know, as I said when talking with Dino today, it was a hard-fought battle, no question about it. And I was chagrined when the negative attack ads began, against me, in June. And it was just kind of a warmup to what would get much worse. I hope we never see that in the State of Washington again.

I don't think Washingtons like it any more than a candidate hates seeing a negative, fearmongering attack ad against them on television. And do you have any idea how nice it was to wake up this morning and see no ads, no ads? (Laughter.)

But I want to really put that behind us. Now is the time for us to come together. We must be one Washington. We are better as one. That means economically. That means culturally. And so I know it's been a difficult campaign. And I know it's been divisive. But it's time for us to put it in our past and move forward as one Washington.

Q What do you foresee for the Obama energy plan here in specifically Washington State?

GOV. GREGOIRE: Well, I've already shared with him and we've got an amazing partner in Senator Cantwell and in Congressman Jay Inslee. They are two of the leaders in the House and the Senate.

But just a couple of years ago, we put in some incentives in our state, the results of which is we are now the fifth-largest producer of wind power in the country. Because of those incentives, in part, we have the largest silicon solar manufacturing plant, located in Moses Lake, Washington. We have the largest biofuel refinery, located in Hoquiam, Washington.

So we've set a target of 25,000 new green-collar jobs. We're well on our way. We've got the research going on now in the Tri- Cities to find an alternative for biofuel feedstocks and food. So we're looking at waste -- agriculture waste, forestry waste, algae.

I think Washington State is prepared to lead. When Vice President Al Gore was here a couple of weeks ago, he made it very clear there is one state and one governor who really has stepped up to lead the nation when it comes to facing the challenges of global climate change and looking at a green economy, and that's this state and this governor.

It can't be done alone. It takes the wonderful partnership in the legislature, the leadership of Senator Cantwell in the Senate and the leadership of Congressman Inslee in the House.

Q Governor, you mentioned a stimulus package you're going to be announcing. Can you give us any idea what kinds of things you're looking at? Is that targeted tax breaks for certain districts, like (free power ?) or something like that, direct rebates to the taxpayers of some kind? What's your --

GOV. GREGOIRE: It's a work in progress, so I'm not prepared to announce today. But let me just tell you what I spoke to President- elect Obama about over the last several months. And that is, we don't need a stimulus package with one $300 check. We need a stimulus package that puts America back to work. Four hundred thousand jobs have been lost in Michigan. Those people are perfectly capable of going to work.

So what I suggested to him, along with some of my colleagues, as well as talking with Speaker Pelosi and the majority leader, is how about ready-to-go projects in our states, whether they're water, whether they're roads, whatever they may be, literally ready to go in the first 90 days. The only reason they're not going forward is because they don't have the financial wherewithal. To put us back to work so that people have a paycheck, so they could go to that small business and spend their money, is the way, in my opinion, we help getting the economy going again.

And I know this is being considered by our delegation. I have already provided a list of ready-to-go projects. Local, state projects. I think we should prepare a stimulus package that allows us to be able to ensure we're putting Washingtonians who've lost their jobs back to work. So that's my focus.

Q Any thoughts about a Cabinet position? If asked, would you take a position in the Cabinet of President-elect Obama?

GOV. GREGOIRE: You know, that -- wouldn't that be an honor, to be asked to serve in the Cabinet. I love my state. Do you have any idea how hard I've run to be governor? (Laughter.)

I want to be governor of the great State of Washington.

Q Governor, was there any point in the campaign that you could point to in which you believed that maybe, you know, you were sure that you were going to make it or that there was a misstep or something that Dino Rossi said that maybe helped you frame him for voters in the way that you needed to?

GOV. GREGOIRE: You know, I don't want to really relive this, I have to admit. (Laughter.) But, you know, when he started talking about considering lowering the minimum wage, that affected every working man and woman and working family in this state. When he said that he, to help businesses, would considering lowering unemployment benefits -- when, in fact, when you're in tough economic times, you should do the opposite -- the opposite -- give people more buying power, not less -- I think that spoke loudly to the differences -- to the differences between Dino and myself.

So the voters had a clear choice. It wasn't as if they were saying here are two candidates and we can't tell the difference. They clearly saw some very distinct differences. And that happened within the last month, to be honest with you, where that came out and we began seeing in our own internal polls that there was a change that happened as a result of that, I think.

Q Governor, did the celebrations in the streets last night -- how much do you think that enthusiasm for Barack Obama, his campaign, bled over into your campaign, made such a bigger difference this year than four years ago?

GOV. GREGOIRE: You know, I'll leave the speculating to you with respect to that. But let me just say, as Barack and Michelle put it, they hope that Washingtonians understood that the message of change that Barack was trying to bring to Washington, D.C. and to the country is the very change that we've been make happen here in Washington State.

We set a goal sometime back -- we want a world-class education system -- and we've started. We're now looking at having one of the finest early childhood education programs in the country, for example. We said we want a green, clean economy and we've been working and we're ahead of much of the country in making that happen. We said we wanted health care that was affordable and accessible and we started with our children and made sure prescription medication was affordable to our seniors.

These are all the same things that Barack Obama is talking about bringing to the nation. It's all of the things we've been doing over the last four years.

So what I think voters saw was a partnership, an amazing partnership between a new president and a governor, along with an amazing legislature and an amazing congressional delegation that would allow this state to shine and be even greater than what it is.

STAFF: Last question.

GOV. GREGOIRE: It's yours, Toso (ph), apparently. (Laughter.)

Q (Off mike) -- you've talked a lot about not raising taxes, but, you know, we still don't know how you're going to fill this deficit. I mean, job creation could take a while, for example. Are you considering, or do you think the legislature might consider, carving out certain priorities that you think -- that would be popular and sending those to a vote of the people for some kind of tax or fee increase? Is that a possibility that could emerge, do you think, in the session?

GOV. GREGOIRE: I'll leave it to my colleagues in the legislature.

You know, I will forever maintain that the voters ought to be able to decide that. If they decide they want to raise taxes for some given purpose, they ought to be allowed to do that. So I wouldn't be involved in it. It would bypass me. It would not be something that the governor would sign on to or sign off on.

But let me just say how we intend to move forward. The fact that the actions I've already taken have resulted in current and projected savings of approximately a billion dollars is, I think, fairly dramatic.

The other thing is, you know, if Barack and the Congress can take some necessary action, I think you can see this economy turn around. I mean, look how well we've survived. I mean, we've created 250,000 new jobs while others have lost hundreds of thousands. We have a surplus, money in the bank, while others are sitting on a deficit that is just unbelievable.

So you can see we are the recipient of failed policies nationally. So if those policies can be turned around in a timely way, then I would expect that we'll see that turn here more rapidly in our state. Take a look, for example, in our exports. We have doubled the volume of our exports, from $33 billion to $66 billion. Some people think it's all aerospace. No, it's not. In agriculture, for example, as of July 1 of this year we had exported as much in agriculture as we did in all of last year.

We need to keep growing that. There are opportunities for us to grow our economy. So it's one thing to say balance the budget, but if we don't grow the economy, if we're not thinking 21st century new opportunities, then we will have a stagnation in our economy.

So I'm looking forward to balancing the budget, but more importantly, growing our economy, and (waiting ?) and hoping that in the partnership with our delegation and with Barack, we can turn the national economy around, which should help with regard to any deficit in this state.

Thank you all very much. (Applause.)

END.

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