Budget News Conference

African-American Affairs Commission

Thank you Zelma for that kind introduction. I am honored to be here today to address the commission and representatives of our state's Africa-American community.

I have a lot of good news to share with you today. But before I get into some the actions I have taken so far as governor, I want to go back a little bit further and share with you a little bit about who I am. You may know something about Chris Gregoire the politician from media reports, but I want you to get to know Chris Gregoire, the person.

I want to share with you some of the appointments I have made so far as governor and some of the policy initiatives upon which I am focusing my attention.

One of the first appointments I made was to name Harold Clarke our new secretary of the Department of Corrections. I was so pleased that Harold agreed to leave his position as corrections director in Nebraska to come join us in here in Washington. He is a national leader on many prison reform issues.

Harold had many successes in Nebraska. He enhanced staff training, including instituting a correctional academy to develop staff skills. Nebraska is one of only eight states where all the correctional facilities are accredited. And he instituted a mentoring program where prison wardens and others serve as mentors in the local public schools, concentrating on at-risk students.

One of the issues he will be addressing is disproportional incarceration among races. I am confident Harold will make sure that justice is being carried out fairly in our corrections system.

That same day I also appointed Richard Mitchell to serve as legal counsel for the Governor's Office. Before coming to the Governor's Office, he was an associate at the Seattle office of Dorsey and Whitney.

Richard is also board member and secretary of the Loren Miller Bar Association and a board member of the Zion Preparatory Academy. Richard will be a great asset in making sure that the judges we appoint reflect the communities in which they will serve.

And just this Tuesday, we found a great way to celebrate Black History Month in Washington by making a historic appointment. I was pleased to name John Batiste as the first African-American chief of the Washington State Patrol.

Chief Batiste is an experienced and skilled law enforcement officer. Chief Batiste will make sure that the patrol continues its recent progress in the area of racial profiling.

In addition to making appointments that will help ensure justice is fair in our state, we must also take actions to promote equality of economic opportunity as well. We are taking steps to meet this goal.

Last week I proposed that the state double, to $100 million, the program cap for the Washington Link Deposit Program. This program encourages banks to make loans to certified minority and women-owned businesses at below-market rates.

I'm also proposing that we eliminate the scheduled sunset of this program in 2008.

This policy addresses access to capital, the single greatest demand of small businesses, at modest cost to the state.

I need your help in making sure these changes are passed by the Legislature. We must act to spur women and minority owned small business in Washington, both for the benefit of the business owners and for the benefit of the state's economy.

These are just a few of the issues I recognize as important to the African-American community. I look forward to working with you on these and other issues of importance during this legislative session and beyond. Working together, we can accomplish great things for our communities and for our state.

Thank you.

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