Download - Cascade Land Conservancy

The Gubernatorial Candidate Forum,
a Model for Success
By Leda Chahim, Government Affairs Director
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On November 6, the people of Washington will elect a
new governor, marking the start of a new era for our
state. In these tough economic times, we need a leader
who can bring everyone together from disparate sides of
our state’s most pressing issues to find solutions that serve
our communities now and into the future. We need to
ensure that all of our state’s residents have opportunities
for economic prosperity, a great quality of life and
access to the natural assets that support our health and
happiness including forests, farms, salmon and wildlife.
On June 27, Enterprise Community Partners, Forterra
and NAIOP came together to co-host a Gubernatorial
Candidate Forum with Attorney General Rob McKenna
and former U.S. Representative Jay Inslee. Nearly
350 guests joined our organizations at the Westin in
downtown Seattle for a question and answer session
moderated by Chris Sullivan of KIRO FM.
When it was first announced that Enterprise, Forterra and
NAIOP were co-hosting a forum, many people were struck
by the seemingly-unlikely partnership. But, stepping back
and examining each organization’s mission, it is clear we
share an interest in smart infrastructure investments; green
affordable housing and land use that can accommodate
growth, support the economy, and maintain a good
quality of life while protecting the extraordinary natural
assets of our State.
Through the course of the hour and a half-long forum,
Sullivan implored the candidates to share their visions
for how to grow our economy, protect our lands, provide
access to affordable housing and other key issues.
While there were certainly differences, there were areas
of agreement between the candidates as well. The
candidates described the importance of programs like
the Housing Trust Fund in supporting the state’s most
vulnerable residents. Both Inslee and McKenna expressed
a deep appreciation of the value of our state’s natural
resources to our economy. They shared an interest in
innovative programs to supplement public investment in
our communities, pointing to transferable development
rights (TDR) programs that leverage the private market to
conserve working farms, forests and natural lands. Inslee
offered that we need to find the economic engine that
marries the creation of livable cities with conserving our
states natural assets, such as TDR and an infrastructure
financing tool called tax increment financing. McKenna
pointed to the Landscape Conservation and Local
Infrastructure Program (LCLIP) as a model for linking the
two and financing infrastructure while incentivizing the
conservation of our farms, forests and natural areas.
When Washington welcomes its new Governor in January,
we will look to them to help lead us in growing our
economy while setting our communities on a course for
a sustainable future accessible to all of Washington’s
residents.
FORTERRA.ORG
Photos by Kristy J. Alley