Bellingham Comments from Digital Recorder - EISs for the Proposed ...

GATEWAY PACIFIC TERMINAL EIS SCOPING HEARING VOL. I
COURT REPORTER: GWEN BRASS PROCEEDING DATE: October 27, 2012
Page 51
individuals who are a nonpartisan group funded by our
membership, who represent the broad spectrum of interests
including labor, business, Democrats and Republicans.
On a personal note, I was born in Everson. I attended
Western. My grandfather was a potato farmer in Whatcom County,
and times have changed lot since then in Whatcom County.
Economic hardships in the past few years have translated into
flat or declining revenue to fund our government services.
One of our most important valuable assets, of course,
is our export economy. In fact, four out of ten jobs in our
region are trade-related.
Another one of our strengths is our port facilities
and their related transportation infrastructure that move
commodities and products effectively through these facilities.
These proposed terminals will provide an important
short- and long-term boost to our regional economy and they
will create much-needed jobs right here in Whatcom County.
This terminal and others like it will create thousands
of good family-wage jobs in construction trades,
transportation, manufacturing and trade. That's blue collar
and white collar jobs.
As a state with unemployment above the national
average that's routinely forced to cut funding for schools, we
need to move these projects forward as soon as we can.
There was a time years ago when as a society we may have