Current Port of Seattle Commissioner Bill Bryant, left-center, talks with people at the Lewis County Republican Party picnic on Monday afternoon at Stan Headwall Park in Chehalis. Bryant, who grew up in Morton, announced last May that he would be running for governor.
Current Port of Seattle Commissioner Bill Bryant speaks at the Lewis County Republican Party picnic in August 2015 in Chehalis.
Ruth Peterson, right, hands out ballots for a straw poll at the Lewis County Republican Party picnic on Monday afternoon at Stan Hedwall Park in Chehalis.
Morton-born Republican candidate for governor Bill Bryant spent Monday evening in Chehalis at the Lewis County Republicans annual picnic.
Bryant, who currently serves as a second-term Seattle Port commissioner, was the guest speaker for the event.
Penny Mauel, Lewis County Republicans board member at large, helped to organize the picnic. She said it’s been a long time since Washington had a Republican governor who influenced her life.
“I so want to see Bill Bryant elected,” she said.
If elected, Bryant wants to focus on education and help students prepare for college, jobs and trades. He hopes to create middle class jobs statewide, grow the tourism industry and rebuild the manufacturing industry.
He told The Chronicle his environmental focus is cleaning up Puget Sound because only Washington state can and it only has about 10-15 years left to do it.
The candidate also expressed concerns about this year’s drought, saying that without the snowpack, the state needs to figure out how to capture and save water for use during dry months.
He said the environment is an important issue to him, but not at the cost of jobs.
Gov. Jay Inslee’s original plan to impose a fee on carbon emissions would have cost middle wage jobs, Bryant said. He added that Inslee’s current plan isn’t clear, as he had directed the Washington State Department of Ecology to develop a plan to cap carbon emissions.
Bryant also added that Washington state is one of the leanest states when it comes to carbon emissions and that imposing new regulations can cost jobs.
In his speech, Bryant highlighted the top three topics he hears about from Washingtonians.
The first is personal responsibility.
He said a society has been created where people who are trying to get their lives together and get good jobs, but don’t have incentives to work because they will lose benefits. That needs to be reformed, he said.
Citizens are also concerned about the middle class and creating solid family-wage jobs.
Bryant is in favor of allowing the Shell Oil Co. to lease space in the Port of Seattle. He was told the potential rigs wouldn’t endanger Puget Sound and that approving the lease won’t impact drilling in the Arctic Ocean because the rigs can port elsewhere.
“But there were 400 solid family-wage jobs associated with that project,” Bryant said. “Jobs that pay over $70,000 a year.”
He said while not leasing to Shell would have made a statement, it would have cost jobs for the middle class.
Bryant said Washington’s regulatory environment doesn’t encourage companies to move or stay in the state, and the education system doesn’t prepare graduates to work at those companies. Both of those hurt the middle class, he said.
The final topic Washington voters commonly ask Bryant about is leadership and fiscal responsibility, he said.
Bryant started a company in Yakima shipping farmers’ produce around the world. From there he moved to Seattle, growing the company.
Once he had time to begin public service, he ran for port commissioner.
After he was elected, he said, he cut the budget, added to reserves and reduced property taxes. Every year since the port has held tax flat or collected less.
He said state leadership needs to take a different approach when working on its budget, noting that lawmakers had a record-long session.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we did not have an absence of revenue in Olympia,” Bryant said. “We have an absence of leadership in the governor’s office, and with your help next year, we’re going to change that.”
