www.thenewstribune.com Open in urlscan Pro
23.204.192.26  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

POST /search/

<form tabindex="-1" action="/search/" class="flex" role="search" method="POST"><input id="nav-menu-search-bar" type="text" name="q" placeholder="Search" aria-label="Search Tacoma News Tribune" tabindex="0"><button type="submit" aria-label="Search"
    tabindex="-1"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512">
      <path
        d="M505 442.7L405.3 343c-4.5-4.5-10.6-7-17-7H372c27.6-35.3 44-79.7 44-128C416 93.1 322.9 0 208 0S0 93.1 0 208s93.1 208 208 208c48.3 0 92.7-16.4 128-44v16.3c0 6.4 2.5 12.5 7 17l99.7 99.7c9.4 9.4 24.6 9.4 33.9 0l28.3-28.3c9.4-9.4 9.4-24.6.1-34zM208 336c-70.7 0-128-57.2-128-128 0-70.7 57.2-128 128-128 70.7 0 128 57.2 128 128 0 70.7-57.2 128-128 128z">
      </path>
    </svg></button></form>

Text Content

Read today's Edition

Log In|Subscribe

46°F
News
Restaurants
State
Seahawks
Sports
Games
Obituaries
Finance
Classifieds
Best of Pierce Co.

Home
Customer Service
About Us
Account Management
Archives
Contact Us
Customer Service
Subscribe
Advertise
Contact McClatchy Advertising
Stay Connected
Mobile Apps & eReaders
Newsletters
Social Media
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Read today's Edition Best of Pierce County

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

News
Crime
Government & Politics
Local News
The Peninsula Gateway
The Puyallup Herald
Databases
Military
Traffic
Washington State News
National News
Real Estate
Weather News
Personal Finance
Product Recalls
Sports
High School
Seahawks
Entertainment & Living
TNT Diner
Home & Garden
Arts & Culture
Comics
Puzzles & Games
Horoscopes
All Entertainment
Opinion
Opinion
Submit a Letter to the Editor
Matt Driscoll
Obituaries
View Obituaries
Place an Obituary
Video

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Featured
Reality Check
Uniquely
Puyallup Herald
Gateway
Best of Pierce Co.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shopping/Reviews
Product Reviews
Health and Wellness
Software and Business
Shopping
Deals & Offers
Amazon Prime
Press Releases

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sponsored Content
Paid Content by BrandPoint
Sponsored Articles
Partner Content
Family Features
Classifieds
Place a Classified Ad
Post a Job
Browse Classifieds
Place an Ad - Celebrations Search Jobs Search Legal Notices
Advertising
Place an Ad
Staffing Solutions
Political | Advocacy Advertising
$1.99/6mo
WELCOME OFFER
6 MONTHS FOR $1.99
Gain unlimited access to our exclusive stories.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
CLAIM


National


GOVERNOR-ELECT BOB FERGUSON’S EARLY APPROACH TO FIXING WA’S $10 BILLION BUDGET
HOLE

By Jim Brunner, The Seattle Times The Tribune Content Agency
Updated December 09, 2024 9:52 AM

Washington Governor-elect Bob Ferguson, formerly Washington state’s attorney
general. (Handout/The Seattle Times/TNS) Handout TNS


Facing a budget shortfall of $10 billion or more, Democratic leaders in the
state Legislature are already talking about potentially raising taxes to
forestall cuts to government services.

But Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson says he’s not ready to back tax increases just yet.



In an interview with The Seattle Times at a North Seattle coffee shop Thursday -
his first extensive sit-down since winning the gubernatorial race - Ferguson
said he’s scouring state government looking for ways to cut spending before
considering taxes.

“We are looking at savings, efficiencies, how we can do better as a state.
That’s the first, second and third conversation as far as I am concerned, before
even entertaining anything else,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson, who arrived for the hourlong interview without any entourage, also
emphasized he’s serious about his campaign promise to hire more police
throughout the state and said he’s carefully planning for how to respond to the
incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump on issues including the
promised use of the military in mass deportations.

The 59-year-old Democrat, who has served as attorney general since 2013,
defeated Republican opponent Dave Reichert in the Nov. 5 election, winning 55.5%
of the vote.

Since then, he’s appointed a 53-member transition team of union, tribal and
business leaders, Democratic and Republican legislators and others, asking them
for recommendations for an agenda focused on his first 100 days as governor.



The transition team includes a subcommittee asked to look for ways to reduce
state spending, co-chaired by state Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, who battled
with Ferguson in the gubernatorial primary, and Rachel Smith, CEO of the Seattle
Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

“We do not have a subcommittee on revenues,” Ferguson said. “Specifically at the
transition team, I made clear that’s not a part of the conversation.”

Ferguson’s cost-cutting exercise is no declaration of a desire to deeply slash
government like Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” effort at the
federal level, headed by entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

Still, Ferguson said he’s been doing his homework on state government, studying
the dozens of state agencies he’ll soon lead - and even questioning whether all
of them should exist.

“There is an agency - not the biggest agency in the world, but I was like, ‘Why
do we have this agency?’ “ Ferguson said he thought after looking at
descriptions of one state office.

He declined to identify the agency but said he called two of his top aides and
asked them to contact the office and get “a better explanation of why they
exist” and whether they can get by with “far, far fewer employees.”



A transition spokesperson also declined to identify the agency Ferguson was
referring to in response to follow-up questions.

Ferguson said he hasn’t made any decisions on the future of that agency or
others. But despite being the latest in a four-decade run of Democratic
governors, he insists he’s willing to rock the status quo in the Capitol, as he
did in the 2000s when he sided with Republicans as a Metropolitan King County
Council member and cut the size of the council from 13 to nine members.

“For me, there is not some sacred cow,” he said.

Ferguson cautioned he’s not ruling out tax increases and acknowledged Democratic
lawmakers will have their own proposals he may have to grapple with.

Some top state House and Senate Democrats have publicly signaled they’ll pursue
additional taxes, emboldened by the November election results in which voters
mostly rejected a slate of antitax initiatives, while also handing Democrats
every statewide elected office and slightly larger legislative majorities.

One option being floated is a tax on high salaries paid by large corporations,
similar to Seattle’s JumpStart tax. Another is a “wealth tax” on the richest
state residents.

“I am looking at a lot of options that check the box of meeting community needs
while also making the tax code more progressive,” said state Sen. Noel Frame,
D-Seattle, vice-chair for finance on the state Ways and Means Committee, in an
interview confirming those options and others will be examined by lawmakers who
want to preserve programs such as expanded child care subsidies.



Frame said she and state Rep. My-Linh Thai, D-Newcastle, will again introduce
their wealth tax proposal targeting stocks and bonds and other financial assets
of the very wealthy, which has been proposed for the past two sessions but did
not advance.

In the interview, Ferguson declined to say whether he would support or oppose
that proposal or others suggested by other legislators.

The state faces a budget shortfall between expected revenues and expenses of
between $10 billion and $12 billion over the next four years, driven by tax
revenues coming in below recent high-water marks and by decisions from majority
Democrats to boost spending on an array of programs.

Outgoing Gov. Jay Inslee recently imposed a freeze on state hiring and
nonessential contracts and travel in response to the looming deficit. Inslee
will offer his final budget plan Dec. 17 before leaving office in January.

In the interview, Ferguson also was noncommittal on some top legislative
priorities of progressive Democrats and their allies, which may wind up on his
desk for a signature or veto in the next several months.

That includes a bill giving striking workers access to unemployment benefits,
which passed the state House last year. “I will carefully consider it if the
Legislature passes it. I made no commitment on that to anybody,” he said.



Similarly, Ferguson didn’t commit in the interview to supporting a bill to cap
annual rent increases - another proposal that passed the state House last year
but died in the Senate. However, he has directed his transition team’s housing
subcommittee, led by Lt. Gov. Denny Heck, to come up with a recommendation on “a
balanced law that prohibits predatory rent increases.”

During his gubernatorial campaign, Ferguson promised to reverse a slide in
police hiring in the state, which for more than a decade has ranked dead last in
the country for officers per capita. He pledged a $100 million grant program to
help cities and counties recruit more officers.

That promise, featured in multiple TV ads, drew derision from Ferguson’s
political rivals, who pointed out he had not made police hiring a priority
during his dozen years as attorney general.

But in the interview, Ferguson said he’s determined to follow through as
governor. He won’t be satisfied with merely proposing a plan and then walking
away.

“We are really going to do this,” he said, saying he’s told legislative leaders
“it’s going to need to happen.”

As he faces tough issues in Washington state, Ferguson will also have to contend
with a second Trump administration, and another subgroup of his transition
committee has been asked for ways to prepare for the “Project 2025” agenda from
Trump allies, including mass deportations.



Ferguson, who sued the first Trump administration nearly 100 times as attorney
general, said he’s asked for careful legal briefings on the extent and limits of
the federal government’s authority, including the potential use of the National
Guard in mass deportations.

Ferguson said he has “no problem” with deportations of “individuals who are
criminals” under existing policies and law, and acknowledged the president has
broad legal authority on immigration. But he said he’s preparing for if Trump
pushes past legal boundaries.

“Our job is to make sure that the federal government is adhering to the law when
carrying out any activity that impacts Washingtonians,” he said.

Ferguson is scheduled to be sworn in as governor Jan. 15, two days after the
2025 Legislature convenes.

_____

Copyright (C) 2024, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the
respective providers.

This story was originally published December 9, 2024, 1:08 AM.






GET UNLIMITED DIGITAL ACCESS

#READLOCAL

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER
National


MEGA MILLIONS PLAYERS ACROSS THE US WIN MILLIONS. WHERE WERE THE LUCKY TICKETS
SOLD?

Updated December 15, 2024 11:10 AM
National


MISSING 18-YEAR-OLD WITH ‘A VERY GOOD HEART’ FOUND SHOT DEAD IN SOUTH CAROLINA,
COPS SAY

December 15, 2024 10:46 AM
National


MAN’S OWN THREE DOGS ATTACK AND KILL HIM AT NEIGHBORHOOD PARK, CALIFORNIA POLICE
SAY

December 15, 2024 9:05 AM
National


REMAINS OF MAN MISSING 5 YEARS FOUND IN TRUCK ‘BURIED DEEP’ IN RIVER, ILLINOIS
COPS SAY

December 15, 2024 8:52 AM
National


LATE-NIGHT 5.2-MAGNITUDE QUAKE RATTLES NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST, SEISMOLOGISTS
SAY

December 15, 2024 8:01 AM
National


POWERBALL PLAYER WINS $1 MILLION. WHERE IN THE US WAS THE LUCKY TICKET SOLD?

December 15, 2024 7:17 AM


TAKE US WITH YOU

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.


Tacoma News Tribune App
View Newsletters


SUBSCRIPTIONS

Start a Subscription Customer Service Edition Tacoma Now Vacation Hold Pay Your
Bill

LEARN MORE

About Us Contact Us Newsletters Archives Personal Finance

ADVERTISING

McClatchy Advertising Place an Ad Place a Classified Ad Place an Ad -
Celebrations Place an Obituary Staffing Solutions Political | Advocacy
Advertising

Part of the McClatchy Media Network

Copyright Privacy Policy Your Privacy ChoicesCookie Preferences Terms of Service
×
Thank you for reading
Provide your email to unlock this story and enjoy 24 hours of free access to our
website.
Email not valid. Please sign up with a valid email.
Looks like you’ve used this email before. Create an account now and get 30 days
of free access to our website.
CONTINUE
By submitting, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service
Already a subscriber? Log In
You are all set!
Your 24 hours of access begins now.
Back to my article

X