Inslee outlines economic plan

Standing on a makeshift podium at the center of the MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions plant in south Seattle, Washington gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee presented his economic plan Monday, emphasizing clean energy and the need to graduate more tech-savvy Washingtonians. We know were coming out of the worst recession of your lifetime – of my lifetime – 300,000 of our neighbors are out of work, Inslee, a Washington state congressman, said. As governor, he says he will create thousands of middle-class-paying jobs by focusing on aerospace, life sciences, the military, agriculture, information/communication technology and small business. Clean energy, he said, would maintain the states techie reputation. He also proposed ending tax incentives and loopholes for businesses that are not growing jobs. Off the podium, Inslee, a Democrat from Bainbridge Island, shook hands with Macdonald-Miller workers, among them Craig Atkinson, 28, who was hired four months ago as an apprentice plumber after being unemployed for a year. The construction and building trades are directly related to the economy and the growth of our state, Atkinson said. Inslee will face Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna in the gubernatorial election in November. The winner will succeed Gov. Christine Gregoire.