WA's new governor takes office, promises big changes: ‘I’m not here to defend government’

Washington’s new Democratic governor is starting off strong… with Republicans.

In his inaugural address, Gov. Bob Ferguson promised to collaborate with lawmakers across the political spectrum and work as a reformer of the state government. The speech was a welcome change for many Republicans in the Legislature who'd clashed with former Gov. Jay Inslee for the past 12 years. Some Democrats, however, appeared less enthused with the new governor’s remarks overall.

Ferguson, who was sworn in as the state’s 24th governor Wednesday, used his speech to list the challenges Washington faces, like housing, affordability, and fixing the broken ferry system.

He also promised to streamline and reduce the layers of government.

“Our state government is bogged down by too much bureaucracy,” he said.

After his speech, Ferguson signed a trio of executive orders, including one related to streamlining that directs state agencies to provide licenses or permits for free if they don’t deliver them within their own deadlines.

Ferguson’s remarks offered more details about his approach to the state’s budget gap – the day after his predecessor urged officials to avoid making cuts. Ferguson promised to veto a budget that requires “unrealistic revenue growth” to be balanced, and promised to veto any legislation that would promise major new spending more than four years after it’s adopted.

“These bills violate the spirit of Washington’s requirement that state budgets be balanced over a four-year period,” he said.

Ferguson’s budget priorities, released days before he took office, included one of his campaign promises: a request for $100 million in grant funding to help recruit and hire more local law enforcement. He said in his speech he wouldn’t sign a budget without that funding included.

Part of Ferguson’s spending plan also directs state agencies to cut their budgets by an average of 6%, as well as a request for a 3% reduction in spending at four-year colleges and universities in the state. Ferguson’s budget plan would result in $4 billion more in savings than Inslee proposed before leaving office.

“I’m not here to defend government,” Ferguson said Wednesday. “I’m here to reform it.”

As part of his emphasis on bipartisanship, Ferguson also threw his support behind several specific policies that have been proposed by lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats.

Among those are a GOP-backed bill to create a new program to help emergency responders and law enforcement pay for housing, and Democrat-backed legislation to prevent other states’ National Guard units from entering Washington without local officials’ permission.

Ferguson also addressed specific lawmakers he hopes to work with on improvements to the Climate Commitment Act’s implementation – particularly for farmers – as well as limiting the governor’s emergency powers. Both these mentions drew standing applause from Republicans, while several Democrats remained seated. GOP members have been particularly frustrated by then-Gov. Inslee’s pandemic emergency declaration, which lasted more than two years.

Ferguson also later signed two other executive orders. One of them directs state agencies to conduct a roundtable to discuss ways to protect reproductive freedom in the state, and the other directs agencies to look for ways to speed up housing construction.

The GOP Reaction: “Night and Day Difference”

After the swearing-in ceremonies and inaugural address ended, Republican leaders told reporters they were pleased – and a bit lost for words – by the new governor’s take on how to tackle key issues.

“I really liked one of his comments during the speech, he said, ‘I’m not here to defend government, I’m here to reform it.’ Well let me tell you, Governor Ferguson, here’s your team,” said Senate Minority Leader John Braun (R-Centralia), gesturing to his Republican colleagues in the room.

Republican leaders also noted Ferguson’s approach is already shaping up to be markedly different than his predecessor, in terms of working with lawmakers across the aisle and his overall interest in working more closely with the Legislature.

Still, despite their optimism and eagerness to work with the new governor in areas where they align, GOP leaders say what matters now is that Ferguson can follow through – something that will require support from his fellow Democrats, who hold the majority in the Legislature.

“We'll continue to call out places when we disagree on policy, and we'll also spend the next 105 days holding him accountable for the promises he made today,” said House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary (R-Auburn). “But if he can follow through on those promises, count me as one who will be very, very pleasantly surprised.”

Democrats, meanwhile, were much less enthusiastic about the new governor’s remarks. But House Democratic Leadership said they “share many of the priorities highlighted by Governor Ferguson” via an emailed statement following the address.

“We look forward to seeing the details of the new spending he proposed and the budget cuts he and his team are developing,” said House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon (D-West Seattle) in the statement. “We are confident that we will arrive at a budget agreement with our Senate colleagues and with Governor Ferguson that protects Washingtonians and invests in public education, safety, health care, child care, housing, and clean air and water.”