Seattle enterprise group’s 6-point plan urges extra strident response from Gov. Jay Inslee on coronavirus

OLYMPIA – More resources about testing for coronavirus and contacting tracing. More state aid for companies and workers in difficulty. Getting young children back to school in January when public health metrics show it is safe to do so.

Washington’s most powerful economic and community leaders urge Governor Jay Inslee to take steps like this and more to better manage the pandemic.

A six-point plan by Challenge Seattle has declared support for the governor’s recent restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. But it also provided insight into what top business executives think should be done differently or prioritized now.

The letter is not from your garden community advocacy group. It is an alliance of the state’s top executives, including those in charge of Microsoft, Boeing, Nordstrom, Alaska Airlines, REI, Starbucks, Weyerhaeuser and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Christine Gregoire, executive director of Challenge Seattle – who also happens to be Washington’s former governor – did not criticize Inslee’s approach and praised his work on responding to the virus.

“We really believe the governor had to come out and do the kind of restrictions he did to address the health issues,” Gregoire said in an interview. But: “We wanted to address the problems related to the enormous social and economic effects and how can we mitigate these effects.”

“We now need to respond to the pandemic with a sense of urgency, both in terms of public health and safety,” Gregoire later added. “But also on the social and economic consequences for our community.”

The letter came in the week that Inslee saw perhaps the biggest blow to its emergency orders since the original shutdown in March. The governor enacted a wide range of new orders on Sunday, including the cessation of dining and indoor gatherings and the closure of gyms and cinemas.

That spurred several Democratic lawmakers this week to make a rare public break with the governor.

Lawmakers – including Sens. Rebecca Saldaña from Seattle, Mark Mullet from Issaquah, and Joe Nguyen from White Center – wrote a letter calling on Inslee to lift new restrictions on restaurants. Groups like the Association of Washington Business also expressed concern about the new restrictions.

By Friday, after consulting lawmakers and others, Inslee announced a new, larger aid package to help businesses and workers.

Friday’s $ 135 million package includes the $ 50 million in business relief the governor originally announced on Sunday, along with his restrictions. This comes from the remaining funds in the federal aid package for viruses approved by Congress earlier this year, known as the CARES bill.

The new package now includes $ 70 million in grants to support small businesses – down from $ 20 million originally – and corporate loans. It also includes $ 20 million to help with residential rentals and $ 15 million to help pandemic-hit households to pay utility bills.

When asked about some of the suggestions from Challenge Seattle, Inslee said at his press conference that he had not looked at the letter, but “these measures all sound reasonable.”

The state is working on improvements to increase the efficiency of contact tracers – who reach out to infected people and review their close contacts to help contain outbreaks, Inslee said. More contact tracers will be available soon in King County and other areas, he added.

The “Challenge Seattle” letter also urges the state to bring younger students, such as those in K-5, back to school in January if the public health service says it can.

“Studies, including by world-class local experts, have shown that it is possible to reopen schools safely, especially for elementary school-age students.” after the letter. “This can lay the foundation for the even bigger work needed to address the learning loss of our state’s students, with an emphasis on the disproportionately affected.”

It also recommends more resources to distribute a vaccine when it becomes available, as well as better and more public data on coronavirus activity, e.g. B. Positivity rates at trouble spots and more detailed numbers on hospital stays.

The governor’s restrictions – and the debate about his approach – come as Washington’s cases keep rising. State health officials reported 2,132 new confirmed cases as well as 16 deaths on Friday. Thanksgiving and holiday gatherings could add to the numbers.

In her interview – which came before Inslee’s announcement of expanded corporate relief – Gregoire said the state shouldn’t wait for another virus aid package.

She called it “extremely frustrating” that Congress has not taken action since the CARES bill was passed in March.

People live from paycheck to paycheck, Gregoire said, many of whom have to work outside of the home where they are exposed to the virus.

Inslee has repeatedly stated that a special session of lawmakers will not be required to approve additional spending or make decisions about the virus until lawmakers return as planned in January.

Some Democratic lawmakers, who have a strong majority in the House and Senate, continued to oppose the idea of ​​a special session this week.

Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, and the House of Representatives’s chief democratic budget writer rejected one’s proposal earlier this week after being asked at a press conference whether Washington should follow Colorado’s steps. There, lawmakers and the governor announced a special meeting earlier this week to discuss economic incentives amid the pandemic.

“I find what Colorado is doing interesting, but otherwise irrelevant,” Ormsby said, adding that he thought Inslee’s distribution of federal CARES dollars was good. “I think that each of these state economies has its own dynamic.”

GOP minority leader of the house. Yelm’s JT Wilcox said he supported the Challenge Seattle ideas and still wanted a special session that Republicans have been calling for since May.

“I think the legislation could help build confidence in the state’s virus response,” said Wilcox, “if we were a part of it.”

In an earlier version of this story, Amazon was incorrectly listed as a member of Challenge Seattle.