Grays Harbor

My teammate Debbie and I drove south from the Seattle area this morning in vibrant sun through glorious foliage...flaming reds, yellows, oranges interspersed with deep green evergreens. Approaching Olympia we entered a dense fog bank reminiscent of Brigadoon. A few miles after turning west we emerged into a brilliant sunny day and proceeded to the coast and Aberdeen.

We spent today at Grays Harbor Community College...a shock for this Californian who is used to underfunded facilities. The campus is in a spectacular verdant setting. The buildings are new and beautifully designed for the hilly site (see photo). An English teacher explained that community colleges are part of the state, not individual districts as they are in California. The people who work at the colleges are state employees. By centralizing the system, the state is able to determine the need in each location and set up a schedule for renovating and rebuilding each facility. Thus the incredible Grays Harbor facility.

The faculty members we met are bright, thoughtful, interesting people. Many are already beating the pavement for Obama. An interesting contrast came when a conversation with a progressive leftwing faculty member (with his concerns about Obama) was followed by a conversation with a faculty member who opposes Obama because of his stand on the Second Amendment. Stimulating discussions, to say the least.

It was interesting to hear from a couple of faculty what a good job Governor Gregoire has done. The television commercials paid for by the Republican Party would make you think she is useless. One professor explained that Washington had a large financial reserve ("rainy day fund") that had been accrued in previous administrations by cutting services. When Gregoire became governor, she pushed to spend some of that money to improve needed facilities and services. So the Republicans tag her as a big spender. 

Washington also has one of the highest minimum wages in the country (a few cents higher than California)—anathema to business interests. I'm beginning to get a sense of the issues in the gubernatorial campaign here and understand why it's important to get out the vote for Gregoire.