WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Dunshee picked to lead jobs effort again

Will chair committee that controls state construction budget

After creating 20,000 jobs statewide – including 1,700 in Snohomish County – House Democrats elected Rep. Hans Dunshee (D-Snohomish) once again to continue that effort as chair the Capital Budget Committee.

“We’re not out of this downturn yet, and the way to strengthen families and communities is to focus on jobs,” Dunshee said of his role as chair of the committee that controls the state’s construction budget. “That is what I will do. Inaction is not an option.”

Last session, Dunshee pushed for a Jobs Act that sped up construction projects to finish things earlier and create the maximum number of jobs in every corner of Washington state.

“The budgets keep shrinking while more people come to Washington state,” he said. “Our job is to find creative ways to finance construction projects and build a better Washington for our kids and grandkids, which not only creates thousands of jobs for the construction workers of today, but gives our state a better economic engine for tomorrow.”

The Jobs Act created an estimated 20,000 jobs, but Dunshee says the work isn’t finished.

“Our state population is growing, which means we need to build more water lines, elementary schools and university science labs to keep up,” Dunshee said. “There’s a backlog of work to get done — and tens of thousands of carpenters, brick masons and other folks in hard hats eager to get back to work, swinging hammers and pouring cement.”

Doing creative things like the Jobs Act always encounters resistance, Dunshee said, and breaking through that inertia takes citizens who are informed and engaged.

“If you care about building schools, parks or colleges, please get in touch with me to share your story or idea,” Dunshee said. “To write the construction budget, I work with lawmakers from both parties and both sides of the mountain. It’s always good to hear the thoughts and comments from people who are trying to make a difference in their local school district or community.”