Local political and economic leaders say the Puget Sound region is losing its competitive edge.
Speaking Monday on a waterfront rooftop in Seattle and flanked by about 50 local representatives of business, labor and government, former Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire unveiled a 20-point plan to reverse that trend.
Gregoire began by outlining Puget Sound’s economic strengths.
“We have extraordinary talent. We have an innovation cluster that is globally known. We have leadership in technology and aerospace that around the world is known,” Gregoire said. “Clean energy, our world-class ports for our trade, research institutions, significant defense assets, and an unparalleled quality of life. But we cannot take any of it for granted.”
As Gregoire announced the new “Partnership for a Competitive Puget Sound,” she explained that in 2025 the region lost thousands of jobs for the first time in decades, while other places in the country saw growth.
“This is, for us, a wake-up call,” she said. “We cannot resort to relying on yesterday's success while tomorrow's jobs go somewhere else.”
Gregoire pointed to high corporate taxes and a high cost of living that makes it harder for companies to retain employees. Permitting for new housing and infrastructure takes too long, she said, and downtown Seattle’s 35% commercial vacancy rate projects a bad image.
“That's lost jobs. That's lost opportunity. So one of the things we recommend is have the University of Washington have a branch campus in downtown Seattle,” Gregoire said. “That would not only bring young folks to downtown but would also be supportive of smaller, mid-sized businesses downtown to allow them to grow and to prosper.”
Other ideas in the partnership’s plan include streamlined permitting for housing and infrastructure, establishing special concierge services to help businesses navigate obstacles in every city and county in the region, and creating a more predictable and competitive tax structure.
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith helped unveil the plan. He recalled how places like Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh each had their moment in the sun a century ago, but that their leaders failed to take action when the warning lights started flashing.
“Here we are. It is 2026,” Smith said. “And the warning signs are flashing on our economy.”
He said the partnership’s 30-page report is one of the most important initiatives put forward in Washington in the past decade.
“It is a call to come together with a sense of optimism, to build on our strengths, but to look at our challenges with our eyes wide open and do what needs to be done,” Smith said.
Smith said Washington is in the top 10 states for almost every tax, and increasingly, in the bottom 10 for the factors that attract and retain new businesses.
“That is a recipe for decline. And if we are going to reverse this recipe, the time to act is now,” he said.
The plan notes that some of its recommendations can be launched within weeks or months, and all can begin or make meaningful progress within 3 years. It is backed with $1 million in contributions from the civic organization Challenge Seattle, of which Gregoire is the CEO. The organization is providing another $500,000 to help cities speed up their permitting processes and build more affordable housing for the local workforce.
