By Jeff Noedel
Journal contributor
Governor Jay Inslee met with local leaders last week regarding Washington State Ferry service here. According to a news release from the County, Inslee “affirmed it is ‘worth looking at’ short-term solutions that may help with the current ferry situation in the islands.”
Two hours later, Inslee told SanJuans.Today (formerly known as CNL2), “Yeah, we did talk about some potential options, some additional potential capacity for the private ferry that’s going on. Is there a way to finance that? We talked about a possible way of doing that. That’s not a certainty but a possibility.”
In mid-August, Governor Jay Inslee turned down a request by San Juan County Council for $995,670 to fund locally-run water taxi and small barge services to mitigate significant impacts on life, health, and commerce in the San Juans.
On Saturday afternoon, Aug. 24, Inslee met with San Juan County Council Chair Jane Fuller, Health & Community Services Transportation Voucher Program Coordinator Richard Uri, County Manager Jessica Hudson, Ferry Advisory Committee Vice Chair Ken Burtness, and Town of Friday Harbor Councilmember Richard Geffen.
The request to the Governor, crafted largely by Fuller and WSF Ferry Advisory Committee chair Justin Paulsen, specified $279,450 for inter-island water taxi service, $659,295 for passenger-only service connecting the islands to Anacortes, and $56,925 for small barge services for vital commercial and utility trucks.
Some who heard Inslee’s comments that day inferred he was saying that the funding mechanism is the difficult part for him.
“I think there’s some creative ways that we should look at,” he said in his only interview about ferries in Friday Harbor that day.
The statement by the County said, “He is willing to think broadly to find some options for short-term relief for the island routes.”
“I left feeling optimistic,” said Fuller. “I’m motivated to work with my seatmates on a compelling and achievable legislative ask that will help us better take care of ourselves in the event of future ferry service disruptions.”
But some big asks of the Governor were basically taken off the table in the conversation on Aug. 24. “County staff learned it is unlikely that the County would receive capital funds to support boat purchases until the State completes the two outstanding studies on ferry economic impacts and passenger only services,” the County statement said.
Shortly after the Governor’s initial rejection, the County cited an unusual claim by WSF: “WSF reports that they continue to achieve more than 90% reliability across the system – including on the Anacortes / San Juans Islands route.” Many County residents are frustrated when WSF rounds data in a way that seems to minimize late departures, late arrivals and canceled sailings here.
Indeed, data supplied by WSF on the San Juan County “WSF Engage Page” is in conflict with the 90 percent on-time performance claim. In a report listed on the County’s Engage page for May 2024, the last month listed, WSF systemwide on-time performance is listed at 83.3 percent. The San Juans route had the worst OTP by far, with 56.6 percent on time. The WSF data presented on the Engage page does not list the number of canceled sailings at all.
When Inslee was in Friday Harbor on Aug. 24, his main focus with the local leaders was on what the County might ask of the legislature, which will convene for its major biennial session at approximately the same time he retires as Governor.
In comments from Council Chair Fuller to this reporter shortly after the Aug. 24 meeting ended, Fuller was notably optimistic that the Governor had and may continue to render advice to the County as to how to craft legislative “asks.”
Leaders – and an increasing number of citizens — in the San Juans are acutely aware that in March the Legislature found $3.2 million for supplemental service for Vashon Island service and $4 million for supplemental service for the Bremerton route. By contrast, the appropriations related to service in the San Juans – just $500,000 by comparison — were almost exclusively for more studies which won’t have impacts for two more years. This creates a sense of imbalance among some people here, made worse by the fact that no other WSF route is experiencing the level of deterioration in service, and the consequent damage to life, health, and commerce. It strikes many here that asking the San Juans to be more patient than other routes, while the per capita suffering here is greater, is fundamentally unfair. The County Council had the perception that the pain of this summer’s failures paved the way for some kind of immediate service to move people and vehicles. With a request of $995,670, the Council felt it had struck a balance between remaining modest and patient, while also addressing the increased sense of emergency here. The Council thought, and may continue to think, the Governor will find a way to say “yes.”
Back to the dock in Friday Harbor Marina that Saturday afternoon, Inslee was asked if the people of the San Juans are asking too much for the ferries to run better. He was asked if he agreed with statements from inside WSF senior management and from some state legislators that the San Juans are ungrateful for the service here; that we are the only route with four boats; and that have the worst fare box revenues.
Said Inslee, “Well, the last time I checked, people in San Juan are paying taxes, voting, and they’re citizens of the state of Washington deserve a fair shake in services. I don’t feel that at all.
“I think San Juan people have actually been as reasonable about the challenges the system has faced as you can expect. This has been very disturbing to people in their personal lives. I’m a ferry commuter myself. I live on Bainbridge Island. I spend many, many happy days in San Juans. I have some sense of how important ferries are in people’s lives.
“So no, I think the community has been tolerant to the nth degree while we try to improve this service.”
And then the Governor, anxious to board a boat to carry him to a wedding, accepted a Rubbermaid tub of home-baked cookies from Laura Jo Severson and briskly walked down the ramp with his entourage.
