OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Governor Jay Inslee is taking on candidates from both parties who are running to succeed him over their consideration of diesel ferries.
“We’re getting electric ferries that are quiet, that are vibration-free, that don’t pollute the beautiful air of Puget Sound,” Gov. Inslee said. “And we are not going backwards.”
Republican candidate Dave Reichert is touting a plan to buy diesel ferries to quickly rebuild the depleted fleet.
The Inslee-endorsed Democrat, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, has also said he’s willing to consider diesel ferries. Inslee told a news conference last week that switching back to diesel ferries would be bad for the environment and the fleet.
“It will delay our ability to get boats on the water and by at least a year because we would have to start the whole process all over again. It would be a brain-dead thing: that expansion,” Gov. Inslee said.
The Seattle Times reports that the Washington Ferry System had over 3,500 cancelled sailings last year.
