PORT TOWNSEND — The city’s marquee industry took center stage Thursday afternoon as U.S. Sen. Patty Murray spent more than an hour with representatives from the maritime trades.
Murray’s mission, she said, was to solicit input on how she as a congressional official can better support the industry.
She also made stops Thursday in Port Angeles and Bremerton to discuss transportation issues as ranking Democrat on the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee.
Skeptics might call it a campaign swing — Murray is seeking a third term in the Nov. 2 general election — but each of the 21 panelists gathered at Point Hudson Marina made it clear he or she had first-hand knowledge of work the senator has done to help boost the viability of Port Townsend’s industrial core.
Son at wooden boat school
And Murray, D-Shoreline, reminded her audience of a personal connection to the region: Her son, Randy, attended the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock.
“I got to know (the area) as a mom, and I’m continually impressed by it,” Murray said.
“I want to do everything I can in my position to support that and be sure this area really does become the maritime center of Washington state.”
To do that, Murray will need lofty goals and the support of many of her 99 colleagues on Capitol Hill.
She is also a ranking member on the Senate Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
“From my perspective, the senator’s visit today is another example of how Port Townsend is becoming renowned as a national center for wooden boats,” said Brent Shirley, former Port Townsend mayor and current chair of the Northwest Maritime Center on Port Townsend Bay.
Strengthening the city’s pull as a perfect port center are key characteristics those in attendance Thursday stressed as unique to the area — robust cultural heritage, picturesque scenery making it a veritable tourist magnet, and diversity among those involved in maritime trades.
Self-sufficiency
Those combined resources add up to the type of self-sufficiency necessary to attract an initial injection of capital from federal coffers, allowing talented, hard-working individuals and governing bodies to collaborate on building their own strong economic base, they said.
Variety was played up heavily.
“We’re made up of a lot of small, diverse businesses,” said David King, chief financial officer of Townsend Bay Marine in Port Townsend.
“It’s different from Port Angeles, where you have one large player: Westport Shipyard.
“If they get the sniffles, the whole community is going to catch a cold,” King said.
Instead, he said, Jefferson County maritime-based businesses complement one another and could lead to spiraling regional economic growth with a sufficient investment in infrastructure.
