Inslee weighs in on pause of ferry electrification project he championed

One ferry rider with more than a passing interest in the course corrections for Washington State Ferries announced this past week is former Gov. Jay Inslee.

The three-term Democrat is back at home on Bainbridge Island after vacating the governor’s mansion in January to its new occupant, Gov. Bob Ferguson. Inslee was paying attention on Thursday when Ferguson pressed pause on a ferry electrification project that the former governor championed.

Ferguson and the state ferries chief said they would indefinitely postpone further conversions to rechargeable battery propulsion of the state’s largest ferries. The first diesel guzzler to be converted into a plug-in vessel – the Wenatchee – went $36 million over budget and fell far behind schedule.

“We have to electrify these boats. They are a significant part of our pollution portfolio in our state,” Inslee reacted in an exclusive interview with the Standard. “But we also have to maintain public support and confidence in what we’re doing here.”

Inslee said he was unwilling to criticize his successor’s decision. “We only get one governor at a time,” he said. “I wish him well.”