Former Attorney General Bob Ferguson was not my first choice for governor. But I have to say I am cautiously optimistic if a bit skeptical about certain of his statements and actions made and completed leading up to his gubernatorial inauguration. These include his statements that the days of unchecked spending are over and that increasing taxes is a last resort. In the face of a large budget deficit that caught people off guard when announced immediately following the election, he has directed each state agency to identify cuts in spending by an average of 6%.

He also vocally reached out across the aisle to work with minority party legislators concerning specific legislation. Could Ferguson truly be a moderate? Time will tell.

Perhaps more importantly for Jefferson County is Ferguson’s recognition that Washington State has a housing crisis and his initial proposed approach to improving that situation. I expected him to regurgitate the approach taken in recent years, which is for the state to spend more on studying, creating, or operating government-subsidized shelters and housing.

Instead, he appears to have pulled a play akin to that being implemented at the federal level under the rubric of the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”).

Mr. Ferguson noted in his inaugural address that “We must make it easier, faster and less expensive to build housing of all kinds.” He committed to signing an Executive Order immediately after his speech that directs all state agencies to “review all regulations that impact housing, permitting and construction and identify any provision that can be streamlined, deferred or eliminated.” In other words, a Washington state DOGE-like action. One that recognizes that our housing shortage is partially self-inflicted due to the layers of regulations our state has imposed and the resulting fiscal and practical barriers to new home construction.

Along the same vein, Mr. Ferguson addressed the problem of late permit issuance for Washingtonians and their businesses. He committed to signing an Executive Order directing all state agencies to reduce permit and license processing times to provide accelerated timelines and a fee refund if timelines are not met. KOMO News Jan. 16, 2025.

These are promising steps. I hope, for example, that the state reevaluates the most recent round of energy codes implemented in 2024 that significantly increased the cost of construction with only marginal improvements in energy efficiency.

But state reform is only a partial solution. It would be advantageous if local governments could also review their requirements, regulations, and permit processes as they relate to home construction.

Which takes us to Jefferson County. Talk to local builders. Several have told me that Jefferson County is the most difficult county in Washington in which to have new housing permitted and built. The affordable housing shortage affects our economic sectors from tourism to essential services. One example of barriers to construction in our county is reflected by an ordinance adopted in 2022 that imposed a lot of record review process. It’s an ordinance I opposed at that time as being overly broad relative to the problem sought to be addressed. It both reduced the number of smaller, less expensive lots on which to build and created one more hoop to jump through with attendant costs and delays for building in Jefferson County.

Our county’s 2018 comprehensive plan notes the persistent nature of our housing shortage. That comprehensive plan and development regulations are currently under review. It would be great if Jefferson County would undergo its own DOGE-like review as it pertains to housing construction, including increasing zoning for multi-family housing and the availability of smaller lots on which to build throughout our county when adjacent to either urban growth areas or historic village centers. Given our surrounding forests, that housing would hopefully be built with standard wildfire resistant materials, such as metal roofing and cement-fiber board siding. Now is our chance to start to make Jefferson County a place that people can afford to build and live within.

Marcia Kelbon is an attorney and engineer based in Quilcene.