KTRV Fox 12 Governors Otter & Gregoire Spar Over Recruiting Businesses

Governors Otter & Gregoire Spar Over Recruiting Businesses

Boise, Idaho -- Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter has stirred up a hornets nest in the Northwest.

It started out simple enough with Otter writing a so called "love letter" to businesses in Oregon and Washington courting them here to the Gem State. That letter has sparked a response from Washington's governor.

"Let's talk about the Forbes ranking. We're now the second best state in the country. And they (Idaho) went from 7th to 11th," said Washington Governor Christine Gregoire.

Gregoire fired a warning shot over the bow of Idaho after Otter sent a clear message earlier this week to companies in the region Idaho is better for business.

"His letter was factual. I think it was written in a great spirit of, 'why don't you take a look at us?' And beyond that it is strictly a business type of proposition, nothing personal," said Idaho Commerce Department Director Don Dietrich.

Officials here say Otter's letter wasn't intended to increase tensions across state lines, but it seems to have had that affect.

Gregoire, a Democrat, gets criticized for her stance on corporate taxes by her opponents in her state as well as by business owners like Jim Michel, who owns Electric Mirror, which makes lighted mirrors and mirror televisions for luxury hotels. He says looking across the border seems like a good idea.

"When you consider higher taxes in our state, you start looking around and seeing, 'Hey, where's a good place to do business?' Idaho isn't very far away," said Michel.

Companies have a lot of choices these days. Business owners have a choice between apples and potatoes. That choice has Gregoire taking things personally as Idaho looks to take a bite out of Washington.

"So I intend to say to the Governor (Otter), I'll go recruit companies that you have in your state. Everything is fair game. But to suggest that somehow that there is this massive tax going on in my state, that puts my businesses to a detrimental level compared to yours, is simply not fair," said Gregoire.

Gregoire cited Forbes as listing Washington as better than Idaho for business, but that can be deceiving. It just depends on the factors you look at.

For instance, a study by CNBC shows three areas Idaho beats both Washington and Oregon. Those are: cost of business, cost of living and the quality of workforce.

"They picked out the report that they wanted that showed them in the best light. But if you take it on average, and you take it as a whole, the sum of the whole puts Idaho in great shape in the Pacific Northwest," said Otter.

Otter accepts the challenge from the governor of Washington that both state's companies are fair game to recruit. Though he feels confident the business climate in Idaho will prevail.

In fact he's willing to take a bet that a Washington business will cross the border into Idaho before one goes the other way. Gregoire has faced criticism from many who claim the overall atmosphere is worsening when it comes business in Washington.

It's worth noting that Boeing's corporate headquarters left Seattle for Chicago in recent years and have moved some of its production lines elsewhere. Those moves have not escaped Otter as he and many in the state hope another big fish from the Northwest lands in an Idaho net.