SEATTLE — The chairman of the state Senate Transportation Committee unequivocally pledged that the newest state ferry will go into service on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route when it begins service in the summer.
“This is a very exciting day for me because it fulfills a promise to the people I represent,” said a tearful Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, a Democrat from Camano Island.
Then she broke a bottle of champagne over a railing of the MV Salish on Tuesday afternoon.
“We told the people of Whidbey Island that this boat was going to sail on the Coupeville-Port Townsend run, and I know that it will sail successfully on that route.”
News about Tuesday’s christening was announced only one day in advance, and there was no delegation from Port Townsend present at the ceremony.
Haugen was joined by her house colleague, Rep. Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island — who chairs the House Transportation Committee — state Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond and Assistant Transportation Secretary David Moseley at Todd Pacific Shipyards, where the boat, which is about 80 percent finished, was put into the water last week.
The Salish, a 64-vehicle ferry, is the second of three Kwa-di Tabil Class boats contracted by the state at a cost of $213.2 million to be built by Todd.
The first, the MV Chetzemoka, began service on the Port Townsend-Coupeville run in November.
The Salish was slated to become the second boat on that run, bringing the route to full strength for the first time since the Steel Electrics were taken out of service in 2007.
That plan was cast into doubt beginning in November, when Gov. Chris Gregoire called for transportation budget cuts and Moseley suggested that one cost-saving option would be to put the Salish on the San Juan Islands route — and leave the Port Townsend-Coupeville route with only one boat.
Relocating the Salish would be part of a series of vessel reassignments that would result in the de-crewing of a 144-car Super Class Vessel, representing a savings of $10.4 million per year, Washington State Ferries Deputy Chief Jean Baker has said.
Haugen voiced immediate opposition to that change, which she underscored Tuesday.
She came close to tears both during her public comments and in a subsequent private discussion.
“I do get emotional about this,” she said.
“The people are emotional about this. They were given a promise, and by God, I’m going to keep it.”
Haugen acknowledged that the state is undergoing tough budget times. When the 2011 legislative session begins Monday, lawmakers will face a projected $4.6 billion deficit.
But she has a simple answer about how she can guarantee the boat will go where she says it should:
“I write the budget,” she said.
Aside from the promise to the local citizens, Haugen said the two boats provide an essential economic lifeline to the region.
Hammond and Moseley are less certain but say Haugen can pull it off.
“If we can find the money, then by golly, we should bring the boat there,” Hammond said.
“The problem is we are short on money and have a tough session ahead.”
“She’s the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and a very effective legislator,” Moseley said of Haugen.
“The question is how we are going to make up the savings that would have accrued by rerouting the boat.”
All three representatives of the 24th District, which covers Jefferson and Clallam counties and a portion of Grays Harbor County — Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim; Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam; and legislator-elect Steve Tharinger, D-Sequim — have said that ensuring the route has two boats is a priority for them.
Wherever it begins its service, the Salish’s inauguration will be less spectacular than the November inaugural run ceremony for the Chetzemoka, which included the governor and other dignitaries.
Moseley said that the christening for the Salish was more traditional than that for the Chetzemoka, which was the state’s first new ferry in more than a decade.
The christening for the Salish occurred as the boat first went into the water.
The Chetzemoka’s situation was unusual as the boat had been in use for several weeks undergoing tests before its christening.
“With the Chetzemoka, we were pressed for time, and a christening would have taken three days, during which we would have had to stop working,” he said.
“We aren’t under those kind of constraints now and decided to do it more traditionally.”
Marta Coursey, state ferries system spokeswoman, offered a more pragmatic reason why the Salish’s inauguration won’t be as flashy.
“With the Chetzemoka, we had several sponsorships, but now, we don’t have the funds to put on a big event,” she said.
Todd Shipyards handled the notification for the christening of the Salish rather than the state ferries system.
Coursey said that was because the state ferries system is understaffed and it would have taken more time to prepare a press release.
Todd CEO Steve Welch said that the Salish is about 80 percent complete, while the third Kwa-di Tabil, the Kennewick, is about 25 percent complete “and is now in pieces in a building over there,” he said, pointing to another area of the shipyard.
Welch said the Salish needs finish work, flooring and other final touches before it is delivered to the state ferries system in May.
A period of testing and training will follow the delivery, which Welch expects to be “dramatically easier” than the Chetzemoka testing, which required propeller reconfiguration.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.