SEATTLE - A conversation between two governors became a war of words when it comes to doing business in Washington versus Idaho.
Governor Gregoire and Idaho Governor Butch Otter sat down to clear the air about a "love letter" that was anything but.
It's called a love letter to Oregon and Washington businesses, but where is the love?
The letter from Idaho's governor to Washington business owners invites them to take their business elsewhere, specifically to Idaho.
Governor Butch Otter claims that in Idaho people understand that while "government cannot be the solution to their problems, it must be a champion for their own solutions."
Governor Gregoire cites our state's business ranking: "Let's talk about Forbes. We are now the second best state in the country [when it comes to doing business] and they went from 7th to 11th, they're going down in the rankings."
The so-called love letter has spawned a war of words with Idaho Governor Butch Otter giving Gregoire the business - that "legislators in the state of Washington are talking about even bigger tax increases to tackle a budget deficit that figures to be as big as Idaho's entire state budget."
Governor Gregoire fired back: "To suggest that somehow there's this massive tax going on in my state that puts my business to a detrimental level compared to yours is simply not fair."
We stopped by the Coeur d'Alene bakery in Kent, a company that had tried doing business in Idaho, but after arriving in Coeur d'Alene, they couldn't find a suitable building and realized the population of Spokane would be their target, says president and owner Teresa Boukal.
Today they're happy earning their dough making bread in Washington. The name Coeur d'Alene is about as Idaho as they get.
"We ship to Alaska, Washington and Oregon," says Boukal. What about Idaho? "Um no, no Idaho."
Both governors did talk on the phone this morning and agreed going after each other's business is fair game, but agreed to play nice.
