Time is of the essence. That was the single most important observation gleaned from 1,200 miles of travel through Washington’s Phase 3 counties. To get to them we had to drive through Phase 2 counties and some still in a variation of Phase 1.  These “phases” refer to Governor Inslee’s Four-Step Plan for removing the irons he placed on economic and social activities under his COVID decrees. Each higher phase allows increasing degrees of return to liberty and normalcy.

At the time we made our journey, ten counties were in Phase 3, spread from Pacific County in the west to Pend Oreille in the state’s far northeast. We visited communities deep in forests to towns baking in the sun and surrounded by fields of wheat to misty fishing villages shivering in cold morning fog.

Those counties that jumped at every opportunity to resuscitate their economies are showing positive results across a broad spectrum of metrics. They are generally experiencing significantly lower unemployment than counties in Phases 1 and 2. At a 16% unemployment rate, Jefferson County in Phase 2 is doing worse than every Phase 3 county except the chronically depressed Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties.

The southeast corner of the state has the greatest concentration of counties in Phase 3. They have unemployment rates of 9.9% (Lincoln), 12.7% (Garfield), 10.5% (Columbia), 8.3% (Asotin) and 7.7% (Whitman). These counties, along with Jefferson, were considered “distressed” by the Washington Employment Security Department at the start of the year. Now they are outperforming even King County.

The Phase 3 counties we visited had a brighter vibe than Jefferson County. There were far more people on the sidewalks and in the cafes and bars. The attitude of clerks, servers and hotel proprietors, was upbeat and optimistic. There was a strong sense of communities committed to rebuilding and thriving, and not being beaten down by fear.

None of the early entrants into advanced stages of increased economic activity are seeing the spikes in virus activity which Jefferson County leaders had feared if our economy were revved up rapidly and started drawing large numbers of outsiders. Jefferson County leaders, with the exception of County Commissioner Greg Brotherton, have allowed those fears to hold back the county from accelerated reopening.

Lessons from Diverse Communities

In Republic, the county seat for Ferry County, a grocery store clerk said there had never been much of a shut-down. She’d been processing credit cards from around the country throughout the Spring without a let up. We saw motorcycle clubs and lines of RVs heading into town. Ferry County did not exactly have a booming economy before the lock down order. But on the day we visited its largest town was very lively. When we walked into a busy cafe wearing masks the conversations died suddenly and people turned around to stare. “Nice masks,” someone called out. We saw no masks on anyone except employees in stores and restaurants. Yet, even today, Ferry County has had only a single COVID diagnosis and no hospitalizations or deaths.

Stevens County, which we rolled through at the start of a Friday evening, was bustling. The parking lot of a microbrewery and all its tables were packed. A combination grocery store, antiques shop, liquor store and coffee shop/bakery had a steady stream of customers. A shoe store clerk in Colville said they had been doing great, and were actually busier than the same time last year. Why? “Everybody worked together and got it [movement to Phase 3] done,” she said. “It was something we knew we had to do, or else. And we pulled it off.” Stevens County is outperforming neighboring Spokane County on unemployment. Even remote Pend Oreille County was doing better, until its major employer, a newsprint mill, announced closure due to decreased demand for its product across the country. It now faces a severe economic challenge which its Phase 3 status may help, but certainly cannot overcome.

In Columbia County, one of the very first to jump on early entry into Phases 2 and 3, new businesses have been opening. Alicia Walker, proprietor of Dayton’s Locally Nourished coffee shop and bakery, told us that if the local chamber of commerce and county commission had not aggressively embraced early openings she would have pulled the plug before opening her doors. Two other new businesses have opened their doors despite the pandemic, “a testament to a community that will step up and help each other,” says The Waitsburg Times. (We found yet another brand new business down the road in Waitsburg). Because Columbia County opened early, they have been doing exceptionally well with visitors from counties in more restrictive stages. At the same time, they have seen no spreading of the virus to make them regret moving forward.

Skamania County also opened extremely quickly, moving into early Phases 2 and 3 as soon as the Governor made it possible. The Seattle Times covered the first early Phase 2 weekend when the tourist mecca of Stevenson in the Columbia River Gorge was deluged with visitors from Portland and Seattle. Fears that this would trigger such a spike in COVID cases that the rural health care system would be overwhelmed have proven baseless.

Stevenson and surrounding towns have been taking in large numbers of tourists now for over two months. The massive Skamania Lodge has drawn families from all over the Northwest and beyond. Their golf course was busy, as was their pool, zip line and gym.

Business is strong for those businesses who welcomed a chance at early opening. We did, though, find an exception in one shop proprietor who seemed angry that anybody was allowed to come to Stevenson. We got the impression she will never be able to cope with any kind of reopening. She embraced a “we are all going die” outlook unlike anything we had encountered elsewhere. We needed an appointment for an exclusive opportunity to browse her shop, which was neither small nor cramped. Just next door, by contrast, a truly cramped second hand store had its doors wide open and shopping was unrestricted. It had plenty of customers; the grim proprietor’s store did not.

The surge of tourists has not brought a surge in cases. Since March Skamania County has had only 2 hospitalizations for COVID-like symptoms and no deaths.

Port Townsend may feel relatively shut down and lifeless, but nothing compares to Newhalem on the Skagit River, Seattle Power and Light’s company town that serves its hydroelectric power station. Security patrols, barricades and crime scene tape keep anyone from going in unless they live there. Likewise, the movements of residents off rez were severely restricted. Essential employees are prisoners to Seattle’s fear that its electricity may be interrupted if these workers get sick.

The second most onerous precautions we encountered were just to the south of Jefferson County in Hoodsport, where Mason County is in Phase 3.  A coffee shop we always visit was buttoned up tightly. It had established a take-out window fenced off with a crude wooden barricade to keep anyone from getting close. We were given long enough at the window to read the multiple signs lecturing us on masks, how we were spreading the virus, and what could be done to protect the workers inside. The interaction in ordering was kept to a minimum, then the window snapped shut. All the windows on the building appeared to have been covered over from the inside. After some time, a door ten feet away cracked open and without a word our drinks were placed outside on a bench.

It was much more pleasant at the gallery next door where the owner was taking full advantage of Mason County’s Phase 3 status. She invited us to sit outside on her deck and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Her business was doing great. She was upbeat. Customers were wandering in as we drank our coffees. She was happy to be working and sharing her store with the world. The difference in attitude made all the difference.

And that, in a word, sums up the most significant unmeasurable metric. Attitude. Phase 3 counties got there with a positive, can-do, go-get-em attitude. The benefits of their early opens fed back into the community, dispelling the gloom and spreading optimism. They are adding businesses while the rest of the state adds its nominees to the list of broken dreams.  The collateral damage from the Governor’s lock down order–increased crime, substance abuse, mental health crises, suicides–has yet to be tallied. But one has the feeling those grim stats will be much lower in optimistic Phase 3 counties.

As we neared Port Townsend on our return we started seeing something we had not seen anywhere else in rural Washington: scowling people in cars wearing masks with the windows rolled up tight. We knew we were home.  It is worth pondering how this attitude of fear, selfishness and blind trust in fallible big government will play out when and if The Big One strikes and courage and self-reliance become our only recourse.

“Early” Was the Big Deal

We have been writing for months about how foot dragging by the Jefferson County Board of Health and the Board of County Commissioners is hurting our local economy and punishing working age people who need to work for a living. Port Townsend’s Selfish, Cruel Old People® with their retirement incomes, monthly social security deposits,  mortgage-free residences and overblown fears have been blocking sensible efforts to rapidly reopen our economy. On the Board of Health it has been retired lawyer Denis Stearns working the hardest to keep working people idled. On the BOCC it is David Sullivan who has fought every step of the way to keep doors closed and outsiders out. While he has been prolonging a shut-down that has halved and wiped out many incomes, he (and the other commissioners) have surrendered not a penny of their own salaries or benefits. County staff have been forced to accept cuts in hours or salaries, but no elected official has offered to share in the sacrifice they demand of others.

Early opens have come without increasing COVID consequences. That is hugely significant. None of the Phase 3 counties have seen anything that can be considered an “outbreak.” As testing has increased they have at most registered a few new positives, but nothing alarming and nothing that is in any way a threat to their healthcare systems. And, as far as we can tell from everyone we talked to, the local news we studied on our journey, and the Department of Health’s daily updates, none of the few new diagnoses in Phase 3 counties were caused by interaction with visitors and tourists.

We are going to have learn to live with the virus. The counties that moved into Phase 3 early have started learning and teaching others how to do it right. If Jefferson County continues to suffer as it has, and sees more business failures, those responsible will be those who delayed our progress towards a return to economic health.

Going into the Governor’s lock-down, Jefferson County had one of the worst economies in the state, with one of the highest employment rates. It was categorized as a “distressed” economy. We could have done with the competitive advantage that came with early reopening. Whereas many of our leaders feared Jefferson County standing out as a beacon of light, leaders in other counties recognized the benefits of that distinction.

Port Townsend’s Selfish, Cruel Old People® have won this round.  Because Jefferson County was slow in submitting its application to move into Phase 3 it got caught when the Governor announced he was freezing the process. The Phase 3 counties we visited will continue to recover and move from recession to prosperity. Jefferson County will have to hold its breath for at least another two weeks. Businesses watching their savings evaporate and their debt load increase now face an increased risk of never reopening. Those struggling under the constraints of Phase 2 limitations may never recover fully. Some businesses that opened under Phase 2 limitations are not hiring back all their employees, keeping our unemployment rate abnormally high. Lost opportunities, like our shot at joining successful Phase 3 counties–a shot we earned–are opportunities lost forever. Time was of the essence.  That was the whole point.

For our reporting on our leader’s foot-dragging see these articles:

Port Townsend’s City Council MIA in Time of Crisis

Where is the Recovery Plan for Port Townsend and Jefferson County?

PT City Council Spends Weekly Meeting Discussion CO2 Emissions and Raising Taxes

Fear and Loathing in Port Townsend

Kate Dean & Co. to Retail and Restaurants: “Drop Dead”

Phase 3 Reopening for Jefferson County Already Delayed; Commissioners Must Avoid More Foot-Dragging