Everett Mayor In Paris For Air Show

Earlier this week the City of Everett announced that Mayor Cassie Franklin would be attending the Paris Air Show. The following is from the City’s press release about the Mayor attending.

“More than 38,000 women and men work in the aerospace industry here in Everett and Snohomish County, and our state is home to major industry leaders as well as more than 600 suppliers,” said Franklin. “It’s an honor to represent our region in Paris, support our existing businesses and hopefully encourage new companies to locate here.”

The Paris Air Show is the largest aerospace industry event in the world with over 140,000 expected visitors and nearly 2,500 international exhibitors. Franklin is part of a delegation that includes Economic Alliance Snohomish County, the Washington State Department of Commerce, Choose Washington Coalition, the Greater Seattle Partners and public officials from around the state. During her time in Paris she will meet with dozens of aerospace firms in an effort to recruit new businesses to our region and support existing businesses in growing their operations here.

“This event is the perfect opportunity to highlight the incredible assets and talent that we create here in our region,” said Franklin. “We’re home to two world-renowned research universities nationally recognized community and technical colleges – we are truly training the next generation workforce right in our backyard.” Franklin will promote the unique workforce development capabilities in our region, including through the industry-specific degrees and certificates offered by WSU Everett, UW Bothell, Everett Community College and Edmonds Community College.

MyEverettNews.com wanted to know the cost for the Mayor’s trip and where the funds were coming from. Everett is facing an ongoing budget deficit and Mayor Franklin has asked all city departments to find ways to trim spending. Here’s the City’s response to our inquiry from Meghan Pembroke, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing.

Hi Lee – Thanks for your follow-up questions. Mayor Franklin and Dan Eernissee, the City’s economic development director, are attending the Paris Air Show in order to support the retention and growth of existing businesses in Everett and Snohomish County, and to attract new companies to our region. The Air Show is the best opportunity to interact with more than 2,500 international companies involved in the aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries. Many aerospace companies in our region have leadership located in other countries, and the Air Show provides the best way for Mayor Franklin and Dan to interact with those executives and learn about how the City can continue to support this important industry, which employs tens of thousands of people here in Everett and Snohomish County.

The aerospace industry, including all of the many suppliers and subcontractors who support large companies like Boeing, represents a significant portion of the City’s revenue, which allows us to provide the services and programs that our residents and businesses expect. For instance, in 2018 the manufacturing sector provided more than $17.2 million in sales tax and business and occupation tax to the City. Snohomish County has the highest concentration of advanced manufacturing jobs west of the Rocky Mountains. Manufacturing makes up 20 percent of the workforce in Snohomish County, which is twice the state average – and the majority of those jobs are in Everett.

Given the important role that aerospace and advance manufacturing play in our community, the Paris Air Show provides an incredible value in terms of the potential to bring new jobs and opportunities to our community. Mayor Franklin is part of a regional delegation that includes representatives from Economic Alliance Snohomish County, Greater Seattle Partners, Choose Washington Coalition, and the Washington State Dept. of Commerce.

The City is covering the costs related to the Air Show for Mayor Franklin and Dan. They are using their own personal funds to cover the costs of any personal activities during their time in France. We will not have actual expenditures until after the trip, but we estimate $5,300 for the Mayor’s travel, lodging and registration, $7,750 for Dan’s travel, lodging and registration (he is in Paris early for pre-show programs and meetings), and $4,450 for booth sponsorship at the show. The City has participated in past air shows, including in 2015.