“As expected, the service cuts Gov. Gregoire has proposed are numerous, deep and are painful.

“Her list shows the enormity of our task, and I commend the Governor for her first step in tackling this latest hurdle we face as a state.

“Our challenge isn’t just a math problem. We must keep in mind that the education we provide to our young people represents their opportunity for their future.

“We must also keep in mind that the services on this list make a real difference in real people’s lives, and it can literally be a difference between being healthy or sick, being warm or cold, being well or in pain.

“The people who will be affected by these cuts have nowhere else to go. They’ve already exhausted all their options, and I want to make sure we exhaust all of ours before we make a decision like this.

“This process won’t be quick and it won’t be easy.

“Cuts will no doubt be necessary, but I believe there are reforms we can make within government that can also achieve significant cost savings. We need to look at literally every opportunity to reduce the cost of delivering services before we eliminate services outright.”