MOSES LAKE - U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee said Grant County residents will see more jobs and better economic prospects if he's elected as Washington's next governor.

Inslee, D-Wash., defended his resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives, effective tomorrow, saying the decision wasn't easy but the state needs his full attention. He is running against Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna in the race to replace Gov. Chris Gregoire this coming November.

"If people have an idea, I want to hear it; if they have a problem, I want to know it; if they have a business, I want to help them grow it," he said in a telephone interview Friday. "To do that, I need to be full-time and make sure everyone has the opportunity to hear our ideas about job creation in our state."

Job creation is a central facet of his campaign, and Inslee said few regions are ripe with possibility as is Grant County, which he described as the ideal place for burgeoning high tech industries.

In the past month Inslee said he's spoken with two companies - one aerospace and one clean energy - about prospects in the county. He sees potential not just in wind, hydro and solar power, which Central Washington is already involved in, but also recent biofuels research conducted by Washington State University on camelina and other crops suited to the region's arid climate.

"We have a perfect mix of opportunities in Central Washington for the clean energy industry," he said. "And with biofuels there is the tremendous vision to take crops grown in Central Washington and use them to fuel Boeing aircraft."

But a big part of realizing that vision centers on improving the state's faltering public education system, Inslee said.

"If we are going to create jobs we obviously are going to have to have the skill sets to do those jobs," he said. "Improving education and making sure every child has a shot at a good paying career is something we have to devote our full attention to. It is the paramount duty of the state and I will be very active in proposing ways to do that."

In the coming weeks, Inslee plans to roll out a comprehensive education plan pledging to improve graduation rates, strengthen leadership in schools, create more effective teacher evaluation systems and bring more focus to the importance of early childhood education, among other goals.

In terms of higher education, Inslee said a fundamental challenge is that Washington ranks fifth among states in the number of technical jobs per capita but 45th in production of students who can fill those jobs.

"That's an enormous disparity," he said. "We need to improve the number of slots available at community colleges like Big Bend, technical colleges and apprenticeship programs. If we're going to have the skilled work force that could help aerospace grow, and I think aerospace has a real future in Central Washington, we've got to have that skilled workforce."

Inslee says his Central Washington credentials far surpass those of his opponent, and pointed as proof to his 18 years in Selah and his six years representing the 14th Legislative District and 4th Congressional District in the mid-1990s before moving into the 1st Congressional District in 1999.

"I'm very bullish on the economic prospects of Grant County because it has the makings of a real economic renaissance with all the assets it has," he said. "The skill sets of the people, lower electricity and land costs, the incredible airport in Moses Lake - we've got some tremendous assets to build on and I am the only candidate in the race who really has a personal recognition of that."

Inslee asserted his more than 15 years of experience in Washington D.C. also makes him the only candidate with a proven track record of creating jobs. He noted his role in Boeing's big tanker contract win last year and the passage of a Central Washington irrigation bill as examples.

"I understand the wealth of assets that we have and the policies it's going to take to help companies (in the Columbia Basin) grow," he said. "You put that together with a guy who knows what hay smells like and who lived in Central Washington for almost two decades, somebody who has a vision for economic development for our region, and I think that'll be a good thing for the region."