Gig Harbor was one of the many stops Rossi has been making on his Idea Bank Forum “tour.” A project of the Forward Washington Foundation he founded not long after losing his 2004 bid for governor, the idea bank has been collecting suggestions from ordinary citizens to be presented to state lawmakers in the next legislative session.

“Regular folks who are close to the problem can generally see the solutions better than those in Olympia,” Rossi said in an interview. “People like to be heard.”

Rossi told the audience of about 100 people that the Idea Bank was a nonpartisan effort — suggested to him in fact, by a Democrat, former KIRO TV general manager and press secretary for Democratic Governor Dixy Lee Ray, Lou Guzzo. “We welcome everybody,” he said, then joked, referring to several people with cameras, “We have Christine Gregoire’s operatives here, filming.”

He opened by presenting some of his own solutions, including a bill he sponsored while in the state Senate for a rainy day account, and eliminating the so-called death tax, which he said is driving entrepreneurs out of Washington and reduces opportunities for everyone. “I don’t know about you, folks, but I’ve never gotten a job from the poor guy,” he said, “so it doesn’t make sense to me to chase (business owners) out of the state.”

He then turned it over to the audience, who touched on topics ranging from education and HOV lanes to sex offenders and property taxes. He quickly shot down an attempt at debate, stating the goal for the evening was to collect ideas, not argue their merit.

One of the audience members said many problems stem from a variety of regulatory agencies that have no public oversight stifling the permitting process and issuing contradictory decisions. Rossi agreed, saying, “For anything to be built, everybody has to be holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya.’”

Several people brought up the problem of taxes, both for businesses and properties, one person stating he’s considered leaving the state due to overtaxation. Audience member William Evans suggested using purchase price, not assessments, to determine taxes — which would also eliminate the need for all the county assessor’s offices.

Rossi said a leadership committee will sift through the ideas and choose the best to present to the Legislature. More than 300 ideas have been submitted online at www.washingtonideabank.org, and many of the suggestions from the forums and submissions have been posted online. Rossi couldn’t resist making another joke, saying, “Christine Gregoire didn’t have to follow me around… All these are online. It’s a people-driven agenda.”

Following the forum, Rossi said in an interview Gig Harbor was chosen as a stop because Forward Washington selected overlooked communities. He said the Gig Harbor discussion had more concerns about property taxes than other areas, but overall themes have emerged like health care, transportation and education.

Copies of the compiled ideas will be sent to lawmakers and the governor, and Rossi hopes they plagiarize them. “If they steal an idea, God bless them,” he said. “And if they want to give credit to Joe in Gig Harbor (etc), great… These are their constituents.”

The Forward Washington Foundation has focused its efforts on improving the business climate in the state. Created as a nonpartisan, nonpolitical educational organization, Forward Washington has the goal of promoting public awareness of various issues. “I want the foundation to live beyond me,” said Rossi, who is the president of Forward Washington. “(We want) to make the state better for everybody, not just a select few.”.