Speaking to a crowd of Whidbey Island dignitaries, Gov. Jay Inslee touted the benefits of his proposed $12.2 billion transportation package, including ferry funding aboard the Tokitae on Wednesday during a trip between Mukilteo and Clinton.

Released in December, the governor’s transportation package proposes several construction projects across the state.

Of great concern to some Whidbey Island representatives was the persistent threat of losing a late-night sailing between Clinton and Mukilteo. Speaking to the governor on the 2:30 p.m. Tokitae sailing, Dave Hoogerwerf, a Clinton resident and member of the Clinton Ferry Advisory Committee, reminded the governor that when sailings are lost, people aren’t able to get to their jobs or get home. He cited one woman who didn’t open her front door until midnight after reaching the ferry line in Mukilteo around 7 p.m. when the Tokitae was pulled from service April 15. Any disruption to service is a major problem for commuters who rely on the marine highways, Hoogerwerf said.

“When you talk about cutting routes between Mukilteo and Clinton, that kills jobs,” he said.

Inslee acknowledged and empathized with the problems. He also warned that if his transportation bill did not get passed in the state’s legislature, it would mean that sailings would be lost.

“We have routes that are gonna be cancelled, somehow, somewhere, if we don’t get a transportation bill done,” Inslee said.

Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson thanked Inslee for his transportation package. Included in the governor’s proposed spending is $600 million for ferry terminals and vessels and $311 million for ferry operations and reliability reforms.

Matt Nichols, vice president of Freeland’s Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, joked that he’d like to see more new ferry construction included in the budget. He also said each new ferry represents 100 jobs.

“We need to build more,” Nichols said.

The ferry service reliability reform Inslee seeks would increase training and upgrade dispatch services to address missed sailings due to crew shortage. A ferry reliability performance report card would be created as well to “ensure continuous improvement.” Inslee praised a 50 percent reduction in ferry sailing delays and cancellations since the arrival of Lynne Griffith, assistant secretary of Washington State Department of Transportation, Ferries Division.

“Washington needs a ferry system that is robust and healthy,” Inslee said.

“We need a transportation package so I can hear that horn,” he added after the Tokitae’s horn blasted as it departed the Mukilteo terminal.

State Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton, disagreed with the governor’s proposal over what she called the “erosion” of critical reforms to how the state spends money on capital projects.

“At this point, unfortunately, the House majority is continuing to erode the essential reforms needed as provided in the Senate transportation package,” she said in a phone interview from Olympia on Thursday.

She cited the issues the ferries division had with the Kwa-di Tabil 64-car ferries that serviced the Coupeville-Port Townsend route. They listed in the water, the cause of much complaint, until Smith and others got the ferries division to add ballast. That decision ended up saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel efficiency. Then there was also the most recent problem of the Tokitae’s upper deck car ramps being too steep for some cars with low clearance. That was eventually resolved but only after she and other commuters complained.

Such instances, she said, are examples of how reforms over the efficiency of capital projects must be improved before she’ll sign on to a transportation bill.

“The people of the 10th district, of our community … want us to spend their dollars wisely,” Smith said. “Yes, I want infrastructure and we have to move people … But I have a duty to the people of Washington state to insist that we’re going to use their tax dollars for the most good.”

Before boarding the state’s newest Olympic-class ferry that serves the Clinton-to-Mukilteo route most of the year, Inslee spoke with Mukilteo and Snohomish County officials about the state’s planned and approved new ferry terminal in Mukilteo.

Inslee joked that one of his last dates before he began courting his wife was at one of the waterfront restaurants several decades ago.

The new ferry terminal will be about one-third of a mile northeast of the current site. Work will begin this summer and is scheduled to be completed by 2019.

The state Legislature will meet in special session, which was announced Thursday, to continue to work on passing the budget.