ThinkTank

Should Seattle Build a New Arena?

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:00:00 -0700

Next month, the Seattle City Council will vote on a proposal, supported by Mayor Mike McGinn, to invest up to $120 million in city funds toward a new, half-billion-dollar arena funded largely by San Francisco hedge fund manager Chris Hansen. (The County Council is fastracking the proposal and handed it off to the full council earlier this week.)

Opponents of the arena argue that the proposal did not go through the usual public process (Hansen picked the site and bought the land himself, without any discussion of whether the SoDo location was the best one); that public dollars shouldn't be used to subsidize fabulously wealthy sports teams; and that traffic to and from the arena will make it hard for both commuters and Port cargo trucks to move around the area, among other objections.

Proponents, meanwhile, argue that a new NBA (and, potentially, NHL) team would do wonders for civic pride; that Hansen has guaranteed the city will not lose any money on the deal; and that this deal represents the city's best and only chance to return the Sonics to Seattle.

In today's ThinkTank, we've got arena proponent---Kris Brannon, who has appeared in character (and uniform) as "Sonics Guy" everywhere for the past three years (scroll down in this old post and witness our total confusion late last year when we caught him hyping his Sonics message at an Occupy protest).

And we've got an arena skeptic, former city council member (and mayoral contender?) Peter Steinbrueck.

Although Steinbrueck is a consultant for the (anti-arena) Port of Seattle, the opinions he expresses here are his own.

The basic proposal is this: The City and County are loaning Hansen up to $200 million (the City is loaning most of it—$120 million) which Hansen's pledged to pay back (ultimately $454 million in debt service over 30 years) through rent on the arena, which the city will own, and through taxes on arena activity.

We are hosting a public forum on the arena deal on Monday night, July 30th, at EVO on Capitol Hill featuring Steinbrueck; ESPN 710 sports talk host Mike Salk; Seattle City Council member Mike O'Brien; and Port of Seattle Commissioner Tom Albro.

Is It Time for Charters?

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:00:00 -0700

This November, voters statewide, for the fourth time since 1996, will take up a charter school initiative, I-1240. Voters rejected charter schools for the third time in 2004 in a public referendum on a charter bill the legislature passed earlier that year.

This year's initiative is also a hot-button issue in the governor's race—as education funding and "education reform" have taken center stage. Groups such as Democrats for Education Reform and traditional Democratic donors like Nick Hanauer are complaining that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee—who opposes the measure—isn't moving fast enough on the national ed reform agenda backed by President Obama, which includes charters. Indeed, the ed reform issue has fractured the Democratic Party.

The pro-charter measure is backed by (among many others, of course): Bill Gates ($1,000,000); Hanauer ($450,000); Bruce McCaw ($100,000), Jeff Bezos' parents ($500,000); Paul Allen ($100,000), Dick's Drive-In owner Jim Spady ($100) and Democrats for Education Reform ($50,000). Overall, the pro-camp has raised $3.3 million. The anti-1240 campaign has yet to report any donors, though presumably the Washington Education Association, the teachers' union, will put big money into that effort.

Seattle Rep. Eric Pettigrew (D-37) proposed a charter bill in January and Eastside Seattle suburban Sen. Rodney Tom (D-48, Bellevue) tried to make a charter bill part of the tortured budget negotiations. Both efforts failed.

For today's ThinkTank, two Democratic state reps square off—Rep. Pettigrew and Rep. Marcie Maxwell (D-41, Renton).

Progressives Debate Sales Tax

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:00 -0800

In an attempt to address a $1.5 billion state revenue shortfall and add funding to the state's reserve funds, Gov. Chris Gregoire has proposed an all-cuts budget that would eliminate $2 billion in health, human services, public safety and education programs.

In conjunction with that draconian proposal, Gregoire has also proposed a half-cent sales tax that, she says, will enable the state to "buy back" about $500 million in programs and services, while providing a rebate to married couples with children. That rebate, known as the Working Families Tax Credit, is aimed at addressing concerns from progressive legislators and groups that the sales tax is regressive---that is, that it disproportionately impacts the poor.

In this week's ThinkTank, Lori Pfingst, senior policy analyst with the progressive Washington State Budget and Policy Center, argues that an even larger sales tax---a full cent, offset by a rebate for low-income workers---would eliminate the need for the worst budget cuts.

Dorli Rainey, an activist and onetime mayoral candidate who made national headlines when police pepper-sprayed her at an Occupy Seattle demonstration earlier this year, says state leaders should reject the regressive sales tax and unite to pass a statewide income tax on wealthy Washingtonians.

Turnoff or Turn-on? The Occupy Protests

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0800

In order for the Occupy Wall Street protests to have an impact, they've got to connect with the people they say they represent—everyday people who are struggling to make ends meet.

Are they? We asked two unemployed Seattleites—a US Army veteran and a local writer—presumably members of the protesters' target audience, if the signs, civil disobedience, tents, and messages at Westlake and Seattle Central Community College were inspiring them or turning them off.

One said yes, one said no.

How Should the State Deal with the Budget Crisis?

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0700

Last week, Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire recommended $2 billion worth of cuts including scaling back state employee health care to deal with the $2 billion budget crisis. The state legislature is holding a special session late this month.

The response to Gregoire's proposal was quick—and predictable. The left called for a different approach. Stop the cutting, they demanded (the state already cut $4.6 billion earlier this year and has cut $10 billion overall in the last three years of recessionary budgets.) Instead, they called for closing corporate tax breaks—something Gregoire has balked at.

The right applauded Gregoire's mantra that government can't fund everything anymore and must decide what to cut and what to keep.

Today in ThinkTank: We've asked the left brain and right brain to square off over the budget. From the left, it's Remy Trupin, Executive Director at the liberal policy shop, the Washington State Budget & Policy Center. And from the right, it's Paul Guppy, VP of Research at the conservative policy shop, the Washington Policy Center.

Should Seattle Raise Car Tab Fees $60?

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0700

The city is asking voters to increase their car-tab taxes by $60 to pay for a package of road improvements, transit speed and reliability upgrades, and bike and pedestrian facilities. Proponents of the fee, which would bring Seattle residents' annual car tabs to $100, say it will pay for badly needed maintenance, fund safety upgrades, and improve travel times for everyone, including drivers. Opponents say the fee is regressive and pays for the wrong projects, focusing on bikes and streetcars at the expense of fundamental roadway fixes and new bus service.

David Bloom, a member of Citizens Against Raising Car Tabs, and Verita Alexander, a Metro driver and Seattle resident, square off in this weke's ThinkTank .

I-1125: Tim Eyman vs. Microsoft

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0700

Tim Eyman's Initiative 1125 would place new restrictions on tolls---requiring that tolls be spent on the road where they're levied; prohibiting tolls from paying for light rail; retiring tolls once a project is paid off; requiring the legislature, not the state transportation commission, to set toll rates; and banning variable tolls, tolls that vary based on time of day or traffic levels.

Supporters say 1125 simply restores historic state tolling policies, which protect taxpayers by ensuring that tolls are predictable, fair, and don't go on forever. Opponents say the measure would leave projects like the SR-520 bridge and the downtown deep-bore tunnel hundreds of millions of dollars short and scuttle voter-approved light rail to the Eastside.

Initiative sponsor Eyman and Microsoft senior lobbyist DeLee Shoemaker square off in this week's ThinkTank. Microsoft has contributed $700,000 to defeat Eyman's initiative and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer contributed $100,000 last week.

Is There a War on Bikes?

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:00:00 -0700

Does the recent spate of cyclist deaths mark a new milestone in the so-called "war on cars"? Is Seattle's war on cars really a war on bikes?

At least a dozen cyclists have died this year across Washington State, nine of them in collisions with cars. In July, cyclist Michael Wang was struck and killed by a speeding SUV driver who turned into Wang’s path on Dexter Ave. and sped away. Earlier this month, Vivace Espresso barista Brian Fairbrother was killed when he ran off a bike path into a poorly marked set of stairs. And this past weekend, Jimmy John’s delivery cyclist Robert Townsend was struck and killed on University Way NE when a car turned into his path.

The tragedies have prompted Mayor Mike McGinn to convene a traffic safety summit in October to discuss how to make Seattle's roads safer for all their users.

Our ThinkTank panelists this week, landscape architect and cycling advocate Brice Maryman and attorney and cycle track proponent Josh Brower, who represents businesses who have sued to stop the "Missing Link" of the Burke-Gilman Trail, agree that framing the issue as a "war" doesn't help, but suggest very different paths to preventing cyclist deaths in the future.

Should Seattle Raise Car Tab Fees $60?

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:00:00 -0700

In November, Seattle voters will be asked to raise their car-tab fees $60 to pay for a combination of road maintenance projects, transit improvements, bike facilities, and pedestrian-safety projects. Combined with an existing $20 city car-tab fee and a $20 fee passed by the King County Council last month, the fee would increase Seattle drivers' car-tab costs by a total of $100.

What does the fee mean for poor people? We asked the city's premiere advocate for the poor, John Fox, to debate the city's premiere advocate for the poor, Tim Harris, about the wisdom of the fee.

In today's ThinkTank, Fox of the Seattle Displacement Coalition argues that the fee is a regressive tax on poor drivers who can least afford it; and Harris, director of the homeless newspaper Real Change, says he supports a system that improves transit and provides mitigation for low-income drivers.

Was Eliminating the Ride-Free Area the Right Call?

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:00:00 -0700

Last week, the King County Council voted to pass a two-year, $20 vehicle license fee to preserve Metro bus service. Part of the deal that got council Republicans on board was an agreement to phase out the downtown Ride Free Area, which costs the county around $2 million a year.

Real Change director Tim Harris argues that the move was an attack on the poor; Downtown Seattle Association vice president Jon Scholes and environmentalist Roger Valdez argue that saving Metro from service cuts is more important than preserving free rides downtown.