Morning Fizz
Board Members Disagreed with McGinn's My-Way-or-the-Highway Approach
1. U.S. Senator Patty Murray isn't the only one who benefited
from the surge of Democratic votes in King County yesterday (71.9 percent turnout so far!)
State Rep. Roger Goodman (D-45, Kirkland) who was firmly in the L column on Tuesday night made up 700 votes after yesterday's count to put him just 78 votes behind his GOP opponent Kevin Haistings out of 37,000 votes cast. There are still an estimated 276,000 votes to count.
The news wasn't as good for state Sen. Randy Gordon (D-41, Bellevue), who Democrats boasted was on the comeback trail as well. Gordon, who was losing to his Republican challenger 52.2 to 47.8 after the first two counts is still down by over 1300 votes after yesterday's numbers came in, 51.59 to 48.31.
2. In a move that parallels his maneuvering on the deep-bore tunnel---criticizing the process, then threatening to take his ball and go home---Mayor Mike McGinn tried last week to convince the Puget Sound Regional Council's governing board to refuse to participate in a coalition called the Transportation Partnership, arguing that there was no point in being at the table if the group's goals didn't include reducing greenhouse-gases from the outset.
The PSRC was scheduled to vote to continue participating in the partnership, which lobbies the state legislature on transportation issues, as part of its "consent agenda"---a list of routine items that don't require discussion. However, McGinn yanked the agreement off the consent agenda at last month's board meeting, arguing that the "core principles" listed in the agreement should include reducing greenhouse gases and addressing climate change .
"It's kind of a red flag when you can go through the entire document and there's not a specific commitment to reducing global warming or greenhouse gas emissions to the level that is required" by state law, McGinn said. And---echoing language he used to explain why he refused to sign an agreement with the state on the deep-bore tunnel---he said the PSRC should "be indicating to [the Transportation Partnership] what it would take for us to be a full-fledged partner ... We shouldn't commit ourselves, and put our name on letterhead as approving something, until we know" that greenhouse-gas reductions will be part of the partnership's agenda.
Other board members agreed that addressing global warming was an important goal, but vehemently disagreed with McGinn's my-way-or-the-highway approach to negotiating the partnership's core principles. Noting that the PSRC wouldn't have much sway over the partnership if it refused to be a member of the group, Seattle council member Tom Rasmussen said, "I agree with the mayor that we could probably strengthen the language, but we have to do that by participating."
Everett port commissioner Michael Hoffman added, "I would rather be there working to get the kind of changes that we want rather than say, 'No, not until you make it better will we participate.'" Even Bellevue Mayor Don Davidson, no fan of the sort of heavy investments in transit and biking infrastructure McGinn supports, said he agreed with McGinn in principle but couldn't vote to give up the PSRC's seat at the transportation table.
Ultimately, McGinn's amendment was defeated, and the board voted to stay in the transportation partnership 17-1.
3. Yet another sign that city council member Jean Godden, now 79, is running for reelection next year: Folks who've supported her in the past are getting fundraising letters and phone calls asking them to back her 2011 campaign.
4. Fresh off his I-1053 victory on Tuesday (reinstating the two-thirds majority requirement for the legislature to raise taxes), initiative hawker Tim Eyman has already filed a batch of new ones.
This is his R&D phase. He floats a bunch of initiatives, seven in this instance, to see which ones work. His proposed measures this year mostly focus on transportation and one of them—if you read it closely—has implications for Sound Transit.
Here's the language. We've bolded the the line that targets Sound Transit.
When Eyman tried to defund Sound Transit with I-776 in 2002 by freezing motor vehicle excise taxes at $30, Sound Transit, which was funded by the MVET, was spared because they were already bonded—meaning the tax was already pledged to pay of its bonds.
The implication of Eyman's new proposal is this: ST would have to prioritize those bond payments (which are methodically paying off the first installment of light rail), meaning they'd have zero cash to move forward on any of their current projects, like getting north to Lynnwood, east to Bellevue, and south to Highline Community College.
5. Despite the fact that U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA, 1) was one of the rare Democratic reps who cruised to victory on Tuesday with nearly 57 percent, we got a little cute in Wednesday's Afternoon Jolt and gave him our daily loser award. Our reasoning (and it was confirmed yesterday when a cowed President Obama announced he was officially bailing on cap and trade legislation) was that Inslee's environmental agenda was doomed now that U.S. Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) is in charge of the house. (Boehner doesn't think greenhouse gas emissions contribute to global warming.)
It looks like this year's election results dealt another blow to Inslee's agenda. One of Inslee's other big causes is net neutrality—the concept that ISPs like AT&T and Comcast must treat all online content equally—and he wants to pass regulations that prevent Internet companies from playing favorites among apps and content providers.
Ninety-five candidates in this year's election signed a pledge to support net neutrality. All 95 lost.
State Rep. Roger Goodman (D-45, Kirkland) who was firmly in the L column on Tuesday night made up 700 votes after yesterday's count to put him just 78 votes behind his GOP opponent Kevin Haistings out of 37,000 votes cast. There are still an estimated 276,000 votes to count.
The news wasn't as good for state Sen. Randy Gordon (D-41, Bellevue), who Democrats boasted was on the comeback trail as well. Gordon, who was losing to his Republican challenger 52.2 to 47.8 after the first two counts is still down by over 1300 votes after yesterday's numbers came in, 51.59 to 48.31.
2. In a move that parallels his maneuvering on the deep-bore tunnel---criticizing the process, then threatening to take his ball and go home---Mayor Mike McGinn tried last week to convince the Puget Sound Regional Council's governing board to refuse to participate in a coalition called the Transportation Partnership, arguing that there was no point in being at the table if the group's goals didn't include reducing greenhouse-gases from the outset.
The PSRC was scheduled to vote to continue participating in the partnership, which lobbies the state legislature on transportation issues, as part of its "consent agenda"---a list of routine items that don't require discussion. However, McGinn yanked the agreement off the consent agenda at last month's board meeting, arguing that the "core principles" listed in the agreement should include reducing greenhouse gases and addressing climate change .
"It's kind of a red flag when you can go through the entire document and there's not a specific commitment to reducing global warming or greenhouse gas emissions to the level that is required" by state law, McGinn said. And---echoing language he used to explain why he refused to sign an agreement with the state on the deep-bore tunnel---he said the PSRC should "be indicating to [the Transportation Partnership] what it would take for us to be a full-fledged partner ... We shouldn't commit ourselves, and put our name on letterhead as approving something, until we know" that greenhouse-gas reductions will be part of the partnership's agenda.
Other board members agreed that addressing global warming was an important goal, but vehemently disagreed with McGinn's my-way-or-the-highway approach to negotiating the partnership's core principles. Noting that the PSRC wouldn't have much sway over the partnership if it refused to be a member of the group, Seattle council member Tom Rasmussen said, "I agree with the mayor that we could probably strengthen the language, but we have to do that by participating."
Everett port commissioner Michael Hoffman added, "I would rather be there working to get the kind of changes that we want rather than say, 'No, not until you make it better will we participate.'" Even Bellevue Mayor Don Davidson, no fan of the sort of heavy investments in transit and biking infrastructure McGinn supports, said he agreed with McGinn in principle but couldn't vote to give up the PSRC's seat at the transportation table.
Ultimately, McGinn's amendment was defeated, and the board voted to stay in the transportation partnership 17-1.
3. Yet another sign that city council member Jean Godden, now 79, is running for reelection next year: Folks who've supported her in the past are getting fundraising letters and phone calls asking them to back her 2011 campaign.
4. Fresh off his I-1053 victory on Tuesday (reinstating the two-thirds majority requirement for the legislature to raise taxes), initiative hawker Tim Eyman has already filed a batch of new ones.
This is his R&D phase. He floats a bunch of initiatives, seven in this instance, to see which ones work. His proposed measures this year mostly focus on transportation and one of them—if you read it closely—has implications for Sound Transit.
Here's the language. We've bolded the the line that targets Sound Transit.
This measure would set vehicle license fees at $30 per year, minus other vehicle fees imposed in that jurisdiction; reduce certain motor vehicle taxes and fees; require voter approval of vehicle charge increases; repeal authority for certain voter-approved vehicle tax surcharges; require that certain transportation authority bonds be retired within 90 days and that collection of pledged taxes be discontinued; require local voter approval of automated traffic safety cameras and limit associated fines to $30.
When Eyman tried to defund Sound Transit with I-776 in 2002 by freezing motor vehicle excise taxes at $30, Sound Transit, which was funded by the MVET, was spared because they were already bonded—meaning the tax was already pledged to pay of its bonds.
The implication of Eyman's new proposal is this: ST would have to prioritize those bond payments (which are methodically paying off the first installment of light rail), meaning they'd have zero cash to move forward on any of their current projects, like getting north to Lynnwood, east to Bellevue, and south to Highline Community College.
5. Despite the fact that U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA, 1) was one of the rare Democratic reps who cruised to victory on Tuesday with nearly 57 percent, we got a little cute in Wednesday's Afternoon Jolt and gave him our daily loser award. Our reasoning (and it was confirmed yesterday when a cowed President Obama announced he was officially bailing on cap and trade legislation) was that Inslee's environmental agenda was doomed now that U.S. Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) is in charge of the house. (Boehner doesn't think greenhouse gas emissions contribute to global warming.)
It looks like this year's election results dealt another blow to Inslee's agenda. One of Inslee's other big causes is net neutrality—the concept that ISPs like AT&T and Comcast must treat all online content equally—and he wants to pass regulations that prevent Internet companies from playing favorites among apps and content providers.
Ninety-five candidates in this year's election signed a pledge to support net neutrality. All 95 lost.
