Morning Fizz
"I Do Feel I Need to Say a Word or Two About That."
1. Mayor Mike McGinn spoke at a Downtown Seattle Association breakfast
last Thursday morning. He spoke for about 10 minutes—cops (he's got more on the streets), potholes (he'll fix them in 72 hours), SoDo zoning changes (lets get rid of vacant lots), food vending carts (pro), signs on top of buildings (pro), the education achievement gap for students of color (help pass the family and education levy), 520 (make sure it's light rail ready), and harsh budget cuts (closing community centers, renegotiating union contracts with no discretionary pay raises), "without any general tax increase" (raising parking fees, but no property, b&o, or business tax increase)—before he goes there:
"This is ... it's uh ... you know we've managed to go through almost an entire discussion without the tunnel, but I do feel I need to say a word or two about that."
McGinn begins around the 43-minute mark.
Putting the tunnel in the context of budget needs (public safety, community centers, fiber optics), McGinn says the $2 billion project is "more than twice all the property taxes we pay combined" for a plan that, thanks to tolls, will push two-thirds of the traffic onto streets, "more cars on the street than even that reviled I-5, surface transit option" without the resources to make improvements to I-5 and transit.
He concludes: "Even a small cost overrun ... would have major implications for our local budget. So, I just don't believe this risk that we're about to take is the right way to plan for a city. I'd ask people here to take a hard and prudent look as we learn more about this project. I think we can do better."
Immediately after his speech the DSA sent out an email to its members trashing McGinn (although they don't point out any specifics) for making "misleading claims which continue to cloud the facts regarding the Bored Tunnel and Waterfront Projec t" and calling on people to show up at city council this morning when the council's viaduct replacement committee takes up agreements with the state on the tunnel project.
The the DSA concludes:
2. In Olympia on Friday, over the wishes of labor, the senate voted 46-1 to give a $300 million tax break to businesses on unemployment insurance and make the state eligible for federal benefits.
Why was labor opposed? After all, 70,000 unemployed workers would benefit.
Because while there was a February 8 deadline on the tax break (which labor supported), they didn't want to earmark the federal dollars yet. Their hope: They could leverage the federal dollars to get a $15-a-child benefit per week as part of a second UI bill. By moving forward on the federal piece last week, the senate short-circuited labor's push for that children's benefit, which labor advocates argued, would have balanced the business break with a direct lift for workers and assured an extra infusion of cash into the ailing economy.
The lone 'No' vote, state Sen. Sharon Nelson (D-34, W. Seattle, Vashon, Burien), told PubliCola:
The house version includes the children's benefit.
3. Speaking of lefties from the 34th Legislative District—state Rep. Eileen Cody (D-34) is getting some love from the revenue coalition, the ad hoc group of labor, social services, education, and environmental groups that is pushing the legislature to balance budget cuts with taxes.
Cody introduced a bill last week that would cut $150 million in corporate tax breaks (including a break for big banks on mortgage loans and break for TransAlta's Centralia coal plant).
Members of the coalition have begun wearing these yellow buttons around the capitol.
While 23 reps have signed on—including Seattle reps Reuven Carlyle, Mary Lou Dickerson, Joe Fitzgibbon, David Frockt, Phyllis Kenney, and Jamie Pedersen—Cody acknowledged to PubliCola that the bill didn't have much of a chance because, she said, it would have to get a two-thirds vote.
"This is ... it's uh ... you know we've managed to go through almost an entire discussion without the tunnel, but I do feel I need to say a word or two about that."
McGinn begins around the 43-minute mark.
Putting the tunnel in the context of budget needs (public safety, community centers, fiber optics), McGinn says the $2 billion project is "more than twice all the property taxes we pay combined" for a plan that, thanks to tolls, will push two-thirds of the traffic onto streets, "more cars on the street than even that reviled I-5, surface transit option" without the resources to make improvements to I-5 and transit.
He concludes: "Even a small cost overrun ... would have major implications for our local budget. So, I just don't believe this risk that we're about to take is the right way to plan for a city. I'd ask people here to take a hard and prudent look as we learn more about this project. I think we can do better."
Immediately after his speech the DSA sent out an email to its members trashing McGinn (although they don't point out any specifics) for making "misleading claims which continue to cloud the facts regarding the Bored Tunnel and Waterfront Projec t" and calling on people to show up at city council this morning when the council's viaduct replacement committee takes up agreements with the state on the tunnel project.
The the DSA concludes:
We know that opponents won’t let up and neither can we. They will continue to try and derail this project in favor of either dumping 110,000 vehicles on Downtown surface streets or rebuilding a bigger, nosier elevated highway on our waterfront. We can’t let either scenario happen.
2. In Olympia on Friday, over the wishes of labor, the senate voted 46-1 to give a $300 million tax break to businesses on unemployment insurance and make the state eligible for federal benefits.
Why was labor opposed? After all, 70,000 unemployed workers would benefit.
Because while there was a February 8 deadline on the tax break (which labor supported), they didn't want to earmark the federal dollars yet. Their hope: They could leverage the federal dollars to get a $15-a-child benefit per week as part of a second UI bill. By moving forward on the federal piece last week, the senate short-circuited labor's push for that children's benefit, which labor advocates argued, would have balanced the business break with a direct lift for workers and assured an extra infusion of cash into the ailing economy.
The lone 'No' vote, state Sen. Sharon Nelson (D-34, W. Seattle, Vashon, Burien), told PubliCola:
"Rushing a vote on unemployment benefits for those who are out of work without ensuring we maximize what we can provide to them was wrong. People are out of work and need real help and that is why I voted against the legislation."
The house version includes the children's benefit.
3. Speaking of lefties from the 34th Legislative District—state Rep. Eileen Cody (D-34) is getting some love from the revenue coalition, the ad hoc group of labor, social services, education, and environmental groups that is pushing the legislature to balance budget cuts with taxes.
Cody introduced a bill last week that would cut $150 million in corporate tax breaks (including a break for big banks on mortgage loans and break for TransAlta's Centralia coal plant).
Members of the coalition have begun wearing these yellow buttons around the capitol.
While 23 reps have signed on—including Seattle reps Reuven Carlyle, Mary Lou Dickerson, Joe Fitzgibbon, David Frockt, Phyllis Kenney, and Jamie Pedersen—Cody acknowledged to PubliCola that the bill didn't have much of a chance because, she said, it would have to get a two-thirds vote.
