As I wrote earlier, opponents of the “Roads and Transit” package have been lying like crazy about light rail. What’s more, they’ve been doing it illegally.
You see, they’ve been campaigning against the measure without filing as a campaign. From the complaint:
Since May 2007, individuals and organizations have made expenditures in opposition to the Regional Transportation Improvement District/Sound Transit 2 ballot measure, commonly referred to as the “Roads and Transit measure.” These individuals and organizations have not formed a ballot/political committee and have failed to file a C1 form with the Public Disclosure Commission as well as other required regular reports required under Washington State law (RCW 42.17.040).
I’m a rookie at this stuff, so I may get some things wrong, but no one in the traditional media has focused in on this stuff. Not only are these guys lying, but they’re doing it in a way that is a flagrant abuse of our campaign laws.
Thank you, Kemper Freeman, may I have another.
The Lying Liars are clearly violating PDC laws. They are running radio ads, they specifically mention the ballot measure.
It’s about time someone called them on it.
Will,
I see … I thought from an earlier post you were on the SC side.
There is a good thread going on here at HS on the Seattle issues but I know your perspective as an urbanite is different from my own.
Can you say something about how you see RTID in re development of Seattle? I do understand that this is a city issue, but a lot of what RTID covers seems to me to have a huge effect on the expected surge (sorry) in Seattle urbanites.
@ 3
RTID funds projects in Seattle that I really want to see happen. South Park bridge replacement, Spokane Street Viaduct work, Lander overpass, and Mercer st stuff.
RTID funds projects that make possible the ‘surface plus transit’ viaduct option, which I have supported.
Does RTID include funds to improve the tie in between 520 and
downtown or is that the same thing as the Mercer plan?
Also, I heard a talk on the Mercer plan .. it seemed to me to not do anything about transportation between Elliot and I5, Do you know?
Tx for the heads up.
@ 5
I don’t know, most of the design specifics are still under consideration.
Of course, “not do anything” is a relative term.
I’ll bet these guys are Republicans … 108 arrests between the six of ’em. http://tinyurl.com/2pruqg
@6 “I don’t know, most of the design specifics are still under consideration.”
Shouldn’t they know what they’re going to build before they ask us for money to build it?
@ 8
No.
Roger,
I don’t want to oppose this but the manner it is being presented seems dreadful. I agree with Will that such a thing could be overplanned and the opposition, other than the Sierra Ckub, is worrisome too. OTOH, I worry that bad planning could mean large costs incurred later.
This reminds me of hiring a contractor to remodel your kitchen , giving her some general ideas and having her say .. “We can get started for 60k, but I do not know where we will end up.”
Where the fuck are the Seattle MSM?? They should by now have presented answers ot these questions.
As long we’re on DIY analogies, I’ll point out that RTID neglects much needed maintenance eg. of the 34 bridges in the zone rated at 25 or below sufficiency, RTID fully funds repairs for only one. Because it concentrates mainly on new capacity, RTID is like adding a new hot tub when your roof is leaking.
RTID is sounding more and more like some of the grandiose plans our civic leaders launched a decade or so ago based on the assumption that the dot-com illusion of prosperity and its concommittent rise in tax revenues was going to go on forever. After they’d dug a lot of big holes in the ground, the economy went in the crapper.
Are we about to see history repeat itself?
@12 – Our “civic leaders” need a NO on this one just like we gave them a No/No on the crappy viaduct options. Face it, the first offering from these dweebs always will be a loser. Send it back to them so they can clean it up.
And Will, you are starting to scare me. For god’s sake, you can’t just vote yes because there are promises of trains in a ballot measure. That’s like something a four-year-old would do.
Will, if your post @9 represents your attempt to persuade me to vote for this thing, you’ve failed.
@10 I remember when you could buy a whole fucking house for less than 60K. You even got land with it.
@15 No mineral rights, though. Those apparently belong to someone else. Thank God there’s nothing under my abode except 6,000 vertical feet of clay and stones. Do the rocks get bigger as you dig deeper?
How about blogging on web sites? Do you have to be registered to do that? Servers and ISPs cost money. What’s the difference between hosting (or posting on) a web site supporting the measure and taking out a radio ad?
Look, Kemper Freeman and his Eastside Transportation Association know the difference between campaigning and “educating” the public.
When they tried to push these same stupid dinosaur politics in 2004, they filed with the PDC. (Kemper blew through half a mill back then)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....er19m.html
http://www.horsesass.org/?p=41
The primary reason Kemper Freeman, ETA, and their various spinoffs / affiliates (TruthAboutTraffic, Washington Traffic Institute, Coalition for Effective Transportation Alternatives, Sane Transit, Washington Policy Center, etc) want to avoid filing is because the funding source will be exposed as coming from a single increasingly isolated source: one rich guy who inherited his family’s business.
I wonder how Roger Rabbit’s Golden Gate Bridge – the 520 / Lake Washington version – is coming along?
Surprisingly to some here – I like public transit. I think it’s one of the things local/regional government is supposed to do.
However, NONE of the current crop of idiots in the big offices in ANY of the local/state agencies that work with transit are capable of finding their ass with both hands and a flashlight. I specifically did not use the word ‘leadership’ because there is none in evidence.
I’m voting no on the RTID package.
What should happen is that some bold leader will say “we need this, git-er-done” and stop trying to acheive complete consensus with every single interest group. Not everybody can be happy with the outcome. Consensus projects are mediocrity incarnate. Brilliant projects will leave the largest number of people satisifed. Any project will have people who complain. Some people just like to whine.