Blogs Nov 14, 2013 at 5:21 pm

Rasmussen Wants to Reallocate Funds to Serve His West Seattle District

Anna Minard
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Comments

1
This article omits the fact that West Seattle and Rasmussen have been fighting for this project as well, for a long, long time, with it's origins in 1999. Much more in details on the West Seattle project here.
Joe Szilagyi on November 14, 2013 at 5:34 PM Report this
2
Don't get northenders started on sidewalks. You'll never hear the end of it. It's like me talking about my pole lamp collection.
Catalina Vel-DuRay on November 14, 2013 at 5:35 PM Report this
3
@2 don't get Southwesterners started either. Arbor Heights only JUST got functional fire hydrants too.
Joe Szilagyi on November 14, 2013 at 5:38 PM Report this
4
Rasmussen, you venal politician. Raise your own money for your own district.
camlux on November 14, 2013 at 5:44 PM Report this
5
Northgate really does need a pedestrian friendly freeway crossing. I spent some time up there going to a clinic that was on the other side of I-5. As a bus rider I made the trek over to Northgate many times. It was never a good experience. It requires crossing several on-ramps and off-ramps in a generally unfriendly environment.

That kind of thing may be considered good planning in Bellevue - if we mark off cross walks it will just lull people into thinking they aren't in mortal danger while crossing I-405 on NE 8th avenue - but we should try for better everywhere else.
fletc3her on November 14, 2013 at 5:56 PM Report this
6
Tom is saying one thing and doing another.
MrBaker on November 14, 2013 at 6:18 PM Report this
7
So, with nobody competing for District 5 votes yet I guess we'll officially get the short end of the stick for the next few years @6.
ChefJoe on November 14, 2013 at 6:21 PM Report this
8
Ignoring @2... ;)

GIMME MY SIDEWALKS! ITS A 3RD WORLD COUNTRY UP HERE!

And that ped bridge HAS to be built before light rail is here.
JonnoN on November 14, 2013 at 6:52 PM Report this
9
Ped bridge from dead zone of NSCC to dead zone by transit.
Stupid.
But great for muggers.
David Sucher on November 14, 2013 at 6:52 PM Report this
10
They shouldn't have given that $750k back to the mayor's office so fast.
Matt from Denver on November 14, 2013 at 7:03 PM Report this
11
@9 don't worry, no one will make you leave your basement, therefore you can't get mugged.
JonnoN on November 14, 2013 at 7:07 PM Report this
12
@9- fuck off. God forbid there should be a safe manner for students to walk from a major public transit hub to a large campus. God forbid folks living on the west side of I-5 should have a safe way to walk home from a major public transit hub, there by encouraging use of public transit. Just fuck right off.
Pol Pot on November 14, 2013 at 7:10 PM Report this
13
You don't need "sources at City Hall" to verify that CM Rasmussen has been working on this for a long time. Our reporting on it goes back to 2008. Anyway, thanks to Joe, above, for linking to our story on this proposed funding shift, published last Friday. Will it get into the final budget plan? Decisions on Monday. I'm not familiar with conditions in the Northgate area but down here, roughly 1,500 apartments are recently built/under construction/soon to be built within steps of the "Green Boulevard" stretch, which is the main "gateway" to WS and currently a pedestrian nightmare that's hideous to boot. But good luck to all! - Tracy @ WSB
on November 14, 2013 at 7:29 PM Report this
14
@9, "dead zone"? A large community college is EXACTLY what transit is made to serve. And the "dead zone" on the other side is...a Link station, for chrissakes, as well as THE major North Seattle bus hub. To say nothing of a giant, popular mall, with loads of retail strips surrounding it on all sides. And a zillion new apartments and condos, added to the ones that were already there. All blocked by a 500-foot-wide freeway ROW. This overpass is absolutely necessary to make Link work properly.

Districts are off to a great start, eh? No more projects for the good of the city; only pols grabbing at their pet projects worthwhile or not. Fuck your districts.
Fnarf on November 14, 2013 at 7:37 PM Report this
15
Expect more of this crap in the future. This is why I voted against district elections.
wxPDX on November 14, 2013 at 8:33 PM Report this
16
Well, Stranger, congrats on lining up with a right-wing lunatic who aims to buy a North Seattle Councilmember and start fucking over the entire city. Districts! Because Washington, D.C., Olympia and the King County Council run SO WELL. Morons.
kk in seattle on November 14, 2013 at 8:36 PM Report this
17
@15, this has been going on for decades. Not having districts allowed this kind of thing to go on all the time without the inconvenience of answering to the public at-large.

This is the inconvenience of democracy.
MrBaker on November 14, 2013 at 8:47 PM Report this
18
The ped bridge from NSCC across I-5 will not be heavily used. Bad investment. Not enough traffic on it. School is out so many weeks of the year, weekends included.

If you want to make it truly useful, reconnect the street grid so that cars can cross too.

Go ahead. Squander the money. But it is a bad idea.

David Sucher on November 14, 2013 at 8:53 PM Report this
19
@7, that's true to a point, the point where pan incumbent thinking about running in an at-large race (just 3 of those left) could lose the votes of an entire district, while never really being able to fully compensate for votes in another district. At large candidates are not running for the seat in that district and there would be likely at-large challengers.
So, unbalanced support just looks to be able to be compensated by enough votes in a district being shown unbalanced faroritism.

This footbridge is nothing, wait the waterfront for all campaign for 2016.
MrBaker on November 14, 2013 at 8:58 PM Report this
20
1. tom does not allocate one single dollar by himself; the majority of the council has to set the whole budget.
2. north seattle will punish anyone running for mayor or at large who lets them get screwed.
3. with districts, these fights are out in the open. with at large, it was settled quietly, and voters wouldn't even know who's fighting for them. the notion that under at large somehow we have more money to spread around or there are no conflicts is an illusion.
4. here's the win win: STOP spending SO much on downtown things like $200 M for the mercer remodeling project. stop spending 1% for the arts. stop spending a projected billion dollars for a downtown park. there are needs all over the city. w seattle and north seattle need to get together with other districts and shift the spending that's overconcentrated downtown, to the entire city.
on November 14, 2013 at 9:16 PM Report this
21
@20 "w seattle and north seattle need to get together with other districts and shift the spending that's overconcentrated downtown, to the entire city."

I think this is what is freaking out the powers-that-be the most. Come 2015 many of them will be asked, "Where were you for x neighborhood the past two terms?"

Some of them will have an answer.
Joe Szilagyi on November 14, 2013 at 9:23 PM Report this
22
What this demonstrates is that up to now, Ramussen has not paid attention to anyone; now he's not going to pay attention to anyone except West Seattleites. Perhaps that's an improvement for West Seattle, but regardless he's still an arrogant asshat.
sarah70 on November 14, 2013 at 9:24 PM Report this
24
It's like our cotillion! Except we can't attend because our bridge.
Joe Szilagyi on November 15, 2013 at 8:16 AM Report this
25
http://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-profi…
on November 15, 2013 at 8:29 AM Report this
26
Oh wait: someone who has neighborhood allegiances is trying to bring home the bacon?
Sean Kinney on November 15, 2013 at 10:55 AM Report this
27
@1 and the people up in North Seattle have been demanding sidewalks since at least 1954. They've got 45 years on West Seattle. Rasmussen is being ridiculous here.
junipero on November 15, 2013 at 12:01 PM Report this
28
@14 - Fnarf for the win!

You are forgetting another piece of the puzzle. Let me give you a hint:

If only there was a guy who was on the council who focused on transit issues and actually pushed for the bridge. If only that guy was from another part of town, so he couldn't be accused of favoring one area over another. If only that guy had some seniority, some respect from his fellow council members and could push for this bridge. If only that guy had warned about districts causing this sort of fiefdom fighting. If only that guy hadn't been replaced with a Socialist...
Ross on November 17, 2013 at 3:48 PM Report this
29
@28,

Not just a "Socialist", but a narcissistic, REPUBLICAN Socialist! Now that is an Oxymoron, for sure, but if you listen to her, she's a Socialist about all the things she can't do as a City Councilor (e.g. ream the banks, shut down the drones, roll up the military) and a Republican about the things a City Councilor can have an effect on: density, transportation, and neighborhood improvements.

She's a NIMBY in a Sari.

anandakos on November 20, 2013 at 4:08 PM Report this

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