Right. This has nothing to do with Mike McGinn backing the Seattle initiative. Murray's a petty piece of shit. Fuck him.

Wow. If Murray would have worked as hard to pass a transit bill in Olympia as he is to defeat this Seattle initiative, we wouldn't be in this mess.

Funny how there has been absolutely no talk of a new plan until this came up. The state, city and county have tried unsuccessfully for two years to come up with a plan.

No more dithering while we lose service. Keep Seattle Moving is it. TRANSIT NOW.

Can I call either of these people to let them know that the GOP-strategy of "we'll come up with a different solution later" is NOT okay?? What the fuck is this idea of a "countywide referendum" -- wasn't that Prop 1? The talk of the city and county working together yadda yadda, that was Plan B dipshit. This is called Plan C for a reason. Christ, this is why I didn't vote for Murray. At some point the Mayor of Seattle needs to look out for Seattle, and that's not Murray's style.

So what did Murray's office have to say about it? It's not even 6 PM - far from quitting time for political flacks.

There are nine City Councilmembers up for re-election next year. If Metro has been cut and not saved, all nine are going to face a very difficult re-election. As to Ed Murray, wow, this is just nuts. He had nearly 20 years to solve this problem in Olympia and he failed. He hasn't offered any other plan to save Metro since Prop 1 failed, even though 66% of Seattle voters said yes. You'd think he and the other nine Councilmembers would embrace this and be hailed as saviors.

Kline doesn't take the bus, and he's just as old-pol as Murray and no brighter.

What the fuck? What is your super-secret alternative plan, Murray? 1. Rodney Tom retires 2. ??? 3. busses! ??

So, is this "countywide initiative" going to be anything like the countywide initiative that was just on the ballot last month, and got hammered? Good plan. If at first you don't succeed, keep doing the same thing over and over again. Or is it, if at first you don't succeed, pretend that failure was your first intent?

Yeah seriously! What is up with Murray being opposed to this? Why? Flexibility to do what? Watch the buses get cut?

Also, everyone make sure to sign the initiative. It needs 30k signatures THIS MONTH. TAKE THE TIME.

Ed Murray knows how to work with Olympia: give his friends in Olympia what they want, and they'll consider letting us spend our own money.

Taxing ourselves to pay for the things we need scares Olympia. It shifts the balance of power. And the citizens of Seattle going behind the mayor's back to get this done in spite of him makes Ed Murray look weak; like he's not in control. Like he can't offer concessions to the rest of the state. Like the city might pay for the things it needs without putting the money in the state's bucket first.

"He did this, he said, after receiving a phone call from Mayor Ed Murray. "He made a request," Kline told me by phone. "I think he’s right. He pointed out that they wanted flexibility and I'm more than happy to give it to them.""

Good god, Murray. Thanks for the sabotage.

@5: "As to Ed Murray, wow, this is just nuts. He had nearly 20 years to solve this problem in Olympia and he failed."

Well, wouldn't that be consistent?

WTF?

We just HAD a countywide solution on the ballot. And outside of Seattle, the rest of the county clearly said they don't want to pay any more taxes and are happy to see bus service gutted.

I'm not as anti-Murray as some Sloggers. But this seems dumb. Come on, Ed. You are our mayor now. The rest of the county and state are no longer your problem. Your problem now is to look out for the Seattle citizens that voted for you. Despite what the rest of the county voted for, it is clear that Seattle voters are happy to tax ourselves to preserve bus service. Please take note.

Fuck. That. Guy. I'm now intent on gathering 100 signatures for the initiative. Doesn't Kline realize that failing to pass this means the loss of route 8, the main transit line for his district?

You can print your own petition, gather signatures and send it in. Here: http://www.keepseattlemoving.com/print_p…

This couldn't be any more entertaining.

Here we have Seattle politicos lining up to tax the whole county's poorest people for some local bus routes in Seattle because of the "absolute need" for transit.

But now that their electorate has to pay for it fairly, with property taxes, suddenly these Men of Vision are wetting their pants! O, the hypocrisy...how it grows!

@13 fuck you're right. The 8 is one of the major routes through the CD. The 4 is getting cut too. Ranier Ave and S23rd are going to lose a lot of service. Fuck :-( seriously.

The Transit Riders Union Supports plan C.
Murray can go to hell. I'm sending him an angry note asking him what's up.

When does the "Recall Murray" campaign start? This bug eyed piece of shit is the most back-stabbing, divisive, corrupt mayor ever. He is pathologically incapable of making a correct decision.

@ 10: This.

So if Murray puts the same plan to the Council will you all just for one frickn moment shut the fuck up? What an incessant bunch of whiners! Show me one single dime Saint Mayor McGinn ever put into transit. Mm, I'm waiting.

So, my question is...is Murray gunning for Governor? What's his angle and end goal? Maybe move up to national stage?

How did everyone forget the only reason Murray is mayor is to bolster his bid for state congres-critter, or Governor?

Democrats in WA accomplish very little but enhancing their own careers. ( Gregoire/Locke )

Fuck a new plan. Let the cuts happen. More cuts will soon be necessary due to Metro pouring their funding into Metro employee raises.

At some point the public might quit whining about raising taxes and do something useful, like looking at the real problem - the way Metro has been spending the money they are given.

It isn't lack of funding that has been killing Metro. Across the last 6 years they have asked for and been given more than enough funding for an effectively managed transit utility to not only operate current service, but expand service as well.

More money is not a solution to mismanagement and union greed. Wake up folks, you have ~500 Metro drivers making ~$100,000 a year. Our current "crisis" wouldn't be happening had the drivers union agreed to a 1 year pay raise freeze back in December, or had the fine people over there at Metro not allowed our drivers to become the third most highly paid in the nation - while cutting back service.

Any initiative that involves giving these people more public funds can be, and will be defeated. Good luck with plans x, y, and z. They aren't going to work either. The taxpayers have already seen how giving Metro more money works out - whatever is promised before the vote, the money goes into Metro employee pockets.

@13 and 16: Kline is not running for reelection, so it won't be "his" district anymore. Why Murray thought he was important enough to make a call to, I can't figure out. But then Murray is...Murray. I hope he runs for national office soon so we get him out of here.

@23:

So, your brilliant solution is to, what exactly? Put a bunch of people out of work, who will then no longer be able to purchase goods and services, who will watch their homes get foreclosed, who will increasingly depend on public assistance,, and who will maybe - if they're really, really lucky - take a couple of those oh-so-coveted MW jobs to make ends meet? And all for what? So you can spend even more time sitting in unmoving traffic every morning and afternoon with all the people who will now have no choice but to drive, because we eviscerated the only other viable alternative THEY had to get to their jobs?

Totally, fucking, brilliant - you should run for mayor.

@25

My solution is to let what is happening, happen. Metro management alongside the drivers union decided their paychecks were more important than delivering service to the public.

As they are unwilling to reign in their own greed, simply allowing their business to collapse will well serve the goal of bringing in responsible new management, and forcing the drivers union to accept salaries which the taxpayers can afford to pay.

What's your solution exactly? Give a mismanaged public utility more, and more, and more money?

Totally, fucking, brilliant - you should run for the Legislature.

Time to get real and replace all the City Council and Mayor with real pro-Transit Seattle people who are willing to stand up to the suburbs.

Excuses and Pretty Pony plans that are "still being planned" don't cut it in Seattle.

We DO things. Not "wait".

I can live with the rest of the county going to fuck themselves with regards to public transit.

Screw sound transit, I hope the whole bus system collapses.An 1hr 45min to get from fed. Way to tacoma. Mormons! All of them fuck them and the pay check they collect with the money that should go to my vehicle and child's education, dentist visits, and good food on the table. Cut out all the route stops outside of seattle and make it express only with maybe 2 stops in between. It is not that hard. Its greed that's all. Corrupt to the core. We're paying for salaries not service.

I can't help but notice a certain important person in this story isn't quoted and apparently wasn't even approached. You'd think an actual journalist would try and at least call Mayor Murray before running with this.

@31 thanks for the suggestion. I am not a journalist but gave Murray a call on this issue. (206) 684-4000

@31 "an actual journalist"

At the Stranger? There's your problem, right there.