Seattle isn’t the only city in the state where a sitting mayor is in electoral trouble because of a transportation issue. We know what happened to Greg Nickels, but down south in Vancouver (which is the 4th biggest city in the state) things are getting serious for 3-term boss Royce Pollard.
The biggest issue down there is the proposed I-5 bridge over the Columbia River between Vancouver and Portland, Oregon. And while the big, expensive project up here (the tunnel) is anti-transit, the one down there is pro-transit. The new bridge would have more traffic lanes, but would also connect the Portland MAX light rail into America’s Vancouver.
Challenger Tim Leavitt, a city council member, has been running on a promise to exclude any tolling to help pay for the bridge, and it has catapulted him to a narrow lead in the mayoral primary. The problem is, according to Pollard and a couple of other local politicos I’ve heard from, not tolling the bridge would cause the project’s funding to come up short.
Both Leavitt and Pollard are sure to make the general election, but it will be new territory for the mayor, who earned 72, 64, and 63 percent of the vote in his three previous elections.
You think Nickels lost “because of a transportation issue”? Really?
They need tolling on our side of the bridge, cause those guys spend all their cash on the sales-tax-free Oregon side.
You have to balance the economic incentives in such a way as to discourage unnecessary al-Qaeda-supporting travel.
Free lunchers trump logic.
“…would also connect the Portland MAX light rail into America’s Vancouver.”
I think Washington’s Vancouver makes more sense, since Portland is also in America.
I also agree with 2, they should want (need?) the tolls on our side so us ‘Warshintonians’ don’t get to tax-exempt happy. I think the idea is stupid, but of course I don’t commute from the ‘Couv to Portland daily like so many folks do, nor do I know much about the proposal.
The bridge project down here may be “pro” transit, but it’s anti-working class, anti-environment, and anti-smart-growth. For Pollard and the yes-men politicos you’ve “talked to,” saying the bridge funding would come up short is ridiculous. Federal and state interests haven’t even made any commitment to the project, except for $ for light rail. If they think they can pay for a $3 billion bridge with tolls on Vancouver’s commuters, they’re out of their minds and DO need to go.