Bertha wasn't her fault but it is a shit show. The I-405 tolling is a fucking mess. Someone's head had to roll.

Not being head of WSDOT is probably the best gift anyone could give her. I wouldn't wish that job on Rodney Tom or Tim Sheldon.

WSDOT, get your shit together and get Bertha fucking moving. Sinkholes, Schminkholes!

What the hell did they hope to gain by this stunt?

Now Inslee will have to appoint a replacement. The republicans can't replace her on their own. It isn't like Inslee will decide to replace her with a raving free-marketer like the republican's fever dream. And now any sane person won't be interested in the job if they can be fired on an hour's notice by a republican committee temper tantrum.

What a bunch of dumb asses.

They are also trying to pass a bill to get rid of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction from the constitution. These are some serious, serious signs of people trying to get the upper hand and it's just one part of the legislature.

Weird.
Circular firing squad indeed.

Inslee should agree to shut down DOT. Finish current projects. Dig Bertha out of the ground. Absolutely no new roads. Only maintain existing roads. No more new roads. Hopefully they could find contractors smart enough to do that.

You idiot choskasoft. What about ferries? Are we going to replace those when they get rusty? Ferry terminals? Traffic signals at ramp terminals? Cameras and loops in the road to monitor congestion? Fiber to connect it all? Etc. Etc. Etc, never mind new roads (finish 520 anyone???). Who in the hell do you think is going to prioritize, fund, contract for and manage all this work if not WSDOT? What, you think contactors gonna come up here and hang out and do it all perfectly for a great price out of a sense of benevolence? They would eat you for a mid-morning snack.

Conservative men are Intimidated by smart, successful, poised and beautiful women who act rationally and get hard shit finally, beautifully done. Her simple (quiet, tour de force) being accuses them of impotence--which they have assuredly earned--and they must kill the beast! "Kill the beast who questions the lording and mastering of our penises!" Punks.

"Excessive" tolls? Last I checked nobody was being forced to pay them. The reason they got that high was that drivers willingly chose to pay them in order to avoid congestion.

Ah yes, the GOP, the party that becomes a big fan of Soviet-style price controls and central planning the moment one of their sacred cows (like the private automobile and suburbia) comes into play.

How can they fire her? She was appointed. Do the parentheses around "fire" mean they didn't really fire her?

14. They never confirmed her and this was a vote against her confirmation.

It's a bullshit political hack job and, as others have notes, signals that the R'a have no interest in passing legislation of any kind this session - because that pretty much just killed and hopes of bi-partisan agreement on anything.

Mostly they are just mad because none of them will ever get the top job. Bill Byant isnt even a good candidate - it's almost like they want to see how much they can lose by.

I find it interesting that education is their next target. It seems the GOP has a national agenda to "dumb down" Americans.

So, they want to test the waters with this move, considering some of the areas impacted by the i-405 mess are conservative (Ken Hutchinson found most of his anti-LGBT supporters in Kirkland) it sounds like they want to curry the favor of their base.

I bet the way Washington conducts it's voting via mail (very convenient for all of us) will be up on the GOP dartboard soon.

You are pissed that the Republicans did something because you aren't Republicans. She has been at her job for three years, and in those three years they pushed a 15 billion dollar spending package while screwing up 405 worse than it already was. At the same time their level of accountability has been non existent.

Don't forget that I-5 was next for toll lanes.

Reverse Polarity, the Republicans in the State Senate don't want a "raving free-marketeer". They fired Ms. Peterson because she worked hard to make the tolling on I-405 work. Tolling which is necessary to meet the Federal requirement that transit vehicles using the facility maintain a 45 mile per hour or greater speed reliably.

No, they want "rich man's welfare" -- "free" lanes -- wherever their wealthy funders choose to drive.

So far as "Bill Bryant" has anyone here ever met a Port Commissioner who didn't make your skin crawl. Those people have conflicts of interest nine miles wide and six miles deep. They are, as a group, soulless flacks for special interests.

If only Governor Inslee could shut down the fucked up WA State GOP-wacked Senate. Jee-ZEUS!
@6 and @19: Spot on and well said.
@12: Good idea, Scott---pigheaded Republican senators should be neutered.

"Dominic Holden ‏@dominicholden · 6h6 hours ago
Great to see WA's senate fire head of transportation department — DOT is responsible for Seattle’s tunnel disaster." https://twitter.com/dominicholden/status…