Washington Mutual donated $85,000 to the anti-monorail campaign. Little did WaMu CEO Kerry Killinger know that his anti-mass- transit stance would cost him twice that amount--and counting. Last Friday, October 22, after I put out a call in this column, about 35 pro-transit WaMu customers headed to WaMu's downtown branch and started yanking their accounts. Grand total from that day's lunch-hour bank-account recall: $200,000. And thanks to coverage from KING 5, I'm guessing Killinger's decision will cost his company more in the week ahead.

Washington Mutual deserves the hit. Scoffing at Seattle voters by attempting to undo the monorail with a paid signature gathering campaign--and most likely an illegal initiative--is a lousy way for a locally based Fortune 500 company like WaMu to give back to the community.

"We specifically chose Washington Mutual to start our daughter's account because we thought they were the good-guy local company," says former WaMu customer Andy Reay-Ellers. "They turned around and slapped us in the face by trying to stop public transit." Reay-Ellers closed his daughter's account, stepped outside with his daughter Zoe in a baby sling, and landed on that day's five o'clock news blasting WaMu.

A starter savings account might not seem like much money to Killinger--after all, the CEO earned $4.84 million last year. But people like Reay-Ellers send the most pointed messages to obstructionists in WaMu leadership. "I find it especially appropriate," Reay-Ellers said after closing the account. "We opened the account and supported the monorail for the same reason--our daughter's future."

WaMu spokeswoman Libby Hutchinson says she doesn't want to debate the issue with me. That's probably because WaMu's position is inconsistent. WaMu lobbyist Suzanne Estey says WaMu supports light rail instead of monorail. But this doesn't wash: (A) WaMu criticizes the monorail for taking the majority of its ridership from existing buses rather than creating new ridership, but light rail is also generating the majority of its ridership from existing bus riders. And I guess Killinger has never had to ride the bus, because it certainly doesn't qualify as rapid transit. (B) WaMu asserts that the monorail won't deliver what it promised voters. In fact, the monorail is on track to deliver exactly what it promised: a 14-mile line from Ballard through downtown to West Seattle, 69,000 rides a day, and trains arriving every few minutes. (The monorail agency has also slashed the price tag by $150 million.) The system that "will not deliver to voters what was promised" is light rail: one-third short of its route, two-thirds short on its ridership projections, and $1.7 billion over budget--a 68 percent increase for taxpayers. Upon investigation, WaMu's argument falls apart.

Local companies, like WaMu, that pour money into anti-transit initiatives, and then give customers bullshit answers about it, don't deserve local support. Answer them in language they understand. Close your account.

josh@thestranger.com