By Charles Prestrud @ Washinton Policy Center
Opponents of I-2117 have recently run a TV ad claiming the initiative would “gut public transit.” Their website goes on to say the initiative would “reduce public transit service.” To ascertain the truth of those claims we need to start by looking at transit funding.
In 2022 transit agencies in Washington took in more than $5 billion. The primary transit revenue sources are sales tax, federal grants, interest on reserves and advertising income. Residents of the Sound Transit district also pay a property tax and motor vehicle excise tax. Most transit agencies also collect fares from customers, well, some customers, but state-wide farebox revenue constitutes less than 10% of total revenue.
So, how much of that $5 billion per year would be lost if voters approve I-2117? None. Zero. This is because I-2117 does not change the existing local taxes that provide the vast majority of transit agency revenue, nor would the initiative reduce federal grants or interest income.
Signature verification has been completed and certified by the Office of the Secretary of State for the following Initiative to the People:
- Initiative No. 2066 concerning access to natural gas for Washington homes and businesses.
The signatures have been verified by the Office of the Secretary of State Elections Division using a state-mandated process of examining a 3% random sample of submitted signatures. Sponsors of I-2066 submitted 533,005 signatures in support of the initiative. A review of the random sample of 15,991 signatures found that 12,960 of the sampled signatures were valid.
This letter is addressed to all Islanders who believe that Democracy is a good way to govern. Democracy does not work unless the voters are fully informed before they vote. To that end , I make it habit of "looking under the hood” to see what a proposal offers and what it is going to cost. In 2022 I wrote to all islanders and demonstrated that the library was not being very transparent about the true ultimate costs to the taxpayers for the proposed new library. I expressed the information and my opinion to the then Director of the library. 60% of the voters said NO to the proposal.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, running for Governor threatens to arrest and imprison political opponents so he can win his political race. Nothing says "Saving Democracy" more than this.
Nothing demonstrates the importance and priority of Democracy more than threatening your political opponents with arrest, 10 years in prison, and litigation for life. Particularly when the person making the threat is the Washington State Attorney General who is running for Governor, and his political opponents are regular people who want to provide an alternative not an echo on the ballot. The true face of a narcissistic sociopath will be revealed when they come unglued like this.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your District #2 County Councilor for the 2021-2024 term. After giving careful thought to some recent family health news, I have made the hard decision not to run this year. I am committed to doing the Council’s work well for the remainder of my current term, but my values are family first and that is where my time and energy need to go given the current circumstances.
We’ve done a lot of good work together in a few short years:
– putting in vacation rental caps.
– providing funds to our non profit partners that will provide over 100 units of affordable housing.
– structuring climate resilience into the County organization’s thinking by creating a Climate and Sustainability Committee that brings Citizen Experts, county staff and community partners together.
– Creating a Department of Environmental Stewardship that captures hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants each year for nearshore habitat restoration, innovative solid waste management and boater education.
– hiring a professional Communications Coordinator who has vastly improved our website interface and community outreach.
– building skills for strong working relationships with the Tribal governments whose citizens have ancestral ties to these islands and waters.
– making sure the County workers are paid at hourly rates comparable to their regional counterparts. After all, if you want to have a healthy local economy, it sure helps if your largest employer pays a fair wage.
This is just part of what we have accomplished together and I am proud to be at the table. I look forward to 8 more months of good work on your County Council.
Kind regards,
Cindy Wolf
Orcas Island
More Articles …
Page 2 of 3
