We Will Be Voting on the Monorail in November
Mayor Greg Nickels sent a letter to the Seattle Monorail Project today and the short of it is that we will be voting on the monorail November 8th. He is asking that in a vote this November they either ask for more funding to build the full 14 miles or shorten the line so it can be financed under the current funding. You can view the mayor’s letter at the Seattle Times.
What Does This Mean?
The monorail board now has to make a very tough choice by September 15th (the filing deadline to be on the November ballot) as to what they are going to present to us for a vote. Should it be a shorter line? Should it be a higher tax so that we can build all 14 miles? Is there another option we are missing altogether? Is this our opportunity to restore more dual tracking and money for station designs? The viaduct is coming down soon and a monorail line between downtown and West Seattle may be the only thing that keeps West Seattle from becoming a virtual island isolated from the rest of the city.
The situation has evolved and 2045 Seattle as a group will evolve with it to make sure we find a solution to our current problems. We have a few weeks to talk to each other, the board, the mayor and the city council. After that, each of us will have to decide if the monorail on the ballot is what we want to support. If it is, we will be ready to fight for both the project as well as those representatives who support our vision for Seattle.
One thing is for sure: in a few short weeks the stage will be set and we will know exactly what we are fighting for.
Our Truth Has Not Changed
Seattle’s reputation of politely standing still must change. The time we spend in traffic would be better spent with our friends and families. Our dependence on oil pollutes our waters and lives. The cost of gasoline steals from our wallets. Giving people faster, cheaper and cleaner alternatives to their cars is simply the right thing to do. Our city will continue to grow and evolve and we must rise to the challenge so that in forty years, we can be proud of what we accomplished.
Continue to Take Action
Every day, every button, every person you talk to still counts. Letting your representatives know about your belief in what rapid transit can do for the lives of our citizens still counts. The fact that you’re here, the fact that you can see a progressive future for Seattle, that you are willing to act most certainly counts. We must organize, take action, speak loudly and, ultimately, vote on November 8th with our hearts and minds. Seattle’s future is our own. Let’s make sure it’s a good one.
August 11th, 2005 at 12:09 pm
Seems to me the mayor is proposing a clever way to kill the Monorail and not leave any fingerprints behind. Given the abyssmal polling on the Monorail right now, why would you want to go to the polls in November? Not only that, it would only serve to help vocal foes of the project like Casey Corr and Richard Conlin. And who is going to finance this pro-Monorail campaign a fifth time? Is Cascadia willing to put up $2 million dollars to run a campaign? You can bet the opponents will be well-financed by downtown developers, banks and other.
August 11th, 2005 at 1:56 pm
I do believe the mayor supports the monorail, in fact. He knows that it is the only way that anything, teardown, tunnel, or renovation, will be done with the Viaduct. However, he doesn’t want to pay the political cost should the agency screw up. He’s passing the decision to the voters to avoid this. This is the meaning of everyone running for office, pro- and con-, demanding a deadline. As far as the financing of the anti-monorail campaign goes, of course it will be bankrolled by Selig, WaMu, Equity Office Properties, et al.
August 11th, 2005 at 2:42 pm
Why does building the monorail have a positive impact on the viaduct’s prospects?
August 11th, 2005 at 8:17 pm
I don’t think the Mayor’s letter means there is a vote. He wants a vote because he is pursuaded by the business elite in Seattle that the only way to preserve the gas tax (and the funding for the viaduct) is to kill the monorail. the only reason to pu the Monorail through another vote is to increase the taxes or to shorten the line–either are non starters. A vote kills the monorail at this point.
We should continue to encourage the SMP Board to find solutions that does not require a vote. Cost savings and non tax revenue enhancements are two.
Ask the Mayor or any legislator–when the city/county/state budget is in free fall do they walk away? limply hand it to the voters? no they make cuts, look for savings and ways to increase revenue. thats what the SMP Board should do.
Come on Seattle–Leadership, Courage, Perserverance
August 12th, 2005 at 11:03 pm
It’s a very safe path for the mayor which is, for better or worse, his style.
That said, the fate of the project is now in our hands.
August 17th, 2005 at 11:32 am
Why don’t we just rebid the project and see if there is a better deal out there? Team Monorail keeps saying they can deliver the full meal deal for about $1.3 B. Let’s call their bluff! Have them and Cascadia rebid. Going to voters in November is a suicide mission.
August 17th, 2005 at 12:22 pm
Rebidding the project would take, at a minimum, seven months and probably a lot more to get multiple offers from multiple bidders. If January comes and we don’t have a signed contract, the state legislature will more than likely use it’s power to dissolve the monorail authority and use the tax revenue for other purposes. In short, rebidding takes more time than the project probably has.
August 17th, 2005 at 3:31 pm
Shouldn’t have to take more. Take what SMP has already red-lined with Cascadia, run the RFQ concurrent with the issueance of the RFP, require the bidders to fast track their responses. If the agency has a vialble rebid process going on, the Legislature won’t step in.
Furthermore, let’s say we go to a vote for a shorten route and it passes. Odds are you’re still going to have to issue a new RFP and rebid. So you that much further behind.
Now I suppose you could try to railroad a shorten proposal through SMP without a rebid or public vote. You’ll most certainly end up in court, as the initiative calls for development of “a 14-mile” system — not a portion of it. Furthermore, the City Council will have to modify the Transit Way Agreement. And how many votes to you count for that? Right now, I count at least six Councilmembers opposed to a truncated project. And given how they might feel about getting jammed? I bet you could add one or two more. That brings you to perhaps a 8-1 vote to kill the TWA — which kills the project.
We need a Monorail. Rebid or die.
August 18th, 2005 at 9:18 am
Ok, so now we know truncating the line doesn’t make it financially. This new ED seems to have some monorail and mass transit experience. Maybe he can help guide them to a rebid.
August 18th, 2005 at 9:19 am
Ok, so now we know truncating the line doesn’t make it financially. This new ED seems to have some monorail and mass transit experience. So now what? Reprocurement?
August 30th, 2005 at 12:51 pm
Quote from P-I:
“We did not change the mayor’s position,” Ceis said. “They will give us something by the 15th.” If the monorail doesn’t do that, Nickels has said the city could refuse to grant permits the agency needs to build the line — effectively killing the project.
To me it sounds like the Mayor is blowing smoke.
On what legal grounds would he refuse? Giving out permits is not a political decision but a legal one.
More importantly, the SMP doesn’t want the permits until it has the financing settled!
The Mayor is acting very odd.
And, btw, whatlegal or political reasons would the State Legislature have to dissolve the SMP? The SMP has plenty of money to fight any ensuing court battles. It is to no one’s political advantage to precipitate a fight.
My message to the Mayor:
“Tough love, yes. Bullying, no.”
August 30th, 2005 at 10:37 pm
It’s tough to tell if the mayor is softening his position or not, but it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. Clearly though, the mayor was spending some of his political capital to push around the monorail board, which has very little.
My understanding as to what the legislature can do includes the ability to dissolve the agency should January come and we don’t have a signed contract. I’ve had this confirmed by multiple people and, as a result, it’s my big fear right now.
Regardless of whether there is a specific monorail issue on the ballot this fall, the monorail is still on the ballot in the form of which representatives get elected to both the monorail board and the city council.