39th District Representative Dan Kristiansen's proposed legislation to repair Highway 2 was initially promised a hearing on three bills in this year's short legislative session. It was declared 'dead on arrival' by controlling Democrats at the end of this session.
During last year's Legislative session, Kirstiansen introduced a funding bill for safety improvements to Highway 2. The measure was Co-sponsored by John Lovick, who has since been elected Snohomish County Sheriff. The bipartisan bill never got a hearing because it had no chance over in the State Senate Transportation Committee chaired by Senator Mary Haugen. She acts as transportation czar for the state legislature. Senator Haugen has a history of ignoring Snohomish County's traffic problems. In order to promote the candidacies of the Sultan bartender Scott Olson and former Sultan Police Chief Fred Walser still under investigation for possible criminal acts, the Democrats did throw out a Highway 2 bone: some 14 Million for a passing lane in Sultan, AFTER A BUNCH OF CONSULTANTS SOAK MONEY OUT OF THE PROJECT FOR A YEAR! Estimates to fix US Highway 2 are running at about 2.5 Billion dollars.
Now the question comes up about Representative Rick Larsen and what he has done about Highway 2. The answer: as far as Larsen is concerned Highway 2 does not exist! Something Rick Bart may pounce on in the upcoming election campaign this November.
Two years ago political signs up and down Highway 2 from Everett to Index read vote NO on Initiative 912. The initiative was on the ballot to roll back a $5.5 billion dollar gas tax increase passed by the State Legislature, leaving an additional $3 Billion in higher taxes for other items in force. Citizens in Snohomish County were asked to allow the tax on gasoline to increase to 56 cents a gallon. By doing so we were told that traffic woes on Highway 2 and 9, 522, Interstate 5 in Everett would be fixed along with other road building problems in South County. The sales campaign was successful and Snohomish County voted down I-912.
Since then the traffic congestion in Mills Creek, Lynnwood, Edmonds and Everett has gotten worse. Deaths are occurring on Interstate 5 north of Everett because of cable barriers, the carnage of death and destruction continues on Highway 2, Highway 9 traffic jams are getting worse and 522 waits for funds to complete work already committed to.
Inaction to fix the county's worst traffic problems led to the defeat of the so-called Sound Transit and Regional Transportation Investment District tax measure last November.
In an attempt before the vote to sell the tax, Senator Haugen traveled with Governor Gregoire to Monroe, the seat of the discontent about Highway 2. During that public appearance in Monroe Senator Haugen embarrassed not only herself but the Governor with her lack of understanding about Highway 2's safety issues. At their first meeting with civic leaders in Monroe she advised the Governor to say that simply adding 'cable barriers', 'rumble strips' and fixing some surfacing problems would be all that would be necessary in the short term. Then after a hail of criticism, both politicians came back to Monroe for a second visit in which nothing was accomplished. Later the Governor issued a media release promising a solution to the highway 2 mess that was short on details. The Senator from Island County had but one response to reporters, "....there is just not enough money to fix highway 2".
In a more recent account of her thinking, the Senator in a 'Guest Commentary' in a local newspaper went into a long list of what's wrong with traffic problems in Snohomish County blaming it on everything except her own inaction. Now the slaughter continues on the 'highway of death' bringing the latest 6 year death toll to 47 along with hundreds of serious injuries and millions in property damage.
Adding insult to injury, Senator Haugen's agenda for the short 2008 Legislative session includes plans to replace the Alaska Way Viaduct and a new 520 Lake Washington Floating Bridge. Later came word that more than half of all ONGOING road projects in Snohomish County are now without funding! Snohomish County residents are concerned about their tax dollars going to King County, while they stew in traffic and risk their lives driving to work on outdated roads and highways.
Snohomish County voters are being told to either vote for tax increases or face more death and destruction, as our road projects are being cancelled.
Snohomish Council tax and spend extremists Dave Somers* and Mike Cooper are proposing directly taxing Snohomish County citizens with MAJOR tax increases. This despite the fact that the County is literally rolling in money from huge increases in tax revenues brought about by property value appreciation through county property taxes.
Business, farming and civic leaders have had enough with literally Billions of Snohomish County transportation tax dollars going to King County. I am increasingly hearing folks talking about two solutions to this problem: Electing Linda Haddon to replace Haugen in that Senate seat and the election of Dino Rossi as Governor next November. The Washington State Department of Transportation and Corruption is way OVERDUE for a major shakeup!
*Somers is one of those Global Warming caused by CO2 crackpots who wants to take all autos off the road to solve part of the traffic problem. His piece in the Washington Post's local newspaper "We can't put the fire out with gasoline" set off a howl of laughter all over the 5th Council District last month.