Breaking News: There Was an Election Yesterday!

And it fucking sucked!

Proposition 1, the roads and transit thing, was stabbed in the eye with a hot needle. It was closest in King County where it wasn't close (55%-44%), with Snohomish and Pierce counties pwning it 57%-42%. Money quote: "There is no Plan B."

Tim Eyman's anti-tax initiative sucker punched almost every county except King, Jefferson, San Juan and Whitman.

Resolution 4204, which would have allowed school district levies to pass with a simple majority and should have been a gimmie, came close, but lost.

Dan Satterberg kept the King County Prosecutor's office Republican for the three hundredth consecutive term.

The insurance thing passed, which is what you cite when you're trying to put on a happy face and calling it "mixed results."

And then a bunch of city council races were won in landslides.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Dan in News on November 7, 2007 11:15 AM

Comments [rss]

Troy Morris

The viaduct and 520 replacement have nothing to do with Prop 1 as they are being addressed with other movements at the state and federal legislative level. Moreover, last I heard funding wasn't going to happen for 520 unless a light rail was involved.

And I'm not certain, but I'm pretty okay with saying that 520 was addressed in Prop 1.

Either way, all I really really want is for Seattle voters over the next four years force the county to build us a rail. Screw Pierce and Snohomish, we'll build up into their area and make them build one giant park & ride. WE NEED INNERCITY RTS!

Maybe something that runs on a single rail...

MonkeyPilot

I can't help but note the fact that Prop 1, touted as the Most Important Vote on Transportation EVER did little or nothing to solve the biggest transportation issues facing Seattle and the region: the viaduct, and 520 replacement.

So along comes this colossal "take it or leave it" plan, one year after a huge transit funding referendum, and two years after the FOURTH monorail vote. Does anyone really believe the malarkey that this is the best and only plan for regional transit funding?

MvB

Sightline has a interesting post on the topic, too. Interesting because it looks at the much wider range of options than roads+transit open to us.

James Callan

While I was always skeptical of the pro-Prop-1 backers claiming "if Prop. 1 doesn't pass nothing will ever happen EVER EVER EVER," I'm equally if not more skeptical of the claim that "this issue is so important that they'll HAVE TO put a better transit option on the ballot soon."

If there's one thing regional leaders have proven, it's the more important the issue, the more complicated, intricate, and lengthy the discussions will be before action is taken. I worry that it's so important to get out of the way of the traffic onslaught that we'll just freeze in its path and hope it doesn't see us.

MvB

That "no Plan B" quote may have something to do with having run on there being no Plan B. This is just a guess, but I think that something may occur to them down the road (no pun intended). If not, then I assume that they'll all be quitting their jobs in a few weeks to let someone else take a crack at it.