Snohomish County Democrats evidently mind slapping higher taxes on their constituents, but they are not happy with the prospect of waiting another quarter century for light rail in Everett, as was outlined in the $50 billion regional light rail scheme, Sound Transit 3 (ST3). So, they are pushing for an accelerated timeline.
Under the proposed plan, light rail would reach the area around Paine Field and Boeing’s Everett plant in 2041. It’s the long wait that has politicians fuming. The Everett Herald,
“U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, whose district covers most of western Snohomish County, said Friday he wasn’t in a mood to mince words.
“‘There may be a lot of head-scratching from some folks. I’m not scratching my head. I’m banging it against the wall right now,’ he said…
“Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers said he hopes the upcoming discussions will help shape a proposal that he can support. He’s not there yet.
“‘The time frame of 25 years would be a difficult and maybe impossible thing to sell to voters’ here, he said.”
Interestingly enough, these liberal politicians are not upset over the fact that an untrustworthy transit agency is asking hardworking taxpayers for billions more of their money via tax hikes that never end. It’s not that the ST3 scam would increase tax rates to unprecedented levels by hiking the sales tax by 0.5 percent, raises the motor vehicle excise tax by 0.8 percent, and increases the property tax by $0.25 per $1,000 of value. Rather, it’s the expected wait that has them upset with the Seattle liberals who control Sound Transit’s decision making.
Ironically, it’s the wait that liberals should be used to by now. After all, Sound Transit has been late on every project it has ever promised to voters. As the Everett Herald points out,
“Snohomish County voters in 1996 approved the first funding for regional light rail, believing the system would one day reach Everett. Under the ST3 plan, a 30-year-old who voted to support the measure in two decades ago would be 75 before light-rail reaches Everett.”
Waiting on Sound Transit is what liberal politicians should be used to doing. Given the transit agency’s track record, it’s what any rational person would expect —that and, of course, for the agency to go way over budget.
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