In the never-ending soap opera that is the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) under Jay Inslee’s hand-picked appointee Lynn Peterson, she had to apologize for misleading the public when she said that “literally, one person was ready to commit suicide because of their life and how it was being impacted by I-405.”
That’s right, Peterson was trying to deflect criticism about the Inslee administration’s controversial tolling scheme on I-405 by saying that it was saving lives.
Her bad judgment in making the story up, according the MyNorthwest, “was weighing on Lynn Peterson’s mind. So much so that on Tuesday, the CEO of the Washington State Department of Transportation apologized. ‘Ever since I left the station I thought it needed to be clarified having re-read the email,’ Peterson told KTTH’s Todd Herman.
She claims that her story “needed to be clarified” since last week, but she let it stay out there instead. Finally, she realized the truth might be helpful, in case she was questioned again. “That wasn’t an accurate account, however, as Peterson explained Tuesday. Rather, the email in question related a sad story of a Puget Sound commuter stuck in the grind of life. But suicide was not a feature of the letter.”
Secretary of Transportation Peterson– who identifies herself as “C.E.O., aka Secretary of” WSDOT in what can only be a way to puff up her resume by not using her actual title – was a bike lane enthusiast from Oregon before joining Inslee’s cabinet. She has had many problems surviving her new job without inventing new ones by misleading the public and media.
The latest challenge to her was a press conference today by State Senate Ways & Means Chairman Andy Hill and Representative Mark Harmsworth from the House Transportation Committee, announcing their bill to eliminate one of Peterson’s vaunted toll lanes, and let the drivers who paid for it through gas taxes use it as a general purpose lane. It also would make other changes intended to reduce congestion on the busy roadway, rather than follow Peterson and Inslee’s social engineering ideas for forcing people on to transit.
As the Seattle Times reported, “Just as state tolling managers dig out from a billing mess, a pair of lawmakers near Interstate 405 now propose to slash that freeway’s new toll lanes…
“Harmsworth’s bill applies to new lanes between Bellevue and Bothell, where last week toll rates reached $10 in severe congestion. The lanes are funded by state gas taxes, so the entire driving public deserves access, Harmsworth argues. A citizen website, Stop405Tolls.org, says it has gathered 24,414 signatures…
“ ‘It’s incompetence, it’s inability to execute, inability to manage,’ ” Hill said in announcing plans to introduce a bill when the legislature convenes January 11.
It remains to be seen whether Peterson can go that long without giving lawmakers any more reasons to change the way WSDOT operates. However, Democrat leaders seem willing to hope the problems will disappear, at least until after the legislative adjourns.
From the Times, “House Transportation Committee Chairwoman Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, last week said traffic patterns will take time to settle. ‘This is really new. We don’t really know what it’s going to look like in seven months,’ she said.”
Judging from past results, in seven months I-405 is likely to look even more like a parking lot, than a freeway. But at least then Secretary Peterson will be able to keep up with traffic flow on her bike.
Does not surprise me one bit that she is a friend of Inslees! Just another political liar!
Has she been drug tested?
The minute I heard her story about a commuter who was going to commit suicide until the tolling started, I called it as a fake. That was so outrageous that I can’t even believe she tried to pass it off as truth. But, I suspect a public records request for the actual email is what REALLY caused her “remorse”. She seems to believe people are HAPPY to pay that toll. No, people have to get to their jobs and sometimes have no choice because of the gridlock she created. I doubt anyone happily gets in that lane for $10. I suspect the profanity has increased as much as the traffic on 405. It’s a forced behavior, not a choice. You can either miss your child’s school concert or pay the toll. I have forgone any activity on the Eastside and headed other directions. My time and my money are being spent elsewhere.
Will someone wake up? Road tolls are antiquated taxes only perpetrated by third world corrupt governments like the Italian Mafia.
What kind of dolt would actually swallow a story about someone driven to suicide over traffic on 405? The big government liberal kind.
These new toll lanes are nothing but “elitist driving lanes”. If you have enough money then your time is worth more. If you are the average Joe then your time is obviously not very important and you need to stay out of the way of the elite with money to burn.
Well, that is what Democrats do is lie. They have no moral compass.