Candidacy for Governor

I plan to submit the following announcement of my candidacy for governor to the Seattle Times and Bellevue Reporter.   I will also post it and refer it to the Sound Transit Board, House and Senate Transportation Committee members, King County, Seattle and eastside city councils, and area’s TV news investigators. 

Candidacy for Governor,

Once again I’ve decided to file as a candidate for elective office, primarily to raise concerns about the failure of those responsible to effectively deal with the area’s transportation mess.  It’s an effort that began more than 7 years ago when I attempted to persuade the Bellevue City Council that Sound Transit’s East Link DEIS was pure fantasy. 

Three years of futile appearances before the council led to my creating the blog http://stopeastlinknow.blogspot.com and 4 candidacies (2 for 48^th District legislature and 2 for Bellevue City Council.) to attract viewers.    My candidacies, while admittedly inept, along with frequent emails referring the Sound Transit Board, Seattle Times, local TV news “Investigators”, House and Senate Transportation committee members, King County Council, the Seattle and Eastside City Councils, and others to the blog have attracted nearly 33,000 page views without a single serious rebuttal. 

Unfortunately, as the old saying goes “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink”.   Those who could really make a “difference” are quietly acquiescing to, if not cheering on those unable to effectively deal with the problems.   I’ve therefore decided to file as a candidate where I can show more “horses the water” regarding reducing the area’s congestion. 

Dow Constantine’s not running this year and the Lt. Governor position has apparently attracted a large number of candidates.  Thus I’ve decided to file for governor to avoid being one of the “crowd”.  As before, my only significant campaign expenditure will be the filing fee and I will not accept any financial support.   I will likely decline most public appearances as I am far more comfortable using my blog to detail my concerns as my hearing problems and frequent failure to speak coherently degrade my effectiveness in front of an audience.       

As a candidate I intend to advocate for rejecting ST3 in favor of bus rapid transit (BRT) for reducing the area’s congestion.  BRT in combination with thousands of parking spaces added to existing and new P&R facilities could allow thousands of commuters to leave their cars near where they live rather than where they work.  Sound Transit, beginning next year, could use the existing Prop 1 funding to add 10,000 parking spaces and connecting BRT service each year for the next ten years.  The result would dwarf any potential transit benefits from their $50B, 25 year ST3 proposal. 

I will also advocate for stopping the WSDOT attempts to add HOT lanes between Bellevue and Renton or any other highway in the state. Part of the $1.3B the WSDOT has budgeted for the Bellevue to Renton portion should be spent adding a 4^th lane to I-405 between Lynnwood and Bothell for HOV.  Until it’s completed the existing three lanes should all be used as general-purpose lanes as should one of the two existing HOT lanes between Bothell and Bellevue.

I will also “suggest” that Gov Inslee spend more time dealing with the state’s problems rather than grandstanding as one of the leading climate “saviors” with his proposals to reduce CO2 emissions.  His credibility as an environmental steward of the state’s natural resources is debunked by his support for using a huge share of our hydropower and water to convert Canadian natural gas into methanol for China. 

Again, I look forward to using my blog to expound further on these and other issues affecting voters throughout the state.   While it's "unlikely" I'll win my hope is it will convince enough “horses to drink the water” to make a difference.