About this blog

My name is Bill Hirt and I'm a candidate to be a Representative from the 48th district in the Washington State legislature. My candidacy stems from concern the legislature is not properly overseeing the WSDOT and Sound Transit East Link light rail program. I believe East Link will be a disaster for the entire eastside. ST will spend 5-6 billion on a transportation project that will increase, not decrease cross-lake congestion, violates federal environmental laws, devastates a beautiful part of residential Bellevue, creates havoc in Bellevue's central business district, and does absolutely nothing to alleviate congestion on 1-90 and 405. The only winners with East Link are the Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington and their labor unions.

This blog is an attempt to get more public awareness of these concerns. Many of the articles are from 3 years of failed efforts to persuade the Bellevue City Council, King County Council, east side legislators, media, and other organizations to stop this debacle. I have no illusions about being elected. My hope is voters from throughout the east side will read of my candidacy and visit this Web site. If they don't find them persuasive I know at least I tried.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Times Continues Abetting ST Car Tab Tax Mendacity


The July 27th Seattle Times, Traffic Lab, front page article “Car-tab initiative could cost region $4B” typifies its abetting Sound Transit’s mendacious approach to car tab taxes.  First, the car tab tax cut will not cost residents anything.   Its major impact would be a $328 million a year cut in funding for Sound Transit.  It’s not clear what if any impact it would have on vehicle sales taxes or other fees in other districts.

What is clear is Sound Transit “misled” voters with a 7/08/16 post claiming “An adult owning the median value motor vehicle would pay an additional $43 per year in MVET if ST3 were passed.”  Yet their response to objections to the higher taxes in an April 2017 post headlined “Sound Transit 3 car tab rollback threatens light rail to Everett”, was  “During the campaign, Sound Transit was completely transparent about the taxes.”

The Times continued abiding Sound Transit’s lying about what car tab taxes would cost and then lying about lying. They’ve abided Sound Transit using legislation enabling them to increase taxes $1 billion a year for 15 years to, according to Sound Transit’s 2019 budget, $64 billion in tax revenue between 2017 and 2041.  And the $54 billion cost has increased to $96 billion in the 2019 budget.

The ”$6.5 billion “lost” out of the $64 billion in taxes they anticipated in the 2019 budget over the next two decades if Sound Transit is forced to refinance the bonds is hardly catastrophic.  A Joel Connelly June 8th, 2017 Seattle PI article included the following:

 A survey by Moore Information, the venerable Portland-based polling firm with Republican and business clients, shows that ST3 would get only 37 percent support were voters given a do-over.

Thus it’s fair to say there would have been no ST3 funding package if Sound Transit had been honest with voters.   Again it’s hardly catastrophic.  The Seattle Times should not continue abiding Sound Transit car tab tax mendacity or lament residents no longer being forced to pay a car-tab tax based on  inflated valuations. 

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