Next Year it’s for Governor

Again the votes are in and to no one's surprise I lost.   My candidacy attracted more than 11,000 votes despite the fact I had no desire to win and had not spent a dime campaigning. The Bellevue Reporter ignored my candidacy and the votes I received.   The Seattle Times opined one had to be a nihilist to vote for a perennial losing candidate opposed to Sound Transit.

During the campaign this blog also attracted more than 15,000 page views, “spreading the word about the Sound Transit debacle”.  I’m already looking forward to “spreading the word” beyond the King County 6^th district by filing for governor in 2020. 

The “word” for Seattle is their 70% approval for ST3 funding is enabling Sound Transit to spend billions on light rail extensions attracting riders that will reduce their access to light rail.  Seattle’s ST3 taxes should be spent expediting a Ballard-to-West Seattle light rail link that will reduce congestion rather than a light rail spine that won’t.

The “word” for King County is about Sound Transit CEO Rogoff’s delusions regarding light rail benefits and his failure to recognize the benefits of BRT.   It's also about the stupidity of the WSDOT plan for 2 HOT lanes on I-405 between Lynnwood and Renton.  They should limit HOT to one lane with fees raised to assure 45 mph and use the 2nd lane for GP vehicles/

The “word” for Pierce and Snohomish counties is CEO Rogoff’s ridership claims for their light rail commuters are delusional.  That Sound Transit’s light rail spine won’t reduce congestion for their commutes into and out of Seattle and Bellevue.  Both would be better off if they dropped out of Sound Transit.

The “word” for the entire state is the futility of attempting to reduce the state’s CO2 emissions when the IPCC agreement allows China, which already exceeds U.S. emissions, to increase emissions until 2030.  I look forward to “challenging” Governor Inslee on the ability of higher gas and energy prices in Washington to combat “climate change”.

Sooner or later the entire area will recognize the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) will limit Sound Transit’s light rail spine to a fraction of the capacity needed to reduce I-5 and I-90 congestion.  That using light rail to replace bus routes will only hasten the lack of access for current Central Link riders in the city.  That, even with light rail's limited capacity, any commuter attempting to use light rail for the return route during peak commute will face utter chaos in the two DSTT stations.

That 100 additional BRT routes an hour into the city could add the equivalent of 5 lanes of capacity to I-5 and I-90 benefitting all three counties. And more could be added. The bus routes could be facilitated with +3HOV on both roadways during peak commute and an elongated T/C on 4^th Ave for egress and access in Seattle.  The only limitation is the need to provide access with added P&Rs or local bus routes from near where commuters live to existing T/Cs. 

Again I intend to use my candidacy for governor to attract viewers to this blog.  Sooner or later everyone will recognize the inability of Sound Transit’s light rail spine and WSDOT’s 2 HOT lanes on I-405 to reduce congestion and the futility of reducing our state’s CO2 emission to alleviate climate change.  

The Seattle Times and the state’s legislators have spent a decade ignoring the need for an audit that would have exposed Sound Transit incompetence.   Until they do it’s just another year of billions wasted, more congestion, and increased cost for gas and energy.   My candidacy for governor is another attempt to stop it.