My candidacy for King County Executive this year is an attempt to give county residents the chance to vote for someone who reflects their concerns. An example is the car tab fees (MVET) they've been required to pay since Sound Transit 3 funding was approved in 2016. Prior to the vote, Sound Transit told voters,"a median-car value owner would pay only $47 in increased tab fees".
Residents responded to the far higher fees by approving I-976 limiting tolls to $30. However, the Supreme Court overturned the judge who validated its passage, claiming voters didn't understand the title. Even Sound Transit recognized residents were forced to pay MVET that weren't based on "vehicles true current value". Yet they refuse to adjust to "true current value" unless legislature makes up for the lower revenue. My candidacy will allow residents to vote for someone who reflects their concern over higher fees. Something the incumbent and Seattle Times refuse to do.
The Times also ignores the Sound Transit failure to reduce roadway congestion. Both refuse to recognize doing so requires adding the parking and bus routes needed to attract more riders to transit. Instead the Times abets Sound Transit spending hundreds of millions on light rail extensions that do nothing to increase capacity limited by DSTT in Seattle.
Rather than add parking Sound Transit has forced residents to pay to reserve a spot in an existing P&R. As a result early commuters lost access to those willing to pay to reserve parking. The Times approach to congestion has been to require commuters pay tolls, making the commute more expensive but nothing to provide an alternative via added public transit. My candidacy will allow residents who commute along I-5 into Seattle to show their concern with a vote.
The September debut of the Northgate Link will increase those concerns. Sound Transit's decision to use the $2.5 billion extension to replace buses from Northgate will do nothing to increase transit capacity or reduce I-5 congestion. Spending billions extending light rail to Lynnwood only increases operating costs not capacity. Again, doing nothing to reduce congestion.
Instead the debut will force many of those riding buses transfer to light rail at Northgate. Rather than continuing into Seattle on their bus they'll face the hassle of transferring to light rail for the route into Seattle. That and the hassle of accessing light rail in the DSTT for the return route will likely deter many bus riders. The result being Northgate operation will reduce transit ridership, increasing vehicles and congestion on I-5. My candidacy allows them to vote their concerns.
The bottom line is residents continue to be forced to pay high car tab fees despite passing I-976. They've continued to face ever increasing congestion despite approving Prop 1 in 2008 and ST3 in 2016. For more than a decade they've been told by the Seattle Times the "light rail spine" is the solution. That it's a major part of Sound Transit CEO Rogoff's long-range plan to spend $96 billion over the next twenty years on the "largest transportation system expansion in the country".
What they haven't been told is the billions spent extending light rail routed through the DSTT will do nothing to increase its capacity. That when ST3 funding ends in 2042 the area will be left with a $17 billion debt and light rail extensions too expensive to operate.
The Northgate debut will demonstrate Sound Transit should have never extended Central Link beyond UW station. That Sound Transit claims for 41,000 to 49,000 daily riders in 2022 are beyond "delusional". The years and $2.5 billion on a light rail extension has done nothing to reduce I-5 congestion.
Those years and billions are only the beginning. Sound Transit plans to spend billions on light rail extensions to Lynnwood and beyond and to Federal Way and beyond that won't increase transit capacity. Again, the only way to reduce I-5 congestion is to add parking and local bus routes to express bus routes into Seattle.
Clearly neither the current King County Executive nor the Seattle Times recognizes those realities. I'm a Trump supporter with no desire or expectation of defeating the incumbent. My candidacy is simply to allow those who recognize that reality to respond with a vote. That doing so will attract the attention needed to "persuade" Sound Transit to divert funding from light rail extensions that won't reduce congestion to adding access to bus capacity that will.
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