My candidacy for King County Executive gives me another opportunity to inform residents about the Seattle Times incompetence. This year it goes beyond their abiding if not abetting a decade of Sound Transit failure to conniving with that failure. That's their decision to ignore Sound Transit's approach to "Transit Improvement Plan to 2026" in 2021 budget.
A Seattle Times Sept 3rd editorial, "Speak Up on Sound Transit Plans" responded to Sound Transit's July16th "Transit Development Plan 2020-2025" with the following suggestion:
"The comment period will provide an opportunity for a broad conversation about transit plans going forward, as Sound Transit decides which projects to delay and possibly shelve"
The editorial concluded:
"Concerned residents should review and comment on 'what's in the works'. Consider it the start of a vital, regional discussion."
The editorial continued the paper's decade-long refusal to recognize light rail spine extensions do nothing to increase DSTT capacity with:
"The promised spine linking Everett, Seattle, and Tacomo must be completed"
The July TPD included a chart "Capital Improvement Program, 2019-2025" with the following expenditures for Light Rail (Link)
Year Thousands 2021 $1,998,969 2022 1,805,414 2023 2,219,852 2024 1,892,637 2025 1,689,224 TOTAL $9,608,090
The vast majority of those expenditures were intended for extending the light rail spine. Thus, its not clear why the Times urged "Concerned residents review and comment on what's in the works" in the TDP.
By contrast the Seattle Times has simply ignored the Sound Transit 2021 budget approval process. It began when the " Financial Plan update & Proposed 2021 Budget" was presented to the board's Finance and Audit committee on October 10th. It included charts showing "Long Range Financial Plan Projections 2017-2041" and "Proposed 2021 Budget".
The 2017-2041 budget concern was the pandemic had reduced their ability to borrow the funds needed for their current plan. The solution was a realignment consisting of a 4-year delay to "make program affordable". The budget showed the 4-year realignment delayed any increase in "Outstanding Debt" until 2029.
Still the October Proposed 2021 Budget included a $700 million TIFIA loan to fund the $2.5 billion projects budget. It also resulted in a $17 billion debt when ST3 funding ended in 2042, with debt service payments and light rail spine operating costs far exceeding any ability to pay.
The October 10th budget didn't include any details of Sound Transit's "Transit Improvement Plan to 2026". It was presented and approved as part of the 2021 budget during a December 17th morning meeting with the board's Finance and audit Committee and approved by the entire board in the afternoon.
The videos of the two meetings showed both Sound Transit and the board had agreed to spending $21.46 billion for "Board-approved costs for active projects through 2026". The Sound Transit October budget, which the board approved detailing the need for "realignment" to make extensions "affordable" had devolved into a December 17th agreement to spend $21.46 billion over the next 6 years on a Transit Improvement Plan. That Sound Transit intended to spend more than twice what they'd told the public in the July 16th "Transit Development Plan 2020-2025".
Again, the October 10th budget delayed any increase in "Outstanding Debt" until 2029, yet needed a $700 TIFIA loan for the $3.5 billion 2021 spending. It took the December 17th videos to show Sound Transit and the board had already approved a 2021 budget spending $21.46 billion over 5 years with no plans for funding. Yet the Seattle Times response to the December 17th budget machinations has been limited to a Traffic Lab article (also on 17th) heralding CEO Peter Rogoff's decision to "skip" the $29,000 increase to his $379,000 annual salary this year.
The bottom line is the Seattle Times has gone beyond their decision to abide if not abet Sound Transit spending billions on fatally flawed light rail extensions. They've refused to urge legislature require an audit that would have concluded Sound transit ridership projections were delusional and that replacing buses with light rail trains will do nothing to reduce I-5 congestion.
It's not clear what the objections the Times had to Sound Transit's July Transit Development Plan". (The September 3rd editorial urging the comment period "start to a vital regional discussion" was a decade too late.) What is clear is the paper has ignored the Sound Transit Board approving a 2021 budget far different from what was in the October budget available to the public.
The December 17th approval will double the light rail link spending in the Sound Transit July Transit Development Plan 2020-2025 and require a large increase in debt despite a 2021 "public" budget claiming no increase in "Outstanding Debt" until 2029. The Seattle Times decision to ignore that malfeasance surely qualifies as connivance.
My goal as a candidate for King County Executive is to inform voters of Sound Transit malfeasance and Seattle Times connivance.
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