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Executive's opinion on transit stuns board(News Tribune, The (Tacoma, WA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Sep. 29--Friday King County Executive Ron Sims' announcement that he opposes the $18 billion roads and transit measure on the November ballot -- even though he helped develop the transit portion -- came as "a big surprise" to other movers and shakers. Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, who also serves as chairman of Sound Transit's board of directors, said Friday that Sims' reasons for suddenly opposing the plan are short-sighted. "Frankly, the reasons don't make any sense to me," Ladenburg said. "Just because we're building light rail in Seattle 20 years late and it costs so much ... that's, to me, all the evidence we need to say let's not make it 20 years late in Tacoma, too." The tax package combines Sound Transit's proposal to expand rail and bus service with the Regional Transportation Investment District's proposal to expand and build highways throughout the region. It's on the Nov. 6 ballot in most of Pierce, King and Snohomish counties. In an op-ed Thursday in The Seattle Times, Sims said the proposal costs too much, doesn't "move enough people" and would be bad for the environment. Among other things, Sims said there's no need to extend light rail from SeaTac to Tacoma because the Tacoma area already is served by commuter rail. And too many of the highway projects, he says, don't start construction until years from now. Ladenburg said there's no question the package is expensive and will take years to complete. But he said it's vital in order to keep people and goods moving in the growing Puget Sound region. Ladenburg also disputed Sims' environmental concerns, saying that Sounder commuter trains use diesel while the light-rail system uses electricity. "If you're worried about carbon footprint, you've got to build light rail. That's the major thing you should be doing," he said. Asked how much Sims' opposition will hurt the campaign, Ladenburg said: "It's such a big deal, people will make up their own minds. I don't think what I say or Ron says will make much of a difference." Ladenburg noted that Sims, a current Sound Transit board member and its former chairman, helped develop the plan. Ladenburg said the board members at Thursday's regularly scheduled meeting were "stunned" by the op-ed. Sims didn't attend. "He sat here and voted yes as we put this package together for three years," Ladenburg said. "It was a big surprise. Ron didn't tell anybody that he was going to do this. He didn't give anybody a courtesy call." Joni Earl, Sound Transit's CEO, also was miffed about the way Sims handled the announcement. She sent Sims an e-mail, obtained by The News Tribune via a public records request, at 6:02 a.m. Thursday, the morning that Sims' op-ed appeared in the Times. "This e-mail is not about your position on the ballot. You gave me your word there would be no surprises. That has been our relationship for 7 years through thick and thin. I just read the Times. A column of this magnitude constitutes a surprise," she wrote. "I guess there is nothing else to say. I just needed you to know at a personal level and with my staff, my reaction to the lack of the courtesy heads up I have always given you." Hunter George: 253-597-8530 [email protected] To see more of The News Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.TheNewsTribune.com. Copyright (c) 2007, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |