Liberal Talk Radio

So it looks like I-912 has some early support. Sayeth Joel Connelly:

Initiative 912, which would roll back the gas tax increase, is 20 points up, according to one recent (and tightly held) statewide poll.

The survey delivered two starkly contradictory findings.

Citizens believe transportation woes and gridlock are the state’s most important problem, with impacts on the economy and even the quality of family life.

At the same time, the voters feel taken for a ride by public agencies that waste taxpayer dollars and lavish resources on projects that don’t unsnarl any messes anywhere.

The gas tax that I-912 would repeal is to fund half the cost of replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct, a project that got a pleasant $220 million surprise check from Uncle Sam today.

To be sure, the preferred replacement for the Viaduct is a $4B tunnel. Simply replacing it with another viaduct would likely save a billion dollars. So there’s certainly fat that can be trimmed. I do agree with Connelly that in this anti-tax atmosphere, the expensive tunnel option comes off as a bit greedy. Personally I would have replaced the Viaduct with a simple, street-level 6-lane boulevard, but for some reason no one ever asks for my input on these things.

In either case, this is why I hate initiatives. We have two governments in Washington, competing for dollars and attention. One is a representative democracy based in Olympia, and one is a direct democracy based nowhere but prodded along by a disingenuous watch salesman from Mukilteo.