Hard to tell from this TV performance (via the Oregonian commuter blog) from the Vancouver Mayor.
I think he opposes them but believes they are inevitable, and after he loses the fight, it won’t be his fault that someone else votes them in.
Apparently that passes for leadership on this sorry project.
6 responses to “How Does Tim Levitt Really Feel About Tolls on the CRC?”
IMO, the Vancouver City Council wants to be team players, whatever that might mean. Few of them seem to have very strong opinions about this project except Jeanne Stewart who says it doesn’t pencil out. They just seem to want to go with the flow.
Could be worse, at least it doesn’t seem like they’re trying to tank light rail.
Could be worse, at least it doesn’t seem like they’re trying to tank light rail.
I think many of them have stated publicly that they support light rail. Just not at the expense of everything else, like so many decision-makers in Portland do. And quite a few in Vancouver are concerned about the alignment, especially since the Uptown Village area sprung up nicely, without any sort of rail-based transit.
One thing I do like about the political climate there: additional funding authority for light rail is allowed, by having a light rail subdistrict (not sure on the exact name), funded by additional sales taxes. That way, opening a rail line doesn’t gut the bus system.
Clark Co. needs jobs in very quick fashion. Real jobs, not temporary jobs filled by out-of-region low-bid contractors building a bridge. It seems like Westfield (commonly known by many as “Van Mall”) seems like it’s about half empty, and now has a mega-church in the retail area Mervyn’s used to occupy. Quite a few buildings in downtown and along major corridors continue to sit empty, as they have for a very long time.
When Clark Co. stops exporting most of its workforce to Portland on a daily basis, those who live in Clark Co. won’t be subject to both Oregon Income Tax and Washington Sales Tax. In a way, it can be said that Washingtonians have been paying tolls the entire time, in the form of being required to pay Oregon Income Taxes. This is especially true if one is working for Oregon minimum wage, where their options are owning a clunker or shelling out for an all-zone bus pass every month (whereas a C-TRAN pass good for Clark Co. routes is much less expensive?heck, C-TRAN even has low-income passes).
And yes, the entire region needs jobs. Running government “like a business” and other anti-jobs thinking rampant in socio-political-economic discussions of the day isn’t helping anything, either.
Chris, that’s exactly my perception of Leavitt’s perspective after watching and occasionally covering his campaign from the Couv last year.
I think it’s easy for a simple issue to seize control of a relatively unimportant election. Basically the issue that defined the campaign came down to Leavitt’s willingness to say, on the trail, “Gee, tolls would suck, don’t you think?”
“In a way, it can be said that Washingtonians have been paying tolls the entire time, in the form of being required to pay Oregon Income Taxes.”
They are paying taxes to support all those government services that help to create and maintain their job. The notion that if your bedroom is in Clark County that’s where you “live” is pretty silly.
“Clark Co. needs jobs in very quick fashion”
Clark County has always depended on Portland for its jobs. Not only for the people who commute, but for most of the rest of its economy that depends on those people’s incomes.
One of their hopes for the new I5 bridge is that it will help jump-start housing construction for people who work in Portland. Residential housing was the largest source of jobs in Clark County before the recent downturn. Most of the folks buying those additional houses weren’t working in Clark County.
They are paying taxes to support all those government services that help to create and maintain their job.
And even I agree, to the extent that they’re actively using the services of two states, and should pay accordingly. For those who don’t understand my thinking, if someone has two cell phones on two different carriers, they can’t pay one bill but not the other and argue that by paying one cell phone bill it entitles them to service on the other.
Clark County has always depended on Portland for its jobs.
That’s why the need their own jobs. The current depression has proven nobody can depend on someone else for anything.