Casey Corr, communications czar for Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, and a former op-ed columnist and reporter for The Seattle Times, is quitting his current job to challenge incumbent Seattle City Council Member Richard Conlin.
I'm running because I think the council lacks leadership and is ineffective. This is not a council known for its guts," (Corr) said in an interview. Corr also criticized the council's priorities, noting that the council increased utility taxes so it could add almost $6 million to the mayor's spending plan for 2005. In the process, the council restored several programs Nickels had cut, including a city photo-archive program."The budget they passed reflected their cluelessness. They raised utility taxes and used the money to hire photographers, but they didn't spend a dime to hire more police officers and firefighters," he said. Corr said transportation, building the new monorail, jobs, public safety and education would be his priorities.
Corr said Conlin, chairman of the Transportation Committee, has been inconsistent, ineffective and a monorail critic. First elected in 1997, Conlin is known as an advocate for the environment, sustainable development and neighborhoods. He said Corr's announcement was no surprise.
Conlin is the prototypical distracted, fuzzy Seattle liberal. I'll be glad to see him shown the exit, if voters so choose.
Critics of Seattle's pending, 14-mile monorail Green Line should evaluate Corr on more than that issue. To those who hate the monorail (which, again, Corr supports) and the steep Seattle vehicle license tab excise tax that is funding it, I say: ballgame truly over, politically. You lost the recall vote by nearly a 2-1 margin last fall. Monorail tax, voters say yes. Latte tax, they said no. We're nuanced, OK? Move on, and loads of people will ride it when it's built, so PLEASE start a bonfire now with all your reports that say it'll be a bust, I'm just tired of those rants.
While former local journalist Jim Compton has hardly been a model of probity as a council member, ex-journo Corr has a no-nonsense, eye on the ball demeanor (true, so did then-journalist Compton before he joined the council).
Corr demonstrated real fiscal moderation and a deep understanding of government in his stint at The Times. This was particularly evident in his tenure as an op-ed columnist there. Knowing what I do of him, I'm inclined to give him my support and a term to see if he manages to pull the Seattle Silly Council closer to the concerns of moderate-conservative voters
I believe him when he says, as he does in today's story, that:
"As a council member I'm going to be ornery about the cost of government and increases in the tax burden."
City election-wise, The Times also notes:
This year four council members will be up for re-election: Conlin, Jan Drago, Nick Licata and Richard McIver. Licata is running, McIver has said he plans to seek another term, and Drago is expected to reveal her intentions today.Corr is the first challenger to declare which seat he is seeking. Metropolitan King County Councilman Dwight Pelz is running for the City Council but hasn't disclosed which position. Robert Rosencrantz, who narrowly lost a 2003 council primary to Jean Godden and former Councilwoman Judy Nicastro, is in the same situation. So is Mike Thompson, a neighborhood activist, who ran in 2003 on a shoestring budget.
Nickels also faces re-election and plans to run. No challenger has surfaced yet.
Nickels has done a pretty decent job all in all, and restored some dignity to the office after Paul "I Am Not A Wimp" Schell's disastrous tenure (WTO, Mardi Gras riots, no political sense at all).
But a strong challenger facing Nickels would be good for the city, nonetheless.
UPDATE: Comments on this post are encouraged, but please keep them germane to this post - we've been having a little problem with that. Please register your Rossi-Gregoire comments at other, subject-appropriate Sound Politics posts.
Posted by Matt Rosenberg at January 12, 2005 03:14 PM | Email ThisHow it would work:
You show up and scan your Smart ID card. They issue you a ballot(electronic ballots would be even more seamless), and just like that every ballot has a voter attached to it automaticaly. It could also check to make sure you had not voted yet today, and that you had the right to vote(citizen status, not felon, not voted allready, not an absentee voter, ect). with provisional ballots all the verification would be done before it was issued rather than after.
It may not solve the problems of this election. But the problem isnt the election its the archaic way in which we collect and store information that causes all of these problems. It is far past the time when government should be keeping track of its information electronicaly. The technology to do this is at least 10 years old but we are still paying for people to verify this stuff by hand (which leads to mistakes and costs more).
The inability to correctly authenticate people has far reaching consequenses for our security as well. If we cant keep track of who goes to vote and whether they should be there. How do we keep dangerous people off airplanes and other places they shouldn't be.
I agree. Having a voting system that utilizes an ID smart card would eliminate the double-voting and such. It would help to eliminate many of the fraudulent practices that were found to have occurred. Standardizing the voting system in Washington will also help.
The question is, do you think the ACLU and the sitting government (as well as Madame Fraudoire the pretender will sit idly by and allow us to push for reforms such as these?
What can we do to overcome the obstacles to such a move?
Posted by: AjalonVox on January 12, 2005 04:59 PMWe love your comments and entusiasm folks, and I personally AM having red meat for dinner tonight, but please leave your comments in the right place.
Posted by: Matt R. on January 12, 2005 05:27 PMWanna bet?
Posted by: smoke on January 12, 2005 05:31 PMIf there ever was a project that shows how ridiculous Seattle can be, it is the monorail.
I'm a fan of light rail of some type, but ONE system, with economies of scale, purchasing power, a single bureaucracy, and one tax base.
The fact that we have two systems being either planned or built is a perfect example of how this city has no leadership. Logic dictates that we choose one system, not two.
In the meantime, there is not a chance in the underworld that SMP will actually get built. They are short on funds by 30% and things will get worse: As usual in Seattle, people have forgotten that if you make things more expensive, people will buy less. This holds for cars too, folks. So people will get rid of 3rd cars, some even 2nd cars, and will drive older and/or less expensive cars.
While the environmentalists might applaud this last point, it's another example of their single-mindedess, because older cars are not helpful when it comes to air pollution.
So, go ahead and applaud it, but my guess is you will be waiting a long, long time to finally ride it.
Posted by: Iguana on January 12, 2005 05:39 PMRosenberg, do you live in west seattle or Ballard?
Posted by: scott on January 12, 2005 05:45 PMBut, I can't argue with basic premise that SMP pits one side of the city against the other.
Posted by: Iguana on January 12, 2005 05:54 PMYou conventiently avoid discussing that impressive margin of victory for the monorail after a much, much tighter - but successful - vote to actually fund the project.
And Scott, ol chum, I certainly expect dissent to support of the monorail, buyt your comment immediately preceeding this one, where you call me "an utterly short-sighted moron" and then try to engage me in conversation about where I live, reveals social and rhetorical skills in the vicinty of Michael Moore's. Dude. But to answer your question, I live in West Seattle, guilty as charged. But what I really want to see is a city- and region-wide monorail.
Stay tuned, there'll be a lot more transit proposals of various sorts to fight. I'm all for tough fiscal scrutiny (yeah, go ahead, rip me a new one, I don't care) but this head-in-the-sand kneejerk anti-everything-ism among conservatives has to cease with regard to urban mass transit in Seattle.
Talk about BIAS! Nuckle head!
Posted by: Laura in Seattle on January 12, 2005 07:07 PMI think I was pretty emphatic about pointing out that the very fact that the monorail was voted for not once, but twice - or maybe that really is just once, since the first time clearly falls within the margin of error for the dunces at the KC elections office - is indicative of just how silly and unrealistic Seattle can be.
And, since we are throwing big, fancy words around, I should ammend "silly" with "solipsistic," because the people of Seattle seem to believe that they live in a universe unto themselves and in which the laws of physics and economics do not apply. Self-validation of our collectives feelings is all that is required. Apparently.
And, perhaps less directly, but certianly implied, I am stating that there should be a leader somewhere in this mess that brings to two projects together for a host of benefits, not the least of which is GET MORE FOR LESS.
Of course, one can also assume from my post that I am implying that this sort of bring-them-together logic is the ONLY way anything even resembling the monorail will ever get built, because even at the current mindboggling and oppressive tax rate on automobiles, the project is far short of the funds it needs, and that fact will only get worse.
Thus, it should be pretty clear by now that I am not anti-build-anything. I am anti-build-stupid-things. And, I am for not just building, but building MORE of smart things.
Posted by: Iguana on January 12, 2005 08:25 PMThis post has clues in it about how to take in "the reality of plurality" and make socially conscious, fiscally stingy, and politically savvy decisions regarding how this city can metamorphize into something beyond a looming "progressive" politically correct Eastern Block wannabe. The public so longs for leaders to get beyond diatribes - Seattle leans Left - it has since the days of John Reed, the Wobblies, and Seattle's General Strike. What was true in 1919 will be ever-so-much-the-case in 2019. Get a hold of that notion! And learn how to lead! Study Seattle's history and look at the great infrastructure projects which were screamed at with every bit of the vociferousness that you belly-ache with now - but those projects are things (the port, our street plan, the viaduct, most bridges, our water and sewer system) that you take totally for granted today. Got it yet? What we are doing today is NOT for us: it is for those kids (and their kids) that will come after. Just like those things built generations ago are for YOU - and are the key things you never think about, and yet are the key things you take for granted in making YOUR "Seattle lifestyle" - capiche?
My suggestion to you (like me) 'true' conservatives is to give this some thought: Dino has hacked his way out of the wilderness, cleared a political playing field - and plowed you some new ground. Are you going to get in there and 'dig in' with a realistic sense of how you might be able to JOIN in the process of governing in Dino's coalition? -OR- Are you going to stay over there in the thicket, afraid to get your feet dirty, content to remain in the pristine political wilderness of doctrinaire conservatism?
This is not only your moment: it is your children's - and probably their's as well. So meet your moment, or if not, then 'beat it' - this town is not for you. Your bleating won't won't change a thing - it hasn't for a hundred years. Only your spirited, dedicated (and truly conservative) involvement, in the Churchill-Reagan-Rossi spirit, can make all the difference.
Rossie Revote? Hell yes! But Dino is going to need 10,000 clear-thinking, hard-working, honest, dedicated, practical LEADERS at every level - from the P.T.A. to the Supreme Court - in order to make this thing work.
Casey Corr may not be any 'Dinocrat' but well remember this: he is no Ron Sims-Sound Transit suck-up like Conlin either. What Sound Politics readers need to do is understand that there is a Big Picture out there: one that they ignore at their own peril. But also at Rossi's peril as well. If you care about Rossi, get interested in (and aware of) the issues. Otherwise we all may just as well fold-up shop and hand this state over to the Lenin-loving progressives that not even the mainstream Democrats can control given their cluelessness about values. All we conservatives have to do is catch a clue about how to conduct politics - and get committed like Dino.
Posted by: P. Scott Cummins on January 12, 2005 09:06 PMThen compare 'light rail' and 'monorail' and pick ONE. Then blast the OTHER ONE. Compare the 'full plan' if you like - there's a western rail line too.
The votes (and revotes) are already done for the first legs of both, killing either stone cold dead would be tough. But the "Full light rail plan" is going to make the Big Dig look cheap. And with a subsidy around $10 per person-trip for operational costs.
With the crazy gerrymandered district that not even statewide initiatives seem to put a damper on, the only way you're going to get this fiasco derailed is with a DEMONSTRATEDLY superior technique. If ST claims they can go 14 miles and cross (or go under) two waterways for less, would you believe them? So far the only known serious issue (so far) the monorail people have done wrong is trust ST for the figures on what ST gets from vehicle excise taxes in Seattle. The ST quote was "Well, they should have payed $20 million to figure it out themselves if they were going to base decisions off of it." Which is really amazing from so many freaking angles. But not surprising.
Posted by: Al on January 12, 2005 09:28 PMWhat works in Seattle may be different than what works in SE King County. Of course, Dino was my senator.
Posted by: South County on January 12, 2005 10:50 PMAl - I would love to have the option of choosing just one, and blasting the other. But, that is much like rooting for my favorite football team to "kill" the other team. You'll win some and loose some, but at the end of the day (or year or whatever) both teams are still there.
The reality is that both plans are ostensibly moving forward. They both certainly are taxing and have a legal basis, however tenuous, for existing such as it is.
I don't really care about the aesthetics of a new rail system, so the circus ride quality of the monorail doesn't hold any sway over me. And, light rail and its bureaucracy are not a preference either.
I simply see two separate entities that compete only for our tax money and credibility, certainly not in any market sense. Meanwhile, everything else is double the cost. Both will fall woefully short of objectives, to the extent they even have them, because neither has the full force of what this region is capable doing behind them.
I can't think of any way out of this unholy mess and still get some type of transit system - which is coming one way or another to a city this size - except to somehow combine the two.
The alternative is just too ugly to contemplate. In that scenario, SMP would continue to with the outrageous car tax and never build anything more than a "test track” if they build anything at all. While Sound Transit "Link" or whatever it's being called will build a soviet style monolithic organization to run a bus on rails up and down MLK, killing the occasionally pedestrian at traffic lights.
I am just whimsically hoping for leadership that will force a logical outcome.
While I will take "moron" back (sorry, I was a little frustrated that you were reopening old wounds), I won't concede calling you "short-sighted."
I don't feel like I am anti-spending in every way. I am not against spending tax dollars on transportation as long as it is done wisely. Instead of creating a bunch of meager patchwork projects, it would make sense to consolidate funds to create a comprehensive transportation plan. I would be willing to spend the big bucks to do a Big Dig-like subway system. Instead, we are doing monorail and sound transit while also trying to keep up a huge bus system
Monorail technology is not meant to be used like it is on the green line, with a stop every 1/2 mile. it is meant for long-range high-speed use. it is short sighted to see these as toys that could streamline the west side. Have you seen how ugly the EMP-Pacific Place monorail looks lately? I don't want our skyline to look that ugly.
The project is an expensive way to convenience VERY few people at the expense of everyone.
Posted by: scott on January 13, 2005 12:09 AMFor anyone who thinks the monorail will not be a huge way of transporting people...you are dead wrong.
Posted by: republicrat on January 13, 2005 11:38 AMVERY few people? look what tokyo is doing.
Tokyo Monorail is 40 years young. (9/26/04)
Tokyo, Japan. On October 10th of 1964, the Tokyo Olympics commenced. It was Asia's first Olympics and the Japanese were prepared for the world coming to their country. New expressways had been built, the famous Shinkansen Bullet Trains commenced their first service between Tokyo and Osaka, and less than a month before the Olympics, on September 17th, the Tokyo Monorail began revenue operations between Haneda International Airport and Hamamatsucho Station in the city. The Tokyo Monorail was Hitachi's first major monorail system, with technology based on Alweg technology developed in Germany, for which Hitachi had acquired a license in 1962. Forty years have now passed since this milestone monorail opened, and the system continues to impress the world. The 16.9 kilometer line carries an average of 137,900 daily riders and has carried well over one billion riders during the past 40 years. Ten stations are along the route and the ride from one end to the other takes about 22 minutes. Part of a very exclusive club in the world of transit, the Tokyo Monorail is one of the few mass transit systems that records a consistent profit without taxpayer subsidy. It also performs with over 99% reliability. Congratulations Tokyo Monorail and Hitachi! For outstanding information and beautiful views of the Tokyo Monorail, the Monorail Society offers Monorails of Japan, a two DVD set that includes onboard rides of the Tokyo Monorail, behind the scenes footage, and features all the major monorails of Japan.
ancient japanese secret? No?
I will almost certainly not use the monorail barring a move to Ballard. I have no reason to drive to Ballard, park my car, and the use the monorail just for the sake of using it.
Posted by: scott on January 13, 2005 12:19 PMIn addition, there will be a plan (including a funding source other than further Seattle vehicle license tab excise taxes) to expand the system in the city (avoiding any overlap with the north-south Sound Transit line on Seattle's east side). This will culminate in a public vote. One arguement in favor will be that to maximnize the public investment already made in the Green Line, it is necessary to flesh out the system. Hard to resist for at least a slim majority, at least in Seattle, I'd bet. Mind you, this is still a Seattle-only system I'm talking about (albeit an expanded one).
THEN, looking at monorail possibilities beyond the city's borders, you should be aware that Citizens For King County Monorail are energetically pushing for inclusion of monorail as a study option in Sound Transit's regional planning process. The suburban monorail folk should not be underestimated. If Sound Transit won't give their options (including specific, high-traffic route corridors) serious consideration, they will find a way to win approval of funding for a serious feasibility study of their own for regional monorail.
The ballgame is just getting started.
One thing I know: more of the current Metro buses, currently operated by King County in a manner philosophically similar to their elections department, will not help. Nor will introduction of "Bus Rapid Transit," as that mode requires dedicated on-ground lanes (asphalt we will never have to spare) and yet still manage to get stuck in traffic. Neither will solely expanding highway capacity be the solution to growing road gridlock in Puget Sound.
"Light rail" is bound by surface vehicle traffic, unlike monorail, which rises above it all. A disparate mix overall is good. There are already privately operated passenger-only ferries now carrying commuters daily between Bremerton and downtown Seattle, and, if I recall right, Kingston (North Kitsap) and downtown Seattle. The state is out of that business and the private sector has stepped in.
IGUANA: I agree it would be good if one agency were in charge of it all, but that's probably not going to happen. Yet, they can coordinate, and in fact SMP and ST are in close contact with one another, tho obviously rivalries remain.
In metro San Francisco you have BART for the subways (and I think they also run the surface light rail, or not, someone help me here), plus separate agencies running suburban commuter rail south toward San Mateo county etc, and then several OTHER outfits operating varied passenger-only ferries, which are a big part of the regional transit mix there.
The general point being, multiple agencies needn't get in the way of many good options to serve commuters.
Multi-modal, multi-modal, multi-modal.
I want transit choice, and school choice, and yeah, I'm OK with reproductive choice, too.
And I lean Republican.
Posted by: Matt R. on January 13, 2005 01:12 PMTo me, all of what you just said sounds gray, messy, uncoordinated and ready for excessive spending without a plan.
Also, from what I hear, light rail is not bound by traffic, as much of the future light rail trucks will be tunnelled. Monorail, however, still takes up traffic lanes and hundreds of parking spaces, thus nullifying any traffic improvements. Not to mention, it is ugly as hell with huge cement pillars blocking sprouting from the street.
I guess it is a moot point to debate the monorail now. I realize that the issue is done. I am just not happy with it, nor am I excited to see what the future holds for county transportation.
By the way, I lean Democrat, except when it comes to Christine Gregoire and Deborah Senn.
Posted by: scott on January 13, 2005 01:59 PM