Slog
News & ArtsThursday, December 31, 2009
City The Sincerity of Seattle Mayors
Posted by Dominic Holden on Thu, Dec 31, 2009 at 12:13 PM
Slog tipper Dan Savage called the office from a noisy place in response to this morning's quote from Mayor Greg Nickels, who said he voted for Mike McGinn because McGinn vowed not to block the deep-bore tunnel project. Nickels said, "I hope that he... was being absolutely sincere."
Savage responds, "I hope that McGinn was as sincere about building the tunnel as Nickels was sincere about building the fucking monorail."
As you may recall from November 2002, Greg Nickels said, "Let’s build it!" and "The debate is over, the vote counting is done. Let’s begin." Three years later, however, Nickels announced he was withdrawing street permits for the monorail and renewing the debate by calling for a fifth vote on the project.
1
You're seriously comparing the monorail project with the AWV tunnel? They are completely different, starting first off with the funding. Nickels supported the project in the abstract, as did many of us, sans-funding. Once proponents and assholes like Joel Horn made it clear where we were really going, support evaporated. The tunnel is funded, and over funded.
3
The Billionaires' Tunnel is still dead, because the cold hard reality is we don't have the tax stream in place to pay for both it and 520 - and 520 is going to be built come hell or high water.
Got an extra billion? then you can have the tunnel. Otherwise, it's still dead, pending (hah!) a vote of the people to increase taxes to pay for something WE DON'T WANT.
Got an extra billion? then you can have the tunnel. Otherwise, it's still dead, pending (hah!) a vote of the people to increase taxes to pay for something WE DON'T WANT.
4
Speaking of the monorail, we could have built two green lines for what the Billionaires Tunnel is likely to cost overall.
5
As long as McGinn continues to protect the interests of college educated, upper middle class professionals, he'll do fine. All this green shit is great, makes Seattle more expensive as more college educated, upper middle class professionals move here to be green.
The poor? What do they give a shit about the environment? They just want rims for the Escalade and a new Playstation to educate the spawn. They have no role in Future Seattle, except for those cute Somali and Ethiopian families who we have the housing levy for; afterall, someone has to make my latte at Seatac when I fly out.
The poor? What do they give a shit about the environment? They just want rims for the Escalade and a new Playstation to educate the spawn. They have no role in Future Seattle, except for those cute Somali and Ethiopian families who we have the housing levy for; afterall, someone has to make my latte at Seatac when I fly out.
6
Will the cost overruns on the DeBT tunnel alone are going to cost what the capital cost of the monorail would have been.
8
@7 - you mean "it didn't happen in the Aughties.
Forever is a long time. Just ask those people in Kits and nearby how their obstructionism against light rail to the airport panned out in Vancouver BC ... cause it got built eventually.
Forever is a long time. Just ask those people in Kits and nearby how their obstructionism against light rail to the airport panned out in Vancouver BC ... cause it got built eventually.
11
Hearing Dan bitch about broken promises from 2002 he is still buttsore over is almost as fun as hearing Liberals whine about Florida 2000 recount....
12
can light rail go over the Ballard Bridge?
WS Bridge? Or are we going to put light rail tracks in on 45th from Ballard to UW?
Where's this light rail going to go?
I assume that because transit has been studied for this corridor for about ten years, someone has the answers.....
WS Bridge? Or are we going to put light rail tracks in on 45th from Ballard to UW?
Where's this light rail going to go?
I assume that because transit has been studied for this corridor for about ten years, someone has the answers.....
13
@12 - can it today? no.
Could we build it up to that point and force everyone to back down and let it be built? yes.
This is how Kits was rolled over by SkyTrain - they built everything else and THEN pushed. Once people realize what they're missing they get really really angry and electeds lose their jobs if they don't stop being jerks.
Could we build it up to that point and force everyone to back down and let it be built? yes.
This is how Kits was rolled over by SkyTrain - they built everything else and THEN pushed. Once people realize what they're missing they get really really angry and electeds lose their jobs if they don't stop being jerks.
15
The failure of the monorail is not all Nickels' fault. Even with his support, it would not have been built.
http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/03/19…
His support for transit (ST Link, anyone?) is sincere, even if the whole monorail deal didn't work out.
http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/03/19…
His support for transit (ST Link, anyone?) is sincere, even if the whole monorail deal didn't work out.
16
... a fifth vote on the monorail that the Stranger endorsed.
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Conte…
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Conte…
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Hating People Doesn't Make Them Thinner by Jen Graves
-
Los Angeles Gay Bar Bans Bachelorette Parties Until Marriage Equality Is Attained by David Schmader
-
Fill in the Blank by Grant Brissey
-
This Reminds Me of the Great Calculator Scare of the Late '70s/Early '80s by David Schmader
-
Idiot Tries to Defend Bigoted Anti-Gay-Marriage Preacher on Anderson Cooper by Paul Constant
-
Six Moms with Too Much Time on Their Hands and a Shitty Website Decide to Fight Gay Superheroes by Paul Constant
-
Why Mayor McGinn's Wife Canceled Her Family's Seattle Times Subscription by Eli Sanders
-
What the Hell Is Wrong With Seattle's Pride Parade? by Dominic Holden
-
The Saturday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
NYC Man Ticketed for Not Riding in the Bike Lane by Jonathan Golob
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (16) RSS