It comes as no surprise, in the ongoing melodrama from the city of Vancouver, Washington, that we now read Anti-light rail petitioners fall short of signatures, to include “Review costs city $31,000,” all in the effort to further denigrate citizens opposed to dragging Portland’s financially troubled light rail across the Columbia River into our community.
That a petition had to even be circulated in an effort to let taxpayers who will see generations into the future stuck paying for the bloated Columbia River Crossing Project is sad in itself. But, as we have seen explained on this blog and others like Clark County Politics, the powers that be, mostly under the direction of Vancouver’s Mayor Tim Leavitt, voters true input is not wanted, just our paychecks.
We read that some two-thirds of signatures on the petition were “invalid.” Further down in the article, we see that what makes them “invalid” is duplication or that some lived just outside the actual city limits.
Missed in this latest effort to deny taxpayers a voice in this boondoggle, is the taxpayer opposition to light rail, shown in how many people who felt they were within the city limits signed the petition.
Much is made of the claimed “$31,000 cost” to verify signatures, but I have to question the veracity of that being an actual cost. Since there were just over 9,000 signatures turned in, how does it cost nearly $3.50 per signature to verify? And, since it is City/County employees doing the verification, aren’t they on the clock doing what we already pay them for?
Of course, the effort there is to give the appearance of how opponents to the light rail are wasting precious tax dollars, after we saw the city pony up put up some $600K to entice the State to give matching funds in order to build yet another park, as the city claims it has no money to maintain the 120 or so other parks they already have.
Tim Leavitt chimed in on it at the city council meeting saying, “The submittal of initiative petitions is not a cheap or inexpensive venture for the public agencies to have to evaluate, particularly in an instance like this when many of the signatures didn’t comply with the requirements.”
Sticking the community for generations into the future with a bill that could reach $10 Billion including interest is no big deal, apparently. Nor is making every effort possible to keep taxpayers from even saying whether or not we want such a bloated venture hung on our backs.
Leavitt and others choose to claim that we should not receive a vote, binding or advisory, because it is on a federal freeway system that services the entire West Coast. According to them, if we get to vote, everybody up and down the West Coast should also get to vote.
But, they don’t mention that all of those up and down the West Coast will not get stuck paying for the project as will citizens who reside in Vancouver and Clark County.
Opponents to light rail will continue gathering signatures for a couple more weeks, emphasizing to people who want to sign that they must live within the city limits of Vancouver, since the petition is aimed at the Vancouver City Council.
Vancouver residents who wish to sign the petition and haven’t yet may visit www.stoppinglightrail.com for more information or go to Harry’s Lawn and Power Equipment ,1912 Main St, Vancouver WA 98660 to sign the petition.
Of course, all of this would be unnecessary if those sitting in their cushioned seats of authority actually believed in the democratic process and asked taxpayers first if we are willing to mortgage our children’s and their children’s financial futures.
Shouldn’t those taxpayers and commuters who will be stuck actually paying the bills have a voice in the process?
