My Letter: Light Rail funding needs a vote
Dear Mayor Leavitt,
Thank you for your letter responding to my expression of support for a C-Tran district-wide vote on light rail maintenance and operation as part of the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project.
As you noted, I have repeatedly affirmed my support for a new Columbia River bridge. I also believe the federal government has a responsibility to pay its share of improvements on our Interstate Highway system, and I am prepared to fight for federal funding for the CRC. However, it is important to me that the voters of Clark County are allowed to have a say in this process.
We are a representative democracy, and I do not believe that every public issue should be brought to a public vote. However, when considering a major project that will involve both tax increases and user fees, it is important to receive the consent of those taxpayers and users.
The Clark County Commissioners have all indicated their support for a district-wide public vote on a tax increase to fund the maintenance and operation of light rail. Since the City of Vancouver has a bloc veto on the C-Tran board, and the C-Tran board will decide on the parameters of this vote, a clear statement of your position on this issue is important. Yet in reading your most recent response, news stories on this topic, and your public statements, it is still unclear to me whether you also support a district-wide vote. Therefore, I am requesting your response to the following questions:
1) Do you support a C-Tran district-wide vote?
2) Will you commit to giving this vote priority attention so that it may be held in early 2012, shortly after the November 2011 vote on bus service?
The steps to setting a vote that you’ve outlined should not be difficult or time-consuming to accomplish. The next C-Tran board meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 12th. It is my sincere hope that the city will refrain from exercising its bloc veto and allow a vote to move forward. We need to work as quickly as possible to ensure the Columbia River bridge replacement project continues with the input of the community that will use it and pay
for it.
Per your request, I would be happy to meet with you on this or any other topic. Keith Bundy of my staff is ready to arrange a date and location that fits into our schedules.
Sincerely,
Jaime Herrera Beutler
Member of Congress
