Seattle Press on Line - Monorail Democracy Now

There From Here

Monorail Democracy Now

By Tara Peattie

Jul 04, 2002 -- The Elevated Transportation Company's draft plan for the Seattle Monorail Project is out and ready for comment, in preparation for the final plan to go to a vote in November. The project staff ran a beautiful double-page spread ad in the Seattle Times on Friday, Sunday and Tuesday two weeks ago, which was likely perused by a hefty number of the Times' 494,500 readers. The ad rightly declares, "Monorails Never Get Stuck in Traffic," and contains all kinds of nifty bits about the route, the advantages of monorail for transit, and the ingenious plan to get the feds to help finance it through the wonderful power of tax deduction.

But as I was happily savoring how far monorail planning has come, two words in the ad got my panties all in a bunch. One word that's in the ad and another that should have been.

Who will build and operate the monorail system? The ad says, "Our recommendation is that the Seattle Public Transit Authority, a nine member board, oversee the ...monorail."

The ETC is willfully glossing the truth. The ad is wrong and misleading on two counts. First, the board that will succeed the ETC is already named in the ETC's charter. It will be called the Seattle POPULAR Transit Authority. Second, the ETC is currently recommending not just that the board be nine members, but that it be nine APPOINTED members, and that those nine members be appointed by the ETC, and later, somehow, by their fellow Seattle POPULAR Transit Authority members. But where does the concept of a popular body fit in if the board is all self-appointed?

Obviously, calling the new body a "public transit authority" instead of the correct "Seattle Popular Transit Authority" is a case of simple forgetfulness. It's hard to keep difficult words like that straight, especially when editing a big two-page spread for an audience of 494,500 readers. Maybe the ETC has changed the wording in the copy of the ad on their website (www.elevated.org) by the time of this publication. I hope so.

This wording is important because the authors of I-53 meant for the Seattle Popular Transit Authority (SPTA) to be accountable to the people of Seattle. Which brings into question, why would the ETC quietly propose an all self-appointed board, and willfully not publicize that in a major advertisement meant to educate the public and solicit feedback on the plan?

Many citizens want some elected members as part of the new board. To ensure that the SPTA board is accountable to the people of Seattle, some are proposing a board of elected and appointed members. Cleve Stockmeyer, author of I-53 (the ETC's charter), is heading up the effort for a blended board featuring the direct accountability that elected members would provide, as well as the targeted expertise that appointed members could provide.

The ETC board currently claims elected members are unnecessary, and that the SPTA will be accountable because appointments would be confirmed and removable by the City Council. But this is the same council that tried to kill monorail planning three years ago and has hardly been helpful to the process since then.

The ETC has come up with a great starter monorail route based on lots of public feedback, has made responsible cost estimates, has enabled the financing and come up with a taxing proposal, and narrowed the types of monorail technology, but there is still much planning to be done. Some of it can wait until after the vote, such as choosing technology for the trains, and the exact alignment. The one element that can't wait is a thoughtful governance plan, created with public input, for the succeeding Seattle Popular Transit Authority.

Tom Weeks, the ETC Board Chair, has been a steadfast opponent of any elected members for the board to succeed the ETC. Weeks is actually a former member of the City Council, and for this reason may be who the other, generally wonkish, members of the ETC board look to for leadership on the issue of governance.

Back in 1995, as Chair of the City Council's Finance Committee, Tom Weeks was a key figure to sign off on the City's infamous $73 million Pacific Place/Nordstrom's parking garage payout. The sum included $50 million for the parking garage, as well as a barely legal $23 million kickback subsidy to Pine Street Development and/or Nordstrom's.

What's the connection to the accountability of the monorail board? Constructing monorail through the neighborhoods and downtown will be all about real estate and cutting deals. If we go with an all-appointed monorail board, we can expect less accountability than in the Nordy's deal, on a much greater scale. Deals will be made, but the general public should be able to weigh in on how much and what for.

Seemingly fed up with elected office, Weeks quietly and abruptly quit his post on the City Council in 1996, and went to work for the public school system. If Weeks has personal aversion to elected office, so be it, but this should not hinder a full discussion of governance options. Under the blended monorail board proposal, Tom Weeks could have a choice--run for a position on the SPTA board, or look for appointment. It's nice to have choices.

For information about Monorail Democracy Now contact Cleveland Stockmeyer, 206-525-4400; cleve206@aol.com.

Tara Peattie can be reached at peattie@drizzle.com.

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