Update Oct. 11: The Seattle Times has a critical analysis of the $930 million levy here.
Update: Over at Publicola there’s a related headline on the election: “District Five Sidewalk Brawl: Brown Versus Juarez.”
Most of Maple Leaf is in District 5. Spoiler alert! Sandy Brown pitches neighborhood-only taxes (Local Improvement Districts) to pay for sidewalks here.
———————————–
Seattle’s first-in-a-century election of city council members by district is the focus of our upcoming November general election.
But the ballot also features the largest levy in Seattle history, more than doubling the size of the transportation levy it replaces.
The tweet above, received last week from the pro-levy Let’s Move Seattle folks, implies Maple Leaf is a hotbed of levy backers, and the levy does have a full roster of supporters.
But two of the usually reliable sources, The Seattle Times and the League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County, have come out against Move Seattle, which would increase the average homeowner’s taxes by about $150 annually. Total cost: $930 million.
The Times’ reasoning is here, the league’s here. The King County voter’s guide information is here.
Mail ballots for the Nov. 3 general election go out 20 days before election day.
I think traffic will move faster if we reject Move Seattle. It’s just a jobs program for their favorite unions.
Check out Brier Dudley’s column in the Seattle Times about how hiking property taxes increases rents. Renters need to know they are paying for this measure, too: the average rental unit would pay $95 a year for Move Seattle. Landlords raise rents when their taxes and fees go up. As the manager of an elderly relative’s rental property, I know this to be true.
The Move Seattle levy has had massive citizen input and will put in a lot of improvements we need. Not sure why all your links are to the always Conservative Seattle Times, the Seattle Met has a good write up with the pros:
http://www.seattlemet.com/articles/2015/10/12/let-s-move-seattle-10-reasons-people-are-voting-yes
MLL: Note that your link is not a Seattle Met write up, but a guest opinion from the pro-levy lobby.
Also, we generally link to the Municipal League as well, but didn’t ’cause their recommendation is annoyingly hard to find. But here is the pdf: http://www.mapleleaflife.com/files/2015/10/Munileague-2015-Seattle-Prop.-1-Recommendation.pdf
There’s also a recent pro/con discussion in the Times here.
I think Danny Westneat did a fine job of presenting the salient points of debate, with the assistance of Doug MacDonald, former head of WDOT (Washington Department of Transportation):
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/a-lost-art-tallying-the-real-cost-of-transit-taxes/
Did they only doorbell Prius owners with Obama stickers? I would love to know what question they asked to garner 0% opposition – nearly statistically impossible. BTW, where can I get a “NO to Prop 1” sign?
As far as the transportation levy, I can’t see giving them more money with the manner they have been blowing through it lately.
Count me opposed.
“0% opposed” Sorry, that is just not credible on an topic, much less on involving taxes and transportation.
Why was this posted? Are we going to debate the merits of the Move Seattle levy?
MLL: It was, apparently, posted by mistake by my not-yet-awake 6 a.m. self. Curiously, I can see a couple of comments similar to yours as admin, but don’t see them appearing on the post. Moral: Wake, then post.
Fixed, now.