Prop. 1 called for an 0.01 percent sales tax increase, and a car tab fee, with 60 percent of revenue going to stave off cuts in bus service, and the remaining 40 percent earmarked for roads. Metro has warned that it will have to cut bus service up to 17 percent without a new revenue source.
“I am totally stunned,” said Seattle City Councilwoman Jean Godden. “I felt sure it would pass. I can only hope these are early returns . . . Our buses, as is, are overcrowded. Almost every day, my office fields complaints from people who were passed on the street by overcrowded buses.”
While admitting that car tabs are not a popular tax — Seattle voters rejected a car tab measure three years ago — King County officials felt they had no choice but to come up with a go-it-alone rescue package. The Legislature failed to enact a statewide transportation package without even a vote in the state Senate.
“Don’t lose sight: The most profound truth of what is happening tonight is the Legislature’s utter failure to provide a funding option and flexibility for transit, and to come up with some kind of transportation balance to meet 21st century living patterns,” said state Rep. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle.
“The fierce ideological opposition to allowing King County to have any flexibility is at the core of the disconnect,” Carlyle added.
