Governor says region needs roads and transit package

OLYMPIA — Gov. Christine Gregoire, disagreeing with fellow Democrat Ron Sims, said Monday that public safety and the Puget Sound economy could take a big hit if the region's voters don't approve a tax package for transit and highways.

She raised the image of the Aug. 1 interstate bridge collapse in Minneapolis and said, "Mother Nature lurks behind us," waiting to bring bridges crashing down here if the region doesn't quickly deal with its crumbling infrastructure.

In November, voters in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties will decide the fate of an $18 billion package of road and transit projects.

For taxpayers in the region, that would mean a sales-tax increase of six-tenths of a cent, about $150 a year for the average household, and an annual tax on vehicles of $8 per $1,000 of value.

The measure is badly needed for public safety, quality of life and vitality of the economy, the governor told a news conference.

Sims, the King County executive and a longtime transit leader, stunned his colleagues by coming out against the plan last week, shifting from neutrality. He said the projects would worsen greenhouse emissions in the region and wouldn't serve enough people to justify the cost.

"While containing some good projects, this plan doesn't solve traffic congestion in the short term, nor does it provide enough long-term relief to justify the financial and environmental costs," Sims wrote in an op-ed piece for The Seattle Times.

Other government leaders, including the executives of Pierce and Snohomish counties, are still on board.