Republican WA gov candidate unveils transportation plan

Republican gubernatorial contender Dino Rossi unveiled a $15.4 billion transportation plan Tuesday, saying he'd help traffic-weary drivers by diverting sales taxes to expand highways and fix bridges.

Heaping criticism on Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Democrat-dominated Legislature, Rossi said he'd also pour more money into ferries, offer a tax break on "green" cars and push for a tunnel to replace Seattle's aging Alaskan Way Viaduct.

But, as predicted by Democrats, Rossi dodged the details of how he'd make up for the lost sales tax revenue, which currently flows into the state's main checking account.

The former state senator also couldn't offer specific strategies for getting his no-new-taxes plan through the Legislature, where similar GOP notions of repurposing transportation-related sales taxes have foundered.

He did point to his track record of working with Democrats - he helped write a bipartisan budget for the lean years of 2003-2005 - and said an urgency to fix the state's lingering transportation problems would fuel his plans for reform.

Rossi also said his plan was superior because the financing isn't subject to the same pressures as the state gas tax, which is now the primary funding source for state highway improvements. Gas tax revenue has flattened as fuel prices rise.

"My opponent has no funding source, so therefore she has no plan," Rossi said. "It's not a plan unless you have a funding source. Otherwise, it's just yapping. It's just talking."

Rossi said he would pay for the plan's 30-year, $7.7 billion diversion of 40 percent of automobile sales taxes by scouring the state budget for savings. Without offering specifics, he said education and care for the vulnerable would be spared any spending cuts.

His financing package also diverts from the general fund $2.4 billion in sales taxes that are usually paid on transportation projects, and taps a Sound Transit reserve for about $700 million. Tolls and existing project money would cover the balance.

The Gregoire campaign and state Democratic Party dismissed Rossi's plan as a lot of fuzzy math - particularly the lack of specifics on how the GOP candidate would replace the sales tax revenue.

"When you cut through the baloney and the snake oil, Rossi's plan means higher taxes, bigger tolls, and more traffic - all while blowing a hole in the budget that robs from education, health care and public safety," state Democratic Party spokesman Kelly Steele said in a statement.

The heart of Rossi's plan is an $11 billion list of nine road and bridge projects, with a priority on easing traffic congestion amid continued growth in the Puget Sound and other populous areas of Washington.

The projects include a new State Route 520 bridge across Lake Washington, more lanes on Interstate 405 between Renton and Bellevue, and improvements on U.S. 2 across Stevens Pass.

Rossi's hoped-for 520 bridge blueprints would allow future expansion to eight lanes, although he said the cost of that additional asphalt is uncertain. The state's present plans for the bridge call for six total lanes.

Rossi also wouldn't collect tolls on the bridge until it is completed - another difference with Gregoire and the Legislature, who are moving toward early tolling for the project.

Rossi's plan puts more money into ferry construction and a long list of road projects that are delayed or short of money under the state's 16-year gas-tax program.

The Rossi plan also has "green" features, with a 10-year sales tax break for owners of hybrid, electric or other alternative-fuel cars, a push to convert the state fleet to environmentally friendly vehicles, and more money to open up salmon-blocking stream culverts.

And while it's heavy on roads and bridges, Rossi said his plan leaves transit planning to local officials. He would, however, combine Sound Transit and other Puget Sound-area transit and road agencies into a new regional board.

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On the Net:

Rossi: http://www.dinorossi.com

Gregoire: http://www.chrisgregoire.com