Andrew Villeneuve, executive director of the Northwest Progressive and an opponent of Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033, passes this along from Wednesday night's Suburban Cities Association dinner in Tukwila.
He says Susan Hutchison, the former KIRO TV anchor and now candidate for King County Executive, agreed with her rival Dow Constantine on the initiative.
Asked, "If Initiative 1033 is approved by the voters, what do you believe will be the impact on plans for annexations and growth in King County?," Hutchison replied (in part):
"I'm not quite sure it's... it's on the radar of our voters... yet. But... it's certainly on the radar of all of you, and the mayors I've talked to. If it passes, it would be a disaster... for King County and all of our cities throughout the state."
Villeneuve said this is Hutchison's strongest stand against Initiative 1033 to date. In June, she told the Northwest Progressive Institute she had no opinion on I-1033; she later admitted to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer she was planning on voting no.
Hutchison added that she thinks it makes more sense for government to place surplus revenue into a rainy day fund in good times. Under Initiative 1033, this would not be possible. Initiative 1033 is a giant freeze on services that prevents the state, cities and counties from investing in services above what was invested the previous year, with a lame and pathetic amount of padding to supposedly account for inflation and population growth. Initiative 1033's services freeze would trap our state in a permanent recession, destroying any chance of recovery in the near future.
The full transcript of Hutchison and Constantine's answers to the question about Initiative 1033, is here.
Meanwhile, Constantine laid out a plan to avoid closing King County parks during the budget crisis:
“I do not believe that closing parks is the right approach for dealing with the County’s budget problems, nor is it necessary,” Constantine said. “If we use our existing resources more wisely, we can keep our neighborhood parks open and available for use by the people of King County.”
Constantine laid out these steps:
Prioritizing Parks in the Budget: When the Executive transmits his budget to the Council in late September, Constantine will propose funding these parks through 2010. This would provide the County Parks Department with the appropriate amount of time to execute on the Executive's current plan - which Constantine believes has merit - to transfer urban parks to cities and other entities. With reduced maintenance and other efficiencies, the cost of keeping the affected parks open should be able to be reduced to about $1 million. In his nine-point budget proposal, Constantine has previously highlighted up to $75 million in cuts and other efficiencies that could be used to find the necessary funding.
Aggressively Pursue Annexations: All but five of the threatened neighborhood parks are in urban unincorporated areas slated for annexation by surrounding jurisdictions. The annexation of part of North Highline by Burien, approved by voters in the August ballot, will ensure that beginning in January six of these 39 parks will remain open. Similarly, the three other annexations on the November ballot, if approved, will protect 12 more parks. The willingness of cities like Burien to take over their annexed parks earlier then initially planned is a positive step, and Constantine is confident that the County can keep expenses low and transfer these assets without disadvantaging the communities that hold them dear.
Partner with Community Groups: Constantine will initiate and expand discussions with local community groups and other interested organizations to support threatened parks. As an early model for such partnerships, Constantine cited his work with White Water Aquatics to facilitate their takeover of the Evergreen Pool in White Center early next year. While that effort has not been perfect – the pool will have to be shut down for a few months until the transfer occurs – partnership and/or sponsorship efforts with respect to parks could help ease the cost of keeping these parks open.
If Necessary, Modify the Existing Parks Levy: The second of the two regional parks levies passed in 2007 includes significant funds for new open space acquisitions. Constantine is a long-time supporter of parks, open space and trails acquisition. However, in a time of recession it would make sense to use a portion of those funds to keep our existing parks open and maintained. If the pace of annexations is slowed and the need arises for King County to continue funding these parks beyond 2010, Constantine will propose going back to the ballot to modify the existing levy to allow existing levy funds to be used to keep threatened neighborhood parks open. Such a modification would require no new taxes but would simply allow more flexibility with existing resources to ensure no parks are closed, and would still leave millions of dollars in funding to continue expanding the County’s regional trail system and make other acquisitions.
He continued in the press release:
“By transferring th majority of these parks to other entities in 2010, my plan will also allow the County to use money already set aside to fund these parks in 2011 right now. This money will be critical in closing our 2010 budget gap and still allow us to keep our local parks open in the meantime,” Constantine said. “Given the County’s shrinking revenues, it is an economic reality that the County will have to stop funding local parks in the long-term. However, this process must be done in a responsible manner that allows adequate time for other jurisdictions or interested parties to step up to keep these parks open and available for use. It is the responsibility of your elected officials to find creative solutions that protect our citizens' quality of life, and that is what I intend to do as Executive.”
