In the face of rebuttal, Rossi transpo detractors stand strong

When Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi unveiled his $15 billion transportation plan last week, it did not go unnoticed by the critics People from the media, the opposition and engineering and policy think tanks all weighed in with their two cents, often at the expense of the Republican's cost estimates.  

Gregoire spokesman Aaron Toso suggested the plan would have to be implemented with imaginary "Dino dollars", especially given the idea that the 8-lane 520 bridge would cost significantly less than a proposed 6-lane widening. He also told the Everett Herald that the plan was "bogus".

"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.

Such barbs from Rossi's competitors are to be expected, but the plan received some negative press in the local newspapers, too. The Stranger calls the plan "delusional" and says that it backs "environmentally ruinous" plans for building new roads.

The Everett Herald was no nicer, saying in an editorial that "many of the cost figures cited in it appear to be based more on wishful thinking than thoughtful analysis." Meanwhile the AP said in a piece on the plan that Rossi had "dodged the details."

Perhaps just as predictable was Rossi's reaction. Upon release of many of the comments regarding his plan, the Rossi campaign sent out a press release last week directly rebutting four specific claims made in the media.

Specifically, Rossi stood up to the statements made by Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen (D-Camano Island) about political feasibility, Fuse's Aaron Ostrom about Rossi and Gov. Chris Gregoire's shared support of many projects, Washington state Transportation Center director Mark Hallenbeck's cost questions, and the governor herself on where the diverted money would come from to pay for the project.

But this is politics, and all of those who criticized Rossi's plan refused to say "uncle" when the Sammamish Republican tried to twist their arm with his own facts. Three of those accused by Rossi of missing the mark with their mocking behavior only further backed their initial comments.

State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, could not be reached for comment, but a spokesman for her office clarified her positions and reaction to Rossi's plan.

"It has several problems from a leg and political perspective especially since one of the things he wants to do is eliminate the sales tax [on construction projects]," her spokesman said. "Currently it blows a big hole in the general budget, but you're robbing Peter to pay Paul. That's a lot of the money that goes into it that isn't addressed anywhere."

He also brought up the specter of last year's Proposition 1, "A lot of the things he's proposing have already been proposed. Several of them have been voted down recently."

On the topic of US-2, Haugen's spokesman was skeptical of the projects proposed by Rossi, stating that many of them are financially and that widening the road is difficult due to its proximity to the river in many places. Besides, he stood by the policy of increasing state troopers by 6 to Hwy 2 effective this summer.

"A lot [of accidents] are attributed to aggressive driving and DUIs," the spokesman said. "Having an enhanced trooper presence will increase safety that will take effect immediately. Construction projects take years."

As for public transit, an option that Rossi said was beyond the jurisdiction of the governor, the spokesman acknowledged that it was certainly an aspect that was "lacking" in the plan.

Mark Hallenbeck, director of the Washington state Transportation Center at the University of Washington, said in the Times that Rossi's numbers are "completely divorced from reality" and that "he lowballs almost all the estimates and never says where all the funds are going to come from. It's a political statement. It's complete silliness," Hallenbeck said.

Rossi refuted this directly, calling his statement "absolutely false." Hallenbeck, in a telephone interview, did not change his opinion whatsoever.

Hallenbeck sees much of the problem specifically on the SR-520 Evergreen Point Bridge.

 "The cost number he uses for 520 is the 6-lane bridge, but he supports the 8-lane bridge," UW's top engineer said. "They're not the same cost, period. You can start with he's missing a whole lane in each direction, so his cost is invalid."

More importantly Hallenbeck worries about the cost of the bridge connections.

"The 8-lane bridge doesn't work, period, unless you rebuild the entire I-5 and 405 interchanges," he said citing enormous mitigation costs of building a new lane into downtown and finding a place to put it.

Informed that Rossi suggested at his press conference that the lanes may stop at Montlake, Hallenbeck still demurred. "Where are you going to put two lanes in Montlake? This is why I say you're not based in reality. Where do they begin and where do they end? Or they don't connect to anything? That's not working in reality. You're just picking numbers to make yourself look good."

Hallenbeck also disagreed strongly with Rossi's I-405 widening figures.

 "If you look at 405, their plans are a little under $1 billion. That is one lane in each direction. With Dino Rossi's plan you have to buy land, blow up all the bridges, and re-build every overpass and underpass. My guess is its $5 billion. I could be wrong, it could be $2 billion, but it's not $927 million. To say that is whistling in the wind."

Hallenbeck tried to stay out of the political aspect of the plan and focus on the pure engineering costs versus what was proposed, thought he did at one point help Rossi's case by suggesting that "Gregoire just flat doesn't say anything about [a lot of the roads issues]." Ultimately he hoped to just clarify his assessment from a fiscal standpoint.

"I'm not telling what option you should make," he said. "I'm telling you his cost numbers don't match to what he is proposing. He can build whatever he wants, just fund it and be honest about how you are funding it."

Aaron Ostrom, executive director of the progressive policy advocacy group Fuse, was derided by the Rossi campaign for saying the plan "is a recycled 1950s-style freeway construction bonanza with a twist." Rossi's argument was that he was no different from his opponent in terms of reach, only that he had the means to achieve his goals. "Gregoire supports every project listed in Dino's plan.  The difference between them is that he has a plan to finance the projects and she doesn't."  

"I thought that was kind of an astonishing response," Ostrom said. "Their best argument is that the Governor is wrong, too? How is that compelling?  Adding 4 new lanes to 405, that is not the future of how we solve problems."

Besides, Ostrom said, Gregoire has not supported 8 lanes on SR-520. "For us this isn't about Rossi vs. the Governor." It is about that plan, which Ostrom says "stinks" because it lacks transit options.

Despite the fact that Fuse is more concerned with policy, Ostrom could not help but delve into the politics of the issue. While he agrees that some projects make sense, he disagrees with it on the whole, even using Democratic vocabulary to explain it, and feels safe knowing that the political makeup of the legislature will keep the money from flowing into the highways.

"The biggest flaw is his funding is a complete fantasy and he is basically proposing to divert funding away from education and social programs," Ostrom said, "and that will never happen, fortunately."