If the mayor has his way, Seattle residents will get another chance to vote on the monorail this November. In a letter to the Seattle Monorail Board of Directors, Mayor Nickels asks that the next plan for the monorail be placed once again in the hands of citizens:

In my view, the grassroots origins of the project, and record of public support in four citywide elections, require that the voters of Seattle decide the future of the Monorail project this November. While the problems are complex, the options available at this time are straightforward. Seattle voters can be asked to approve increased taxes to support completion of the entire project, or to approve a significantly reduced project scope. If the SMP Board determines that neither of those options is viable, it can choose to end the project and dissolve the agency in an efficient manner that minimizes impacts to taxpayers. [seattletimes (pdf)]

Although the letter closes with an assertion that Nickels “respect[s] the Board’s independent authority to make these decisions” it is clear that he wants another vote. Perhaps he feels that without a serious challenger for mayor, this year’s election isn’t exciting enough. As a relative newcomer to Washington, I find all of this direct democracy more than a little unsettling. To me, the mayor’s request that the SMP Board take decisive action because “time is of the essence” seems contradictory to his near-demand that the question be put before voters again.

(letter via 2045seattle.org)

Related posts:

1. seattle monorail project : critical meeting
2. monorail : another stop closer to death
3. Buh-bye Monorail Agency
4. monorail : enough direct democracy?
5. monorail drama : the saga continues