Reject Referendum 1 Reject the Tunnel

Wednesday June 15, 2011

Ballots are due TODAY, Tuesday, August 16th! Your ballot to Reject Referendum 1 must be postmarked today, or dropped off by 8pm at a King County ballot drop box at one of these locations.

Referendum 1 is your opportunity to tell politicians that you want them to reject the tunnel. The state plans to choose the most expensive – and riskiest – option possible. Now, studies reveal the proposed tunnel fails the citizens of Seattle in every way. The tunnel will:
  • make traffic worse with $7-9 tolls forcing tens of thousands of cars onto city streets
  • raise taxes to cover the $700 million shortfall in the budget
  • leave Seattle taxpayers liable for cost overruns
  • include no transit
Put simply, the tunnel is a terrible idea. The tunnel doesn’t align with our progressive values, doesn’t fit our budget, and makes it harder to get around. It’s time to reject the tunnel. Rejecting Referendum 1 would tell the city council not to authorize the state to build the tunnel. Join us to reject Referendum 1.

Protect Seattle Now Election Night Party

Monday August 15, 2011

After you’ve mailed your ballot, come celebrate with us on Tuesday night! We’ll be at:

Havana
1010 E Pike Street

Doors open at 6, and preliminary election returns will come around 8:15.

RSVP on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=159926387418505

Protect Seattle Now Election Night Party

After you’ve mailed your ballot, come celebrate with us on Tuesday night! We’ll be at: Havana 1010 E Pike Street Doors open at 6, and preliminary election returns will come around 8:15. RSVP on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=159926387418505

Cascade Bicycle Club endorses Reject vote on Referendum 1

SEATTLE – Today the Cascade Bicycle Club, one of the most respected transportation advocacy groups in our state serving 14,000 members, endorsed a “Reject” vote on Referendum 1. In a statement about the endorsement on their blog, the Club says: “Over the past several years, Cascade has advocated for an Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement that [...]

Protect Seattle Now apologizes for non-reporting of in-kind contribution; corrects mistake

SEATTLE – After all the discussion this week about campaign contributions and disclosure, Protect Seattle Now would like to come forward and disclose it’s largest contribution to date. “Protect Seattle Now would like to apologize and make amends. As helpfully noted by Alex Fryer, we failed to record an in-kind contribution on our public disclosure [...]

Tunnel supporters mislead voters about transit investments; Protect Seattle Now calls upon opponents to stick to the facts

SEATTLE – At a time when Seattle residents who rely on transit service are fearful that the routes that get them to work are going to be curtailed or eliminated, the pro-tunnel campaign is distributing materials promising that transit service will be improved if the deep-bore tunnel is built. Protect Seattle Now demands that the [...]

Environmental Impact Statement Predicts Tolled Bored Tunnel Makes Congestion Worse Downtown

SEATTLE – Today, volunteers from Protect Seattle Now set up a toll booth next to the entry of the Battery Street Tunnel during the morning commute to share information with drivers about the impacts of tolls on the tolled bored tunnel. The Final Environmental Impact Statement on the tolled bored tunnel, released last week, shows [...]

Seattle Ethics and Election Commission Affirms Referendum 1 Is Voters’ Chance to Reject Tunnel

SEATTLE – Friday, the Seattle Ethics and Election Commission clarified language in Referendum 1’s explanatory statement, using stronger language to show the impact of Referendum 1, and rejecting further attempts by the state Department of Transportation to use it to promote the tolled deep-bore tunnel. “The level of care that the SEEC gave to this [...]

Tunnel Proponents Fight to Politicize Referendum 1 Explanatory Statement

SEATTLE – Friday morning, Protect Seattle Now will defend Referendum 1’s Explanatory Statement against further politicization by tunnel proponents, in a hearing at the Seattle Ethics and Election Commission offices. Superior Court Judge Laura Gene Middaugh ruled that the decision at the heart of the referendum is “whether or not the city shall choose the [...]

Superior Court Judge Expresses “Grave Concerns” About Cost Overrun Law

SEATTLE – A King County Superior Court judge has expressed “grave concerns” about the law that caps state funds for the deep-bore tunnel and leaves Seattle taxpayers on the hook for cost overruns. According to a newly released audio-recording of a court hearing, Judge Laura Gene Middaugh warned that the cost-overruns law is an issue [...]

All of This Has Happened Before (Part 1)

Let’s not let it happen again. At least two other cities have undergone infrastructure megaprojects that involved moving a highway underground, and both present a much starker reality than most of the City Council or the Governor would like to admit. In both cases, whether or not the project helped more than it hurt is [...]

Protect Seattle Now Hires Campaign Manager, Field Director

Protect Seattle Now Hires Campaign Manager, Field Director SEATTLE — Monday, Protect Seattle Now hired two staff members to manage the campaign to Reject Referendum 1. Campaign Manager Esther Handy joins the campaign after several years working as a policy analyst for local government. She is taking a leave of absence from her present position as [...]