By: The Seattle Times Editorial Board
The Seattle Times
June 13, 2006
Two unlikely teammates, former Democratic Gov. Gary Locke and John Carlson, a conservative radio host, are joining together to lead the November 2007 campaign for a regional transportation package.
That's right, November 2007, which is 17 months away. The recruitment of these two, high-profile campaign co-chairmen many months in advance says a lot about the challenge facing the multibillion-dollar package of road and transit improvements. Such organizing usually occurs five or six months before an election.
Naming Locke and Carlson, gubernatorial campaign opponents in 2000, shows how organized the effort will be in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties and also reflects anticipated difficulty of selling the package.
Securing support for a regional package is more challenging because Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is loading the ballot this year with other expensive requests for transportation funds.
Inclusion of Carlson as a campaign co-chairman signals it's OK for Republicans and the anti-tax crowd to support the plan.
Carlson was instrumental in last year's unsuccessful effort to roll back a gas-tax increase that pays for some of the same projects likely to be included in the regional bill, such as replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Highway 520.
Jessyn Schor, executive director of Transportation Choices, a pro-transit group, is another co-chairperson who will help the campaign reach transit-oriented voters.
The regional package has been talked about, worried about, designed and redesigned so that it needs broad support and lots of lead time for public education.
