You knew it was coming, right?
I mean, come on: this one was about as obvious as the Cougars ending up near the bottom of the pack this football season.
It was, simply put, inevitable.
Yes, I’m talking about Mayor Tim Leavitt’s concession this week that if we’re going to have a new bridge over the Columbia River, there are going to be tolls.
Of course, this wouldn’t be quite the big deal that it is today if the mayor didn’t run his campaign primarily on this issue. And what, exactly, was his stand on this issue?
No tolls.
Most people today would tell you it was this “no tolls” stand that swung the election to Leavitt, beating longtime Mayor Royce Pollard.
Both candidates felt a new bridge was needed but Pollard said the bridge couldn’t be built without tolls. Leavitt disagreed.
Bada bing, bada boom. Leavitt is swept into office, and Pollard is, ah, consulting.
If we were in … the Twilight Zone
So a few months go by, the mayor’s chair is barely warm with a new backside, and yet another bada bing, bada boom: Leavitt says we need tolls, after all.
To weigh in on Leavitt’s change of heart, click here
OK, I’m not quite as hard on the mayor as some might be over this switcheroo. I appreciate when someone sees the light and has the courage to change course.
I just wish it had come before the election.
And all of this reminded me of a column I wrote nine months ago, before the election.
I wondered, in that earlier Oct. 17 column, if maybe Leavitt was living in the “Twilight Zone.”
“Maybe Tim misspoke. Maybe he meant to say the bridge could be built without ‘tools.’ That’s the ticket. This could be possible in the ‘Twilight Zone,’ you see,” I wrote.
In that same column, I asked him what the chances were that the bridge could be built without tolls.
His answer? Seventy-five percent!
(Maybe we should leave the percentages to the Vegas oddsmakers.)
I tracked the mayor down this week to ask him about all of this.
I asked — looking back on this entire toll issue — if he would have done anything differently in his campaign for mayor.
“As for hindsight? I wouldn’t change a thing. I promised the voters that I would fight against tolls and fight for equity. I am losing the fight against tolls, but I will continue to fight for equity.
“My predecessor was ready to throw our community to the wolves, but at least I’ve been trying.
“And now, seeing that I cannot win this battle, I am taking the course that I feel will best serve the people of Vancouver.”
The mayor went on to say:
“I believe in this project and know it is the right course to rebuild this critical infrastructure for the future economic prosperity and job growth in our region. I’m not in this job to be a lifelong politician, nor to make routine popular decisions.
“Was I too ideal in thinking I could shift decision makers away from tolls? Maybe so.”
In the end, he came to the right decision: If you believe in this new bridge, you must believe in tolls.
Maybe some tools, as well.
Bonus outtake not seen in the Columbian print version
Speaking of the bridge, a few days after Leavitt changed his mind about tolls, U.S. Senator Patty Murray announced that $42 million in federal funding was being steered to our area to support preliminary work for this project. The money would support work on the environmental impact statement, preliminary engineering, start of final design and other steps that will help move the project toward construction.
I wondered if the two things were connected in any way. Even if they were, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. I was just curious. I asked Murray if she was aware that Leavitt had changed his stance on bridge tolls?
“I was aware of some movement,” she said.
Murray did say the more our area is on the same page — relative to this bridge project — the better the chances are of federal funding being allocated for it. Murray has said in the past the divergent views on this project make it more difficult to secure funding.
Leavitt added that he’s not aware of any connection with his now supporting tolls and the just-announced $42 million federal funding.
“I have not had conversations with Senator Murray or her office about local financing.”
Leavitt went on to expand on his views on tolls.
“As I mentioned to you (earlier) I’ve been battling the issue of tolls for nearly two years now and lobbying for other means of financing that are less burdensome to Vancouver commuters. But nobody else at the final decision-making level is interested in even talking about other local means of financing.
“In conversations with others, it has become painfully clear to me that neither the states nor the feds are able to pony up enough money to pay for the entirety of the needed improvements, with or without light rail.
“Please understand that all of this conversation is occurring under the context of my personal political efforts. Neither the Vancouver City Council nor the C-Tran Board of Directors has yet to discuss the details of the Columbia River Crossing progress.”
Lou Brancaccio is The Columbian’s editor. Reach him at 360-735-4505 or lou.brancaccio@columbian.com.
