Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler and Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt met last week to bury the hatchet — but signs say there may still be some of the blade sticking up.
The pair met Thursday in Vancouver for a one-on-one talk, Leavitt said.
“I felt it was time and it was appropriate to sit down face to face with our congresswoman and discuss details of the Columbia River Crossing, look for common ground and work to bury the hatchet on previous public interactions and correspondence,” Leavitt, 41, said.
Leavitt and Herrera Beutler, 33, have sparred publicly over the CRC, exchanging letters calling each other’s motivations into question. Herrera Beutler has called for an immediate vote in the entire service district on a C-Tran sales tax increase for light rail and bus rapid transit. Leavitt has urged the board to take its time to ensure members have all the information they need before going to voters.
Leavitt also had sharp words about the freshman Republican’s first term as he pondered a run at her seat — after just two years into his first term. Herrera Beutler responded in a story about his potential run that “zero percent of her time is spent thinking about potential political opponents.”
