Editor:

Washington’s infrastructure is in dire shape.  The Department of Transportation has said that Washington’s highways are in the “early stages of failure,” ferries are outdated and subject to frequent breakdowns, stranding travelers for hours, and there is an anticipated $900 million annual shortfall by the 2027-2029 biennium, due to a lack of federal funding.

Meanwhile, projections show that nearly $4 billion in revenue would be generated through 2029 under the Climate Commitment Act’s “cap and invest” system. This system measures greenhouse gas pollution emitted by industry and charges penalties accordingly. Revenue from the CCA would help cover modernization and electrification of our ferry fleet, improvements to our state highways, and would help keep public transit running smoothly across the Evergreen State.

Ballot initiative 2117 would repeal Washington’s Cap and Invest program and would therefore make our transportation systems dirtier, less safe and economically regressive. Instead of electrifying our ferries, we would have to rely on our current aging, unreliable, and dirty diesel fleet.  The gas tax would have to go up. Instead of having wealthy corporations improve our roads, individuals already paying the fourth-highest gas tax in America would be forced to fund such improvements.

Any way you slice it, poor and middle-class Washingtonians would pay for infrastructure upkeep, while others would line their own pockets.  It is past time for everyone to pay their fair share and for ordinary Washingtonians to get financial relief. Vote no on I-2117.

Elliot Hazzard
Edmonds