STB Endorsements: 2024 General Election

Ballots are being delivered for this year's General Election and are due on November 5. On behalf of the Blog, the Seattle Transit Blog Elections Committee recommends the following:

Ballot Measures

• No on I-2066
• No on I-2109
• No on I-2117
• Yes on Seattle Proposition 1, Transportation Levy

Candidate Elections

• Seattle City Council Position 8: Alexis Mercedes Rinck

All Other Elections

• No Endorsement

Election Review

The STB Elections Committee considered many initiatives, ballot measures, and candidate elections on the ballot for the greater Seattle area, but ultimately chose to limit endorsements to a handful of races. A summary of our review and resulting recommendation for selected elections is provided below.

I-2066

Initiative Measure No. 2066 would reverse progress made on reducing fossil fuel use in Washington, specifically regarding the use of natural gas. In 2020, use of natural gas (also known as fossil gas") in Seattle produced approximately 1.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) greenhouse gases (GHG), representing about one-third of Seattle's total CO2e GHG emissions that year; reducing the use of fossil gas in residential, commercial, and industrial use is a critical facet of the State's overall goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 95% by 2050.

I-2066 would require utility companies to maintain expensive fossil gas infrastructure and provide natural gas service at rates that are not cost-prohibitive", even as fossil gas use declines across the state. This would unnaturally burden 100%-electric customers with the costs to maintain an increasingly niche and increasingly expensive service which is also harmful to global climate.

One important benefit of good public transit and walkable land use is reduced reliance on fossil fuels for energy and transportation; I-2066 is in direct opposition to these goals.

Vote No on I-2066.

I-2109

Initiative Measure No. 2109 would repeal the Washington capital gains tax which went into effect in 2022. The capital gains tax is a 7% tax on the sale or exchange of long-term capital assets including stocks, bonds, and tangible assets, and in 2023, the tax did not apply to the first $262,000 of capital gains (adjusted for inflation from 2022's initial floor of $250,000). The tax is meant to provide at least $500 million for schools, early learning, and child care programs; excess revenues are deposited into a fund for school construction and renovations. In 2023, the tax resulted in $786M in revenue for the state, and is one of the few taxes which does not place an undue burden

Repeal of the capital gains tax would put a significant hole in the State's budget and reverse progress on reducing the regressive nature of the State's tax structure.

Vote No on I-2109.

I-2117

Initiative Measure No. 2117 would defund the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) passed in 2021 by prohibiting any carbon tax credit trading at the State level, and would repeal the majority of the Climate Commitment Act itself. Carbon credits are an established method of regulating carbon emission and obtaining funding for climate-friendly goals like increasing active transportation, public transportation, electrification, clean energy, carbon sequestration, and more.

The carbon credits and the CCA are providing significant funding for public transportation, road safety projects for walking and rolling, and environmental projects. Like I-2066, this initiative would reverse major progress on reducing carbon emissions in the State and would defund many important programs state-wide.

Vote No on I-2117.

Seattle: Proposition 1, the Transportation Levy

Seattle residents will vote on a renewal and expansion of the Transportation Levy which provides funding to the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to plan, design, and complete numerous transportation projects across the City. For the past 18 years, the City has relied on a supplemental property tax to fund most of SDOT's major projects including sidewalk repair, road safety projects, and transit improvements like RapidRide lines, multimodal corridors, and spot improvements.

This year's Transportation Levy, which will raise $1.55 billion over eight years despite advocates strongly supporting a larger amount, will fund numerous transit- and safety-oriented projects across the city. With the Levy to Move Seattle expiring at the end of the year, rejection of the Transportation Levy would practically halt progress on street, sidewalk, and and transit improvements necessary to make Seattle accessible to all.

Vote Yes on Proposition 1.

Seattle: City Council Position 8

Position 8 is one of two seats on Seattle's nine-seat City Council meant to represent the entire city as opposed to one of its seven districts. Teresa Mosqueda vacated Position 8 last year when she won election to the King County Council; the remaining City Councilmembers then selected former District 2 candidate Tanya Woo, who lost to Tammy Morales, to fill Position 8 at the behest of business interests who felt they earned" a sweep of the council. While there's much to say about Tanya Woo's tenure on the Council, there's more to say in support of Alexis Mercedes Rinck.

Rinck is a renter and primarily takes transit to get around as she doesn't own a car. She served as the director of subregional planning and equitable engagement at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, and is now an Assistant Direct of Policy Planning and State Operations at the University of Washington. She is familiar with politics, policy, bureaucracy, and coalition-building, and it shows during interviews and in debate. She wants to use progressive revenue to make major investments in transit and housing, and she wants to do it now.

Vote Alexis Mercedes Rinck for Seattle City Council Position 8.

Other Elections

There are many other elections on the ballot, including ballot measures and candidates for several Federal positions (most notably the Presidency), Washington state-wide positions (most notably the Governor), and local officials across the coverage area of the Blog. Although the STB Elections Committee has chosen not to directly endorse any candidates for these races, we encourage voters to review endorsements from other outlets supportive of public transit and walkable land use.

The Seattle Transit Blog Elections Committee consists of Ross Bleakney, Nathan Dickey, Sherwin Lee, and Martin Pagel.