Tim Leavitt: Vancouver's Omniscient Mayor

Its been nearly three weeks now since Vancouver's Mayor, Tim Leavitt, was a no-show at Bridging The Gaps, an opportunity for voters to be enlightened and to be heard on the topic of the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project … the biggest public works undertaking in the history of the community. Once again, through his absence, Mayor Leavitt showed his unwillingness to listen and respond to the will of the people on this matter. I’ve been disappointed with this ongoing attitude on Leavitt’s part and frankly, I’ve been a bit baffled by it. However, coming away from Bridging The Gaps, I sensed that I was beginning to gain some of the understanding I’d been lacking in this regard. Based on information presented at this event, it appears that there has been little oversight of the CRC Project and that many basic accountability practices have not been followed. That certainly seems like it could hold the key to Mayor Leavitt’s baffling attitude. And, it seemed to be a likely reason why Leavitt and other elected officials who have been supporting the CRC Project avoided attending Bridging The Gaps.

Of course, I hope that elected officials who have been supporting the CRC Project aren’t doing so as a result of corruption. This group has surely exhibited some puzzling behavior though. None more so than that of Tim Leavitt who, when running for Mayor, was opposed to a CRC Project funded by tolls and once he was elected, bought into the CRC Project whole-hog, including tolling. But, the jury is still out as to the reasons behind the puzzling behavior of CRC Project supporters. Perhaps more light will be shed on this topic at the next Bridging The Gaps event being held in conjunction with AFP Washington County (OR) in Beaverton on Monday, June 27th. Details from the announcement I received about this meeting are:

Mon. 6/27, 6-8pm, Beaverton Resource Center - 12500 SW Allen Blvd. - Beaverton, OR: "Bridging the Gaps" Vancouver Forensic Accountant Tiffany Couch, working with legislators in WA & OR, examines where the 130-150 MILLION in taxpayer dollars for the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) has gone, who it has gone to, and for what. Where is the transparency? What does the CRC office have to show for it? A bridge that won't work? Should the brakes be put on this project? Come listen to Tiffany and find out what has been hidden from you.

Although the jury is still out regarding Mayor Leavitt and other CRC Project supporters, in terms of their relationship to the CRC Project’s questionable accounting practices, there is one characteristic of this group that is becoming absolutely clear … they, obviously, believe that they know what is best for their constituency regardless of what the constituency sees as being best for itself. One good indication of this was a pretty sophomoric campaign that Mayor Leavitt, Vancouver City Councilmember Bart Hansen and others were running just prior to the initial Bridging The Gaps event. Basically, this campaign exploited the fact that the Columbia River was at flood-stage and that was necessitating more frequent bridge-lifts of the current I-5 Columbia Crossing. Example Comments from this Facebook campaign included:

Timothy D Leavitt

Well....2:20pm on Tuesday. Traffic on I-5 at a standstill. Choke point? Columbia River Crossing. Wonder how many Moms & Dads are waiting to see their families?!?

Bart Hansen

Guess what? Another bridge lift going on right now. Let's hope it doesn't back up past 39 street this time.

Maybe I'm just an over-sensitive guy or maybe I’m being presumptuous but this seemed like exploitation aimed at pushing forward a $10 Billion boondoggle that I and countless others, are opposed to. Of course, this added to my disappointment with Mayor Leavitt and I hoped to be able to address this with him or City Councilmember Hansen at the initial Bridging The Gaps event. My hope was to get their response to my following comments:- Stop with this.

- Stop the spewing of your related talking points.

- Stop opposing votes on this.

- Instead, do all you can to see that the people are heard.

- Hear what they want with this and what they want to spend on it.

- Then, go do your best to implement THAT plan.

Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to make my comments to Mayor Leavitt and to get his response. As is evidenced by the photo that accompanies this article, he was unwilling to invest his time on behalf of our community by attending Bridging The Gaps. And the same can be said for Bart Hansen. With that in mind, I want to draw your attention to the woman in the photo who is standing next to Mayor Leavitt’s empty seat. Her name is Josephine Wentzel. Josephine is running for Vancouver City Council, in opposition to Bart Hansen. She wasn’t just present at Bridging The Gaps, she was instrumental in this event taking place. If you’re looking for a candidate who will give their all to assure that the people of Vancouver are truly represented on their City Council and with crucial projects, like the CRC, you should give Josephine your most serious consideration.

Although I never got to address Mayor Leavitt with my views on his juvenile Facebook campaign, not long after the initial Bridging The Gaps event, this matter was dealt with and on a much higher level. In a letter to the C-Tran Board of Directors, Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler stated that she can’t help find federal funding for the CRC Project without a district-wide vote on a proposed sales tax increase to fund light rail. Her stated preference was to see a vote on this in November, or in a February 2012 special election. In further comments, the Congresswoman indicated she feels the C-Tran vote will provide an “accurate gauge” of what Southwest Washington wants and she stated, “My whole focus is on if the people who are going to be asked to pay for the bridge agree with what we’re doing.” Mayor Leavitt’s position on this seemed diametrically opposed to that of U.S. Representative Herrera Beutler. Instead of looking to a vote, as “an ‘accurate gauge’ of what Southwest Washington wants”, Leavitt prefers to look to “multiple local agencies in Oregon and Washington” as “a good barometer”. Specifically addressing Herrera Beutler’s stated position, Leavitt said, “I’m at a loss at this point in understanding why the Congresswoman appears to be saying she doesn’t respect the locally elected officials.” Countering Mayor Leavitt’s comments, Rep. Herrera Beutler said that if local officials are positive there is support for the project, then they should hold a vote quickly, so funding is clearly in place. “Let’s not be afraid of finding out what people want,” she said.

This exchange between Mayor Leavitt and Congresswoman Herrera Beutler most clearly illustrates what I stated earlier – i.e. One characteristic that has become absolutely clear about Leavitt and other CRC Project supporters is that they, obviously, believe they know what is best for their constituency regardless of what the constituency sees as being best for itself. According to a recent interview of Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna, the CRC Project is being driven by four key individuals: the Governors of Oregon and Washington as well as the Mayors of Portland and Vancouver. Those of us living in Southwest Washington must look to the Mayor of Vancouver and the Vancouver City Council to champion our cause in this regard. Our best course of action is to keep speaking up to those who presently hold those offices and if they continue not listening, vote in candidates who will


Comments

Columbia River Crossing


Submitted by Rab L Rouser (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-23 20:17.

0

+-It seems likely to me that much of the $15 or so million dollars that cannot be accounted for has found its way into somebodys pockets.

I suspect that Mayor Leavitt has changed his tune from NO TOLLS to SPEND AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE because some of those funds are coming his way.

Since he was elected primarily on a NO TOLLS platform does he not owe his constituents a plausible explanation for his change-of-heart on this issue?

If only we could have laws that bind politicians to their campaign promises.

CRC Light Rail Crossing Project: Rickshaws Make Better Sense

Saturday, June 4, 2011, was sunny, with temps in the upper 80s in Vancouver, WA … our first 80 degree day since October 6, 2010. In spite of that, a dedicated group of community-minded Vancouver citizens willingly sacrificed four to five hours of that precious time to attend Bridging The Gaps, an opportunity to be enlightened and to be heard on the topic of the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project … the biggest public works undertaking in the history of the community.

Sadly, Vancouver’s Mayor, Tim Leavitt and the majority of elected officials invited to attend Bridging The Gaps, didn’t join their constituents at this meeting. In Mayor Leavitt’s case, I knew that he had posted an update on Facebook about the day’s great weather and stating that he would be “cruising around town, enjoying our beautiful open spaces and trails.” My initial thought on this was, “How sad, when a group of folks Leavitt is sworn to represent are willing to sacrifice a big chunk of their first summer-like day for the sake of the community, their Mayor is unwilling to do likewise.” I was very disappointed to see Mayor Leavitt use this “Sunny Day Excuse” as his latest rationale for not hearing and responding to the will of the people. Going into Saturday’s event, I continued to wonder about this ongoing attitude on Leavitt’s part and frankly, I was baffled by it. Coming out of this meeting, however, I thought I was finally beginning to understand. Based on the information presented at Bridging The Gaps, I don’t think it was the sunlight that led Mayor Leavitt and other elected officials to remain outside. The expert presentations at Bridging The Gaps were very revealing. This included a number of stunning questions related to the accountability of the CRC Light Rail Crossing Project. I believe it was this revealing light of truth that frightened the delinquent elected officials away from Saturday’s meeting.

Before going on, I want to encourage you to view the recorded presentations from Bridging The Gaps at http://couv.com/. According to COUV.COM, these will be available late Monday, June 6th. Please check them out and come to your own conclusions. Although I don’t intend to provide a “blow by blow” report on Bridging The Gaps, I do want to draw your attention to some of the presentation points that hit home the hardest with me.

For me, the most revealing presentation was made by Tiffany Couch, Founder of Acuity Group, a forensic accounting firm. Ms. Couch was hired by local businessman David Madore, the host and sponsor of Bridging The Gaps, to help him try to make sense of a blizzard of documents he received from the CRC Light Rail Crossing Project, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. Based on the review of these documents and details of related meetings with CRC officials, it appears that there has been little oversight of this project and that many basic accountability practices have not been followed.

CRC is unable to produce several essential accounting reports. Here are their replies regarding the reports requested:

Total CRC Funding, By Source – NO REPLY.

Total CRC Expenditures – PARTIAL REPLY.

Project Deliverables – “DOES NOT EXIST”.

Financial Statements – “DOES NOT EXIST”.

Benchmark Costs of Newly Built Overpasses – NO REPLY.

Master Vendor List – NO REPLY.

Audit Reports – “NO AUDITS PERFORMED”.

- WSDOT’s report of expenditures for CRC:

Total $108 Million.

$15 Million not coded to a vendor name.

$38 Million not coded with a specific purpose (e.g. rent expense, engineering expense, etc.)

$77 Million has gone to a single vendor - David Evans and Associates.

If you’re astonished by this, I’m with you. Thankfully, we’re not alone. One of the few elected officials in attendance was State Representative Ed Orcutt (WA-18). His response to this presentation was that he will be calling the State Auditor on this and possibly, the State Attorney General.

When you check out the Bridging The Gaps videos at http://couv.com/, you’ll find more revealing information from:

- John Charles, President and CEO of Cascade Policy Institute – On the CRC, as a Light Rail Project, not a Bridge Project.

- Joe Cortright, President and Principal Economist of Impresa – On the $10 Billion price tag for this project plus its inaccurate forecasting and other financial risks.

- Paul Guppy, Vice President for Research of Washington Policy Center – On how this project serves the interests of the government agencies involved but not the interests of citizen mobility.

Furthermore, when you check out the Bridging The Gaps videos at http://couv.com/, you’ll discover that proposals for a 3rd and a 4th bridge were presented. These bridges could be included in an alternative plan that’s vastly superior to the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project. And, this stands as proof-positive that the folks behind Bridging The Gaps aren’t anti-bridge. They are just opposed to the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project.

Although I’ve lamented the lack of attendance of elected officials at this event, I do want to acknowledge and express my appreciation for those who did attend. As mentioned above, State Representative Ed Orcutt (WA-18) was present. He is encouraging a county-wide vote on the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project. Beyond his comment in response to Tiffany Couch’s presentation, the concerns he expressed about the CRC included:

- Having just two bridges makes no sense.

- The tolling plan for the proposed project is disproportionate for Washington residents.

- Light Rail just takes up space.

The following two photos are a great illustration of this last comment by Orcutt:



The first photo depicts I-84 during the morning commute. You’ll note the area to the right of the road that is taken up by The MAX, Portland’s Light Rail. That area was originally set aside for freeway lane expansion. Now, there is nowhere left to expand the freeway and you’ll note that there isn’t a MAX train anywhere in sight.



The second photo shows where I-84 feeds into I-205, during the afternoon commute. If you look at the feeder roads, you’ll note that traffic is backed up beyond sight. And, you’ll note the area in the middle of I-205 that is taken up by The MAX. Here too, this is space that was originally allocated for freeway lane expansion. Now, here too, there is nowhere left to expand the freeway and, again, there isn’t a MAX train anywhere in sight.

In addition to Ed Orcutt, State Representative Paul Harris (WA-17) and Tom Mielke, Chairman, Board of Clark County (WA) Commissioners, were in attendance. Thankfully, the citizens of our community have been able to rely on these public servants to join us in speaking out with their concerns on the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project.

In closing, I want to get behind two admonitions given at Bridging The Gaps:

One admonition came from David Madore, the event’s host and sponsor. He said, on this topic, it is time (for you) to move from Spectator to Participant. And he said, if you don’t, this (tyrannical boondoggle) will become a reality. I believe he is dead right.

The other admonition came from George Golden, who gave the Benediction at the outset of Bridging The Gaps. He said, accomplishing good things requires honesty and courage. Especially considering the information presented by Tiffany Couch, I don’t believe we can rely on those supporting the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project for honesty. And while we may sometimes be baffled by their seemingly bold actions, those actions can’t be called courageous. When looking for honesty and courage, we won’t find it if we don’t see it when we look in the mirror. Find yours and bring it to the next meeting. See ya there!


Comments

I suspect that a portion of


Submitted by Rab L Rouser (not verified) on Mon, 2011-06-06 15:42.

+1

+-I suspect that a portion of the unaccounted for money has found it's way into the pockets of the City Council and especially Mayor (No Tolls) Leavitt.



He sure changed his tune in a hurry after weaseling his way into the Mayors office.

The Very Revealing Light Of A Sunny Day In Vancouver, WA

Saturday, June 4, 2011, was sunny, with temps in the upper 80s in Vancouver, WA … our first 80 degree day since October 6, 2010. In spite of that, a dedicated group of community-minded Vancouver citizens willingly sacrificed four to five hours of that precious time to attend Bridging The Gaps, an opportunity to be enlightened and to be heard on the topic of the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project … the biggest public works undertaking in the history of the community.

Sadly, Vancouver’s Mayor, Tim Leavitt and the majority of elected officials invited to attend Bridging The Gaps, didn’t join their constituents at this meeting. In Mayor Leavitt’s case, I knew that he had posted an update on Facebook about the day’s great weather and stating that he would be “cruising around town, enjoying our beautiful open spaces and trails.” My initial thought on this was, “How sad, when a group of folks Leavitt is sworn to represent are willing to sacrifice a big chunk of their first summer-like day for the sake of the community, their Mayor is unwilling to do likewise.” I was very disappointed to see Mayor Leavitt use this “Sunny Day Excuse” as his latest rationale for not hearing and responding to the will of the people. Going into Saturday’s event, I continued to wonder about this ongoing attitude on Leavitt’s part and frankly, I was baffled by it. Coming out of this meeting, however, I thought I was finally beginning to understand. Based on the information presented at Bridging The Gaps, I don’t think it was the sunlight that led Mayor Leavitt and other elected officials to remain outside. The expert presentations at Bridging The Gaps were very revealing. This included a number of stunning questions related to the accountability of the CRC Light Rail Crossing Project. I believe it was this revealing light of truth that frightened the delinquent elected officials away from Saturday’s meeting.

Before going on, I want to encourage you to view the recorded presentations from Bridging The Gaps at http://couv.com/. According to COUV.COM, these will be available late Monday, June 6th. Please check them out and come to your own conclusions. Although I don’t intend to provide a “blow by blow” report on Bridging The Gaps, I do want to draw your attention to some of the presentation points that hit home the hardest with me.

For me, the most revealing presentation was made by Tiffany Couch, Founder of Acuity Group, a forensic accounting firm. Ms. Couch was hired by local businessman David Madore, the host and sponsor of Bridging The Gaps, to help him try to make sense of a blizzard of documents he received from the CRC Light Rail Crossing Project, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. Based on the review of these documents and details of related meetings with CRC officials, it appears that there has been little oversight of this project and that many basic accountability practices have not been followed. These include:

- CRC is unable to produce several essential accounting reports. Here are their replies regarding the reports requested:

o Total CRC Funding, By Source – NO REPLY.

o Total CRC Expenditures – PARTIAL REPLY.

o Project Deliverables – “DOES NOT EXIST”.

o Financial Statements – “DOES NOT EXIST”.

o Benchmark Costs of Newly Built Overpasses – NO REPLY.

o Master Vendor List – NO REPLY.

o Audit Reports – “NO AUDITS PERFORMED”.


- WSDOT’s report of expenditures for CRC:

o Total $108 Million.

o $15 Million not coded to a vendor name.

o $38 Million not coded with a specific purpose (e.g. rent expense, engineering expense, etc.)

o $77 Million has gone to a single vendor - David Evans and Associates.

If you’re astonished by this, I’m with you. Thankfully, we’re not alone. One of the few elected officials in attendance was State Representative Ed Orcutt (WA-18). His response to this presentation was that he will be calling the State Auditor on this and possibly, the State Attorney General.

When you check out the Bridging The Gaps videos at http://couv.com/, you’ll find more revealing information from:

- John Charles, President and CEO of Cascade Policy Institute – On the CRC, as a Light Rail Project, not a Bridge Project.

- Joe Cortright, President and Principal Economist of Impresa – On the $10 Billion price tag for this project plus its inaccurate forecasting and other financial risks.

- Paul Guppy, Vice President for Research of Washington Policy Center – On how this project serves the interests of the government agencies involved but not the interests of citizen mobility.

Furthermore, when you check out the Bridging The Gaps videos at http://couv.com/, you’ll discover that proposals for a 3rd and a 4th bridge were presented. These bridges could be included in an alternative plan that’s vastly superior to the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project. And, this stands as proof-positive that the folks behind Bridging The Gaps aren’t anti-bridge. They are just opposed to the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project.

Although I’ve lamented the lack of attendance of elected officials at this event, I do want to acknowledge and express my appreciation for those who did attend. As mentioned above, State Representative Ed Orcutt (WA-18) was present. He is encouraging a county-wide vote on the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project. Beyond his comment in response to Tiffany Couch’s presentation, the concerns he expressed about the CRC included:

- Having just two bridges makes no sense.

- The tolling plan for the proposed project is disproportionate for Washington residents.

- Light Rail just takes up space.

The following two photos are a great illustration of this last comment by Orcutt:

The first photo depicts I-84 during the morning commute. You’ll note the area to the right of the road that is taken up by The MAX, Portland’s Light Rail. That area was originally set aside for freeway lane expansion. Now, there is nowhere left to expand the freeway and you’ll note that there isn’t a MAX train anywhere in sight.

The second photo shows where I-84 feeds into I-205, during the afternoon commute. If you look at the feeder roads, you’ll note that traffic is backed up beyond sight. And, you’ll note the area in the middle of I-205 that is taken up by The MAX. Here too, this is space that was originally allocated for freeway lane expansion. Now, here too, there is nowhere left to expand the freeway and, again, there isn’t a MAX train anywhere in sight.

In addition to Ed Orcutt, State Representative Paul Harris (WA-17) and Tom Mielke, Chairman, Board of Clark County (WA) Commissioners, were in attendance. Thankfully, the citizens of our community have been able to rely on these public servants to join us in speaking out with their concerns on the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project.

In closing, I want to get behind two admonitions given at Bridging The Gaps:

One admonition came from David Madore, the event’s host and sponsor. He said, on this topic, it is time (for you) to move from Spectator to Participant. And he said, if you don’t, this (tyrannical boondoggle) will become a reality. I believe he is dead right.

The other admonition came from George Golden, who gave the Benediction at the outset of Bridging The Gaps. He said, accomplishing good things requires honesty and courage. Especially considering the information presented by Tiffany Couch, I don’t believe we can rely on those supporting the proposed CRC Light Rail Crossing Project for honesty. And while we may sometimes be baffled by their seemingly bold actions, those actions can’t be called courageous. When looking for honesty and courage, we won’t find it if we don’t see it when we look in the mirror. Find yours and bring it to the next meeting. See ya there!

The Sky-High CRC Light Rail Crossing Project - A Most-Important Public Forum

The Portland/Vancouver community is being given a marvelous opportunity to be enlightened and to be heard on the topic of the proposed CRC Project … the biggest public works undertaking in the history of the community. This event is entitled Bridging The Gaps. It’s scheduled for Saturday, June 4th, from 1pm to 3:30pm, at the LifePoint Church Campus – 305 NE 192nd Avenue – Vancouver, WA 98607.

The key elements of the agenda for Bridging The Gaps are:

- Expert presentations on the proposed CRC Project, Light Rail and practical alternatives.*

- Elected officials, presently involved with the proposed CRC Project, have been invited to discuss the project and to debate the issues.*

* Event organizers are encouraging citizen participation and questions throughout the agenda. To assure ample time for this, a Community Interaction time is being made available following the formal agenda, from 3:30pm to 4:30pm.

The proposed CRC Project is for a single bridge, replacing the current I-5 Bridge across the Columbia River, connecting Northwest Portland and Southwest Vancouver. The embedded YouTube video makes it apparent that there are folks in the community who view the cost of this scheme as outrageously sky-high. Considering that this cost is over 10 times as much as the cost of the I-205 Bridge that connects Northeast Portland with Southeast Vancouver and that many in the community believe that two additional bridges make more sense than one replacement bridge, the value of the opportunity that Bridging The Gaps offers seems pretty obvious.

Specific Bridging The Gaps agenda topics include:

Transportation Priorities / New Bridges

Spending Accountability / Funding / Oversight

Citizen input / Vote / Transparency

Confirmed expert panelists are:

Joe Cortright, President and Principal Economist for Impresa, a consulting firm specializing in regional economic analysis, innovation and industry clusters. Regarding the proposed CRC Project, Cortright has said, “The region needs to take a closer look at this mammoth project which would require us to go deeply into debt, tie up the region's limited financial resources for decades, and … there is little evidence to suggest that the bridge will achieve its primary purpose.”

John Charles, President and CEO of Cascade Policy Institute, a public policy research and educational organization that focuses on state and local issues in Oregon. Charles’ summary on the proposed CRC Project is, “Among the hundreds of projects we’ve seen, the current CRC proposal stands out as a doozy, throwing staggering amounts of money at a wasteful, ineffective plan.”

Paul Guppy, Vice President for Research of Washington Policy Center, an independent, non-profit, non-partisan think tank that promotes sound public policy based on free-market solutions.

Tiffany Couch, Founder of Acuity Group, a forensic accounting firm.

Elected officials invited to participate as panelists include:

Jaime Herrera Beutler – U.S. Representative (WA-03)

Peter DeFazio – U.S. Representative (OR-04)

Tim Leavitt – Mayor, City of Vancouver, WA

Sam Adams – Mayor, City of Portland, OR

Tom Mielke – Chairman, Board of Clark County (WA) Commissioners

The real VIPs are:

Not just Very Important Participants, in fact the Most Important Participants are the citizens of the Portland/Vancouver community. Bridging The Gaps can only be of worth, if YOU show up. Please do.

“Is Anyone Listening?” Sessions on Columbia River Crossing Boondoggle

During the past month, several “Listening Sessions” have been held in the greater Portland/Vancouver area regarding the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) Project. If you’re not familiar with the CRC, it’s a scheme to replace the I-5 Bridge that connects Portland, OR with Vancouver, WA. Its current estimated price tag is $3.6 Billion, which easily makes it the largest public works project in the history of this part of the country.


The first of these “Listening Sessions” was one I announced in a previous article, entitled Vancouver Council’s Rush to Build “The Bridge of the Tyrants” . This was a U.S. House Transportation Committee “Listening Session” being held, in part, as the result of encouragement from U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler. Although I was very pleased and encouraged to announce this meeting, I also experienced some significant related frustration because my travel schedule meant that I wouldn’t be able to attend. According to The Columbian’s account of this meeting , it seems that I wasn’t the only one who experienced frustration related to this meeting. I’m confident that Congresswoman Herrera Beutler’s intentions for this meeting, as a “Listening Session” were genuine. Apparently Committee Chairman, U.S. Rep. Mica, had something else in mind, though. The Columbian reported that Mica “wielded his gavel — and his wit — to cut short testimony on the bridge project”. This report went on to note that less than half of the people who came, “(hoping) to send a message to Congress, pro or con, about the Columbia River Crossing were lucky enough to get seats inside the small community room at the Clark Public Utilities building” and that “only five, chosen by lot, got to ask questions at the session’s end.”

Next came two “Listening Sessions” conducted by the CRC itself. These were held on March 10th. One session was held in Portland during the day and a like session was held in Vancouver in the evening. I attended and testified at, the evening session. Since the observations I would make about this meeting are, generally, the same as comments I’ll make about a more recent meeting, I won’t go into detail about this event. However, I do want to say that, aside from public comments offered regarding the final design of the CRC’s planned bridge, my impression was that all other aspects of this “Listening Session” were just for show. Since it appeared that the CRC was electronically recording this meeting, I’m assuming they will be posting this recording on their Website - http://www.columbiarivercrossing.com/Default.aspx. If so, you can check out the details of this session and judge for yourself.

The most recent “Listening Session” on this topic was conducted by We The People – Vancouver (WTP). This was the first in what WTP intends as a series, saying they are “scheduling meetings where representatives and subject matter experts will be invited from both sides of this project and both sides of the river to listen, speak, and dialogue.” Especially since I’ve been such a vocal proponent with WTP’s Leadership to do this, I’m pleased that they have launched this initiative. The Special Guest invited by WTP for their first “Listening Session” was Vancouver’s Mayor, Tim Leavitt. Here too, since I’ve been such a vocal proponent of Mayor Leavitt doing more to engage with his constituents on this topic, I was especially pleased that he accepted the invitation.

Unlike the previously mentioned CRC “Listening Sessions”, I didn’t get the sense that Mayor Leavitt’s participation at WTP’s event was just for show. However, I can’t say I felt that Mayor Leavitt’s listening, though seemingly genuine, could be categorized as the sort of listening one does, with ready willingness to hear why they should consider adopting the opposing view/s of another. It really seemed more like the sort of listening a person does to better understand another’s view/s in order to respond with as much detail as possible to justify view/s held coming into the dialogue. This was magnified by the demeanor of the two Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) that Mayor Leavitt brought with him to the meeting. Bringing SMEs along was, of course, a wise thing for Mayor Leavitt to do. However, their attitude (particularly with one) seemed condescending and adversarial ... no way to foment an ideal atmosphere for open dialogue. Here again, let me point out that WTP electronically recorded this meeting. I’m told they will be posting this recording on their Website soon - http://www.wepeeps.org/index.html. Please feel free to check out this recording and come to your own conclusions about this meeting.

Regardless of their demeanor, the presence of the SMEs that Mayor Leavitt had join him for the WTP “Listening Session” helped me to start getting a better idea of where the disconnect is between government officials, who seem to be hell-bent on the present CRC scheme and a significant portion of the community, whose attitude is, “This scheme does not map to what we want or need.” And, if I’m right about the source of this disconnect, I’d like to offer some suggestions on steps to take to move in the direction of resolving this disconnect.

As is most often the case, what SMEs present can be “down in the weeds.” Once dialogue is initiated at that level, naturally, it will tend to remain “down in the weeds.” Though I’m not a SME and it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to try to participate in their “down in the weeds” dialogue, listening to it gave me the opportunity to observe that the disconnect on this topic isn’t really at that level. It remains at a much higher level … a level where non-SMEs, like Mayor Leavitt and folks like myself still need to connect before handing the matter over to the SMEs. With that in mind, I thought it could be helpful to take a second look at some of the views Mayor Leavitt expressed at this event and contrast them with my own.

The first views I want to revisit are personal ones. Mayor Leavitt pointed out that he moved to Vancouver in 1980 when his family moved here from Yakima. His primary purpose in bringing this up was to point out that he has found Vancouver “a great place to live” and wanting to maintain that reality is a key to why he “strives to make decisions that are in the best interest of the community.” By contrast, my Wife and I moved to Vancouver more recently … in 2005. However, we did so without having a close friend or family member living here. We chose to move here because we too saw it as “a great place to live” and we want to do what we can to help keep it that way. My point here is that I genuinely believe, at this high level, Mayor Leavitt and I are on the same wavelength.

However, I did notice that Mayor Leavitt’s views and mine began to diverge noticeably when the level of observations dropped down to those specifically related to the CRC Project. To illustrate this, here are a few of Mayor Leavitt’s related views, contrasted with mine:

Leavitt - The I-5 Bridge should have been replaced long ago.

GW - I understand that the present I-5 Bridge has its shortcomings and it won’t always meet the needs of our community. It seems to be meeting today’s needs though. It’s not like you hear reports of parts of the bridge falling off into the Columbia River or that it has anything to do with the present challenges in the very down local economy.

Leavitt – The CRC discussion has been going on for the better part of two decades. There’s been a lot of public outreach on this topic. We’re now in the 11th hour of this project.

GW - How is it that I and a significant number of others in our community have the sense that we haven’t been engaged with on this topic, if the CRC discussion has been going on so long, with “a lot of public outreach”? Why is it that, while making a show of “listening”, elected officials and bureaucrats predominant efforts seem to be aimed at keeping the public from officially expressing their views through elected officials or through voting initiatives? Considering the significance of this, admittedly, important project; shouldn’t this be done before determining that we’re at the “11th hour” and cramming a boondoggle that includes every imaginable bridge-feature down the throat of the public?

Leavitt - Folks on other side of the river won’t allow another bridge beyond the CRC Project.

GW - What?! Oregon is a sovereign State but it’s not a foreign country. If they really believe this sort of extortion is appropriate, in order to force us to have the bridge project they want us to have, wouldn’t it be just as appropriate for WA to install toll booths just for Northbound vehicles with Oregon license plates that want access to WA, Canada and AK?

Leavitt – We need to act now before we lose the Federal money available for this and while President Obama has this project on his radar.

GW – Again, I say “What?!” “The Federal money” comes from us. Why should our taking the time to assure that our money is spent on what we need and want have anything to do with whether or not our money is available to us?

Of course, the contrasting views above do not represent an exhaustive list. But I believe that the items listed are typical of the disconnects between the opposing sides on this topic and I do believe that the overall disconnect that continues to bog down this project remains at this level. With that in mind, here are some ideas on appropriate steps that could be taken, in order to move forward from here:

In my testimony at the CRC “Listening Session”, I stated, “You can’t ‘unscramble’ an egg.” My point with this allegory was that I didn’t expect the CRC to undo the work they’ve already done or to un-spend the money they’ve already spent. However, I did urge them to “stop throwing in more eggs and stop scrambling them” until the public is fully engaged on what they want and what is needed. So, my suggestion for Step #1 here is to simply put the brakes on this project until the above-mentioned disconnect is resolved.

Switching metaphors, instead of trying to “unscramble an egg”, I suggest taking the “peeling back the onion” approach to this project. In other words, deal with this matter, layer by layer, along lines like these:

Use both traditional and new media to educate the interested public on each major issue. Then, using the same tools, determine how that public sees the need, as well as what they want, on each of these issues. Where there seems to be consensus, close the issue and move on.

For issues where predominant consensus isn’t clear, schedule real listening sessions and/or voting initiatives. Here too, when this process produces consensus on an issue, close it and move on.

Using this sort of approach, as Step #2 will eventually allow us to arrive at a real 11th hour, not an artificial one.

I know this seems like an overly simple approach to addressing a major disconnect about a $3.6 Billion project. However, it does appear to me that, somehow along the way, some simple basic high-level understandings were not achieved before the project moved along, getting way “down in the weeds”, to a point where no one seems to see a way out without a result being forced on one side or the other. I, also, recognize that, even if it makes sense to many, it may not be realistic to expect my suggested approach to be taken by all the governmental entities involved. My hope is that this approach will, at least, be adopted by the City of Vancouver, with Mayor Tim Leavitt as its Champion. Even if this ended up meaning that Vancouver was the “lone voice in the wilderness”, with a position on this project that opposed the position of every other governmental entity involved, Tim Leavitt could hold his head high while continuing as Mayor and afterwards, knowing that taking this stand provides the strongest affirmation of his commitment to “(strive) to make decisions that are in the best interest of (our) community.”

Comments

A Bridge too far Removed from Reality


Submitted by Mike M Boyer on Sat, 2011-03-19 11:15.

+3

+-Since Oregon will NOT tolerate a third bridge it must be that our current Interstate bridge will have to be demolished before construction on the Pie-In-The-Sky bridge can begin.







When I build myself a newer and better house I do not demolish my old one. I sell it or rent it out.







The Folly of the Light Rail Mafia never ceases to amaze me.

What I wanted to know and


Submitted by judyinwash on Mon, 2011-03-21 05:50.

0

+-What I wanted to know and didn’t hear – what were the factors that changed between 1999 and 2006 – when light rail was written into their results, but not before. Why WON'T Portland let us build other bridges? Why work JUST on the I-5 bridge?







I heard on the radio yesterday there was a poll taken in Oregon and 60% want the new bridge. Why didn’t they poll Clark County who will be most affected by it?







And what happens when the fiat system (federal reserve notes) are only worth 1 cent on the dollar? Can we get our money back if they can’t finish it?







I'm looking into the possibility of working from home for the company I work for in Portland. I already pay almost $200/month just for parking! I can't afford another $100/month just to travel the bridge!







I'm so angry about this whole thing and NO ONE will listen!