Avoiding McCain II

If, like me, you’re praying for the 2012 Presidential Election to result in Barack Obama being a One-Term President, the good news is that the most recent Gallup Poll shows that the "Republican Candidate" (generic) leads Obama 47% to 39%. The bad news is that when you fill in “generic” with any name from the current field of candidates, polls indicate that Obama holds the lead over (or, at least, is tied with) each of these candidates.


Thankfully, for now, most Republicans seem to be trying to cleave to Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment … “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” … so their relentless knit-picking of each candidate who comes along seems to have waned. Perhaps that is due to the fact that they recognize what has even been acknowledged by one writer at the Huffington Post – i.e. “The least qualified Republican candidate, stands head and shoulders above the qualificat­ions of the incompeten­t guy we now have in the White House.” Just the same, an aire of unease seems to remain amongst the GOP faithful. I believe the source of this anxiety is what I call “The Fear of McCain II.”

“McCain II” is my metaphor for a repeat of what happened with the 2008 Republican Presidential Nomination. Though I will always honor John McCain as a true American hero, I don’t believe he was the best candidate the GOP could have put forward as their 2008 Presidential Nominee. But, like many, I voted for McCain in the General Election, not because he was “my guy” but because he was my preference over Obama.

In order to deal with the angst of loyal Republicans due to the possibility of “McCain II”, it only makes sense to develop a strategy to avoid that. Logically, the first step in this development process is to consider how “McCain I” happened. My view is that, in general, this was the result of the GOP doing “business as usual”, from the time candidates started emeging up through the 2008 RNC in St.Paul, MN. By contrast, the Democrat Party and the Obama Campaign recognized that the 2008 political landscape called for anything but “business as usual”. Their “audacious” approach handed the GOP a huge defeat in that year. That, of course, was discouraging for the GOP faithful. What’s more discouraging is that, so far, the Republican Party seems to be taking the same “business as usual” approach in the current political season. For evidence of this, you only need to look as far as the “top candidate” in the current field of Republican presidential hopefuls.

Mitt Romney is, presently, the clear leader amongst the “top candidates.” According to a new Washington Post-ABC News Poll, “Romney also runs ahead of the pack on three crucial attributes: leadership, experience and, perhaps most important, who can beat the president next year.” However, a related report in the Washington Post goes on to say, “Romney’s support is tepid, particularly among the party’s most energized constituency — the strong supporters of the tea party movement.” My belief is that the primary reason that “Romney’s support is tepid” is a fear of “McCain II.” Frankly, I would vote for Romney for President in the 2012 General Election, but it would only be because he would be my preference over Obama, not because he’s “my guy.” Obviously, for me, having this happen would add up to “McCain II.” Fortunately, though Romney is the current “front runner”, there are several other Republican “top candidates” to consider.

Though unannounced, Sarah Palin remains a “top candidate.” The Washington Post report I mentioned also provides a good thumbnail sketch on the outlook for her prospective candidacy. It notes:

“Sarah Palin’s lingering power to shake up the race if she decides to run.” … “the hold that Palin still has on segments of the party faithful despite some long-standing liabilities and deep skepticism among many voters about her qualifications.” … “Palin tops the list as the most empathetic figure. She runs almost even with Romney on the question of who best reflects the party’s core values and on who is most compatible with people on the issues.”

Texas Governor Rick Perry has also been expressing a growing interest in a possible candidacy. Here again, the Washington Post article I mentioned offers a good synopsis of this “top candidate”:

“As the longtime governor of a big state that has produced more jobs than any other state in the country, Perry is seen by some Republicans as a potentially serious threat to Romney. But he is far from a dominant figure in the assessment of rank-and-file Republicans. He attracts the support of 8 percent, with or without Palin in the race, and he is in single digits on all six attributes as well.”

And, as cited earlier, there are numerous other Republican candidates, the least of whom, in the words of the Huffington Post author, have credentials that are “head and shoulders above the qualificat­ions of the incompeten­t guy we now have in the White House.” Although I’m not going to attempt to provide a summary for the candidacy status of each of these individuals, there is another “top candidate” I want to draw attention to in this regard. It’s the candidate mentioned at the outset of this article … the "Republican Candidate" (generic) who, according to the recent Gallup Poll, leads Obama 47% to 39%. Of course, successful campaigning on the part of one of the candidates I’ve named up to now could lead to that person inheriting the poll-leadership of the “generic candidate”. Mostly, though, the present poll-leadership of the “generic candidate” implies that party faithful are hoping there are one or more superior candidates out there who, for now, have chosen not to join in the race.

So, how does this all fit together and what does it tell us about how to avoid “McCain II?” My belief is that all this clearly indicates the necessity for the Republican Party to proactively get behind a candidate now, instead of taking a “business as usual” approach.” One way of doing this is for the party, as an example, to identify the reasons why “Romney’s support is tepid” and if this is a result of perceptions that can honestly be corrected, to work with the candidate to correct them and give him the party’s full support. Of course, this approach could also be applied to Palin’s “long-standing liabilities and deep skepticism among many voters about her qualifications” and with the view of Perry as being “far from a dominant figure in the assessment of rank-and-file Republicans”. If the GOP was to take this approach with all of it’s “top candidates”, an added benefit could be encouraging some of those superior candidates, who have chosen not to be in the race at present, to get in.

I recognize that the idea of the RNC selecting a candidate for the party’s full support at this stage of the game is very naïve and not very practical. But it is just that … an idea ... a suggestion for something different and better than “business as usual.” Without a different and better approach, we’re almost certain to get “McCain II.” So, Republican National Committee, you folks are the professionals to whom we’ve entrusted our party. If you don’t like this idea, please tell us what you have in mind that’s different and better. I don’t care how dissimilar what you have in mind is from the idea I’ve presented. All I care about is that it’s not “business as usual” and please, that it doesn’t give us “McCain II.”


Comments

From Mark Mahan via Facebook


Submitted by Gary Wiram on Fri, 2011-07-22 19:27.

0

+-I'm with you Gary- we need a good, strong Republican candidate to run. Not because we need a Republican in office, but because we need an excellent choice. I'm hoping that the GOP can find the right person.

From funwithknives


Submitted by Gary Wiram on Fri, 2011-07-22 19:44.

0

+-is apparent here . At least to this Naif. Leave this decision to Fall Convention, 2012 and little time remains for preparations. BHO has the advantage if we allow it.Example: Point/counter-point is coming and Unification is only logical, for concentration of every resource.

“Time ,Waits for NoOne,and It Won’t, Wait for Me…”(or WE)

McCain II


Submitted by Mike Frome (not verified) on Mon, 2011-07-25 07:59.

0

+-Gary, I largely agree with what you've written here. I've referred to it as "pulling a Dino" - a GOP candidate put forth using the "politics as usual" paradigm...and there are far too many first-time conservative activists who view the GOP very skeptically on the national level especially, vis-a-vis fiscal policy.



think that some of the names with lesser recognition can truly shine on their own merit, if they are not placed in the shade of the Name Brand by the party.



I also personally know several people who have expressed that they will refuse to vote if the choice presented by the system is, in their perception, one branch of "the Left" vs. another. I can empathize with that view, although I believe the stakes are far too high.

Josephine – Right Addition for the Vancouver City Council

This past Friday evening, I attended a campaign kickoff for a candidate who, if you live in the City of Vancouver, deserves your most serious consideration … Josephine Wentzel, Candidate for Vancouver City Council (Position 4).

The Event

The kickoff was exceptionally well done and very well attended. Although Vancouver has been Josephine’s home for close to twenty years, she was born and raised in Guam, thus the theme for the events cuisine was “A Taste of Guam.” I have to say that I thought the food was great, especially the potato salad, prepared personally by the candidate.

The event was held at The Academy, a facility originally opened in 1874, as a girl’s boarding school. Dr. Ricky Lee Jackson served as the Emcee for the evening and he provided the musical entertainment. Of course the music had a patriotic theme, including one of my favorites, The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Several elected officials and other candidates were among the attendees. This included 17th District Representative Paul Harris, who endorses Josephine’s candidacy. He, also, spoke on her behalf at the kickoff.

Some Basics on Josephine

Of course, since Josephine’s Life Priorities seem to be in line with mine – i.e. Faith, Family and Community; I find that appealing. She is boldly Christian and she made that clear in her Kickoff Speech. Since the attendees included her Husband, her children and her grandchildren; the commitment to family (and their commitment to her) was obvious.

Josephine’s commitment to serving her community is what led to her present candidacy. Her political stance is unwaveringly Conservative and naturally, I like that too. She is a long time citizen activist and community volunteer. Recently, she has had significant visibility as Co-Chair for the NoTolls.com PAC, the organization aimed at assuring our community doesn’t get saddled with the $10 Billion boondoggle being driven by the tyrannical demeanor of our present City Council. Beyond this, Josephine’s history in community service has included:

- Court appointed Special Advocate

- Advocate for children with learning disabilities

- Trauma intervention prevention volunteer

- Naval Hospital Candy Striper (Vietnam War Era)

- Red Cross volunteer

- Keynote speaker for legal immigration

- Homeless shelter volunteer

- Sunday School Superintendent

- Worker for free adoptions in Washington State.

- Law Enforcement Officer in Guam

Josephine on the Issues

Josephine’s stance regarding the CRC Light Rail Crossing Project has been pretty clear. We can rely on her to work tirelessly to assure that this, the largest public works undertaking in the history of our community, only goes forward as endorsed by the whole community. Of course, there are countless other issues that a City Council-Member must address. The key elements of Josephine’s candidacy define her approach in addressing these matters. These elements are:

Citizen Empowerment – Here, Josephine says, “I want to strengthen the dialogue between citizens and policymakers to foster positive changes in the community.”

Transparency – Josephine’s view on this is, “Negotiations with our tax dollars behind closed doors need to stop.”

Better Business Environment – Josephine presently works as Public Relations Director for US Digital. Her business background positions her to speak to this much more meaningfully than many career politicians who can only address this academically. Her common sense approach here is, “When businesses thrive, jobs abound.”

For me, the most meaningful comment from Josephine’s Kickoff Speech was one of her “off-the-cuff” comments. She said, “Vancouver City needs Honest Representation.” That is precisely what I’m looking for!

The Acid Test

What a politician says and what they do are, disappointingly, often not the same. I’m pleased to say that, in less than 24 hours of her kickoff event, Josephine put her words on “Honest Representation” into action for me. I have an issue that I don’t see as being worthy of being a campaign issue but it’s one that I want to be supported on in fully developing it’s solution and getting it considered by the City Council. Of course, this isn’t the sort of thing to take up a candidate’s time with at a public event but I did mention it to Josephine, saying, “You may not even agree with my position on this issue but I’d appreciate discussing it and working on it with you.” The day after her kickoff, while I was driving from my chiropractor to pick up some burgers to take home for lunch, Josephine phoned me to learn what my issue was and to start discussing it with me. A candidate who says what they mean and who means what they say?! That is also what I’m looking for!

My Closing Comment

One final thing that came out of my “personal issue” related phone call with Josephine that I want to mention. When it comes to elected officials, we agreed that it’s legitimate for compensation to go with an elected position and that it’s OK for a candidate to see a position as part of their political career but that isn’t the job. The job is serving the community. With Josephine Wentzel, I believe you’ll get a person working her hardest to do her level-best to give us Honest Representation in getting that job done. Please check her out at www.ElectJosephine.com and give her your most serious consideration.


Comments
 
Comment via email from Fred Mostoller


Submitted by Gary Wiram on Sun, 2011-07-17 19:04.

-1

+-Go for it, Josephine ! I sent another message to a friend saying:



Josephine is running for Vancouver City Council. I highly recommend her. You can get an intro on Gary's latest blog. Pass the word !

Kayaking Up the Waialua - An Essential Skill for a Healthy Marriage

A Good Example of the Need


We have quite a few home improvement projects on our "to do" list this summer. Since handyman skills didn't come to me naturally, we often hire the applicable talent for this sort of work. However, several of the items on this summer's list involved landscaping and they seemed to mostly require brute strength so I decided to take them on myself.

Of course, my Wife, Ruth and I agreed to a landscaping game plan before I dove in. One of the main landscaping projects was to use red rock to replace the areas of bark chips that make up a significant portion of the ground cover in our front yard. Additionally, to address some issues that have been developing with two of the three mature Ash trees presently within the bark chip covered areas; we planned to set all three apart with decorative rings, replacing the bark chips with organic compost amended with organic fertilizer.

As I said before, this seemed like a project that required more brute strength than skill. Equipped with a 1/2 ton pickup borrowed from one friend and a wheelbarrow borrowed from another friend, I thought I could complete the job in a couple of days. About three days into the work, I found myself in our front yard continuing to rake and shovel away at four or five layers of bark chips ... I actually ended up removing about six cubic yards. Meanwhile, for those three days, a cubic yard of red rock had been sitting in the bed of the borrowed pickup, parked in front of our house. Unfortunately, there was no place to put the red rock until I finished with the bark chips removal. Also unfortunately, with the pickup full of red rock, I had no way of hauling away the bark chips. Based on my original plan, I thought the volume of bark chips would be low enough that I could dispose of them via one or two of the city's semi-weekly yard debris pick-ups. This meant that I needed to find a place to store the bark chips until I did have the ability to haul them away ... in other words, I got to move the 6 cubic yards of bark chips twice! And even more unfortunately, removing the multiple layers of bark chips was exposing the upper half of major roots of the Ash trees we were striving to save. This meant that I would need to put down about a cubic yard of compost around the trees before putting down the red rock. But, due to the fact that the borrowed pickup was still filled with red rock, I had no way of hauling in the needed compost.

All this meant that, as I continued working away in our front yard, I was wishing I hadn't started this project and that I had a magic wand that would allow me to return our front yard to its beginning state. At that point, my thinking was that our front yard might actually end up looking worse, not better and that I could end up killing the trees we were striving to save. Since Ruth sensed my exasperation, on a regular basis, she was coming to me with "just one more idea meant to help." When she came to me with what (in my mind) was about the "dozenth" of these ideas, she reacted to this resulting in a negative change in my countenance by saying, "Never mind." I responded by saying, "No, I want to hear your suggestion but I want you to know that it would have been most helpful for me to hear these ideas when we were setting the game plan for this project. At this point, they're tending to just add to my frustration." As I said this, I realized, "We're having another 'Kayaking Up the Waialua' experience.”

The "Kayaking Up the Waialua" Experience

Of course, in order for you to understand where this fits in, I need to tell you about our experience "Kayaking Up the Waialua." This came along with our getting to join in Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa - Married Couples Fellowship's inaugural Kauai Retreat. Of course, this was something we had planned for well in advance and that we looked forward to for months.

Fittingly, the first day of this week-long retreat was our Anniversary. So, that evening, we got cleaned up and dressed up (Aloha style) to go out for our Anniversary dinner. Our dinner reservation, based on a recommendation, was at Café Hanalei at the Princeville Hotel, on Kauai’s North shore, at sunset. It turned out to be a magnificent recommendation. I’ve been blessed that I’ve seen some pretty fancy hotels, from Hong Kong to Europe. None of them compare to the architecture of the Princeville Hotel’s lobby. The Café Hanalei overlooks Hanalei Bay – the Hanalei that Peter, Paul and Mary were inspired by for “Puff the Magic Dragon”. The view is spectacular. The Café Hanalei is a bit pricey but it’s one of those superb restaurants where the food makes it seem well worth the price. At the end of the meal, the restaurant brought out a dessert we had not ordered. I can’t describe it but it was wonderful and the plate it was served on said, “Happy Anniversary”, in chocolate. Afterwards, we waddled to our car and drove back to our resort for a good night’s rest.

The main reason for me filling you in on that Anniversary dinner was because it was so dramatically different from the following day's experience, "Kayaking Up the Waialua." The day started with the two of us going out on the beach to watch the sunrise. Afterwards, we went to a continental breakfast provided by the company the church used to book the trip. We left the breakfast at 9 a.m., so that we could meet the Married Couples Fellowship group on the beach for our first time of praise, worship and Bible study. It was wonderful to get together for praise, worship and Bible study in the midst of such a beautiful part of God’s creation. However, that first time on the beach together was a bit abbreviated because a majority of the couples had signed up for a kayaking trip up the Waialua River. That’s where our challenges started.

Before going on, I need to tell you a little about the sun and me. Suffice it to say, I'm an extremely white guy. When I was a kid, my Mom would make me wear a tee shirt when I went swimming and I’d get sunburned through the shirt. So, that means coating myself thoroughly with sun block before spending any significant time in the Hawaiian sun. You should, also, know that both Ruth and I left home with sinus colds so that was our first bit of discomfort that day. And, we had been up since 3 or 4 in the morning, due to the three-hour time difference between Hawaii and California. Additionally, less than a week before our trip, I’d taken a fall while roller blading and I was suffering from some pain in the left part of my chest and back. I think it was a bruised or cracked rib. Even without all these afflictions, we knew the paddling would be strenuous for us, particularly since we hadn't been doing much in terms of upper-body exercise. However, Ruth thought we’d be able to pull up to a bank to rest, have a drink and a snack whenever we got a little tired. Otherwise, we thought we’d be able to enjoy the beauty, take some pictures and end up visiting Waialua Falls and the Fern Grotto. Here’s what really happened:

During the worship on the beach, I realized I’d been too liberal with applying sun block to my face because it was getting in my eyes and nearly blinding me. As soon as worship was over, we went to our room so I could use some eye drops. Fortunately, that helped, though it took most of the next hour for my bloodshot eyes to stop smarting. Then we drove to the kayak rental place to learn that we had to load the kayak and equipment on our rental car, drive to the river, assemble the kayak, get it and us into the river and do the trip without any further assistance. We, also, learned that we hadn’t dressed properly. Although we had swimsuits and aqua socks with us, we thought that shorts and tennis shoes would be proper dress for the trip we had in mind. We were wrong. By 10:30 a.m., we were in the river, wet up to our butts, hot and sweaty, covered with sun block, eyes smarting and heads aching. If that sounds like fun, there were no banks to pull up to due to heavy foliage along the banks; there was no opportunity for picture taking due to the need to constantly row against the current and the fact that all you could see was the water and the heavy foliage along the banks. The need to constantly row really tested our upper-body strength, aggravated my chest pain and gave us both blisters in the fleshy area between thumb and forefinger. The need for teamwork to keep going straight and to not turn over also provided some interesting testing. I'm pleased to say that we seemed to pass that testing, in as much as, unlike several others, our kayak remained upright. We eventually came to a fork, with one way going to the falls and the other going to the grotto. Since people coming the other way warned us not to try to go to the falls due to strong currents, we took the fork to the grotto. Actually, we went past the grotto because it wasn’t marked well but we did make our way back to a place where you could tie up and with a lot of effort, get out of the kayak. We then hiked up a muddy hill to see the Fern Grotto, being visited by group after group of Japanese tourists who had come by tour boat. While doing this, we drank a soda and scarfed down a couple of pieces of fried chicken we’d gotten at a Safeway the night before. It was hard for me to believe that this fried chicken was from the same species as the macadamia nut crusted chicken I’d had the previous night at the Café Hanalei. By the way, there are lots of chickens running around loose on Kauai, as a result of Filipino immigrants bringing in fighting cocks. It’s kind of disconcerting to be eating fried chicken with live chickens running around you. You sort of feel like they’re cheering on the bugs that are biting you. The return trip was pretty much a mirror image of the initial leg except that we were going against the wind instead of going against the current. The one thing I did enjoy seeing on the return trip was schools of mullet jumping over waves. However, the waves were from the wake of huge tour boats (carrying those Japanese tourists) that nearly swamped us. It was between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m. when we got out of the river so the whole adventure had lasted about five hours with about four hours of it being in the river. On the way back to the hotel, Ruth and I agreed that we wanted to do nothing but sit still for awhile before getting cleaned up.

Ongoing Application

No doubt, there were several points during our "Kayaking Up the Waialua" experience when we were having wishes similar to the one I had three days into our recent landscaping project - i.e. wishing I hadn't started this project and that I had a magic wand that would allow me to return our front yard to it's beginning state. But, we survived our "Kayaking Up the Waialua" experience and at Bible study the next morning, we began to have more appreciation for our experience, realizing that everyone had a challenging experience and that it had strengthened our relationships, as a result.

The lessons learned from our "Kayaking Up the Waialua" experience have served us well over the years. Even when you're doing your very best to carry out the game plan you put together as a couple, often life just doesn't go the way you expect. As I noted in the story about our "Kayaking Up the Waialua" experience, "The need for teamwork to keep going straight and to not turn over also provided some interesting testing. I'm pleased to say that we seemed to pass that testing, in as much as, unlike several others, our kayak remained upright." We passed that test because our commitment to each other is to stick together, caring for and depending on each other, regardless of how real life plays out versus our game plan. And that applies even when it's very challenging to do so. A good example here is when, in an attempt to help keep us "going straight and to not turn over" in our kayak, one of us decided to provide some uniformity to our rowing through the cadence of calling out "Right, right. Left, left." but, unfortunately, the cadence being called out was the opposite of the side that person was actually rowing on. Another good example here is when one of us senses exasperation on the part of the other and offers "just one more idea meant to help" but that well-intentioned effort isn’t received gladly. In the first case, we still ended up with a very entertaining story to share about the treasured memory of a trip to Kauai. And, in the second instance, we ended up with the attractive appearance of our front yard causing neighbors to stop by and ask if we were getting ready to sell our home. Moreover, through the lessons learned from our "Kayaking Up the Waialua" experience, as well as from other lessons the Lord has equipped us with to strengthen our relationship, we've been blessed with a marriage that is far richer than we ever imagined.

Unsafe and Insane: When the Loud and Proud Celebration Gets Obnoxious

Five years ago, right at the end of our first year living in Southwest Washington, we had our first experience with something we truly despise about our community ... the legalized hooliganism associated with how Independence Day is celebrated here. Before you start calling me Un-American and chastise me, as a stick-in-the-mud who just wants to spoil other people's fun, let me explain. I am fiercely patriotic. I love the USA and I thrill at celebrating our independence. I, simply, object to being prevented from enjoying the Fourth of July, celebrating it in the manner I choose to, as a result of the overindulgent manner in which others are allowed to do their celebrating in this area.

Ironically, we really enjoyed our first Independence Day celebration here. We were visiting the Portland/Vancouver area, prior to our physical move, in order to rent an apartment, store a car, etc. During this visit, we stayed at one of the major hotels at the airport (PDX). Since we're baseball fans, we decided to spend the evening of the Fourth at PGE Park. At the time that was the home of the AAA Portland Beavers. PGE Park was a great venue for Minor League Baseball and their post-game fireworks were spectacular. On the way back to PDX from PGE Park, we saw a fireworks show in progress on the banks of the Willamette River, in Downtown Portland. And, it turned out that our hotel room provided a great perspective for the fireworks shows going on across the Columbia River, in Washington. We noted countless cars parked and driving along Marine Drive between our hotel and the river. The most impressive show appeared to be the one at Fort Vancouver. At the time, I thought, "What a great way to celebrate the Fourth! I can't imagine any Patriot not being gratified with that celebration." When July 4, 2006, came along, our attitude got turned a full 180 degrees. By then, we were living in the home we had purchased in Hiddenbrook, a nice area in East Vancouver. That change resulted in an Independence Day celebration experience that was completely miserable.

Unmet expectations are often a major contributor to miserable experiences. Naturally, our expectations about celebrating Independence Day were mostly based on our prior experience. That meant what we had experienced living in Southern California and for me, what I'd experienced growing up in Indiana. Living in the Golden State is quite different from living in the Hoosier State but the way that Independence Day is celebrated is fairly similar in both states. The basic experience in Southern California involved taking in a major fireworks display at a public venue like Anaheim Stadium or a civic site such as the beach in Belmont Shore. In addition, there were the "Safe and Sane" fireworks stands that opened up in the days approaching the Fourth of July holiday. At these stands, you could purchase things like firecrackers, sparklers, etc. ... all small ground-level fireworks meant to be set off in a person's yard or a similar setting. Independence Day celebration, living in Vancouver, turned out to be dramatically different from anything we had previously experienced.

The Misery

The way this unfolded for us seemed to start innocently enough. In the days leading up to the Fourth, we started to notice tented fireworks stands being set up all over the place. That seemed "as expected". Our first hint that we might be about to have a different Independence Day experience than we had ever had before came during a visit to our dog's Vet. The Vet asked, "Is Figgins (our dog) going to need sedatives to get him through the Fourth?" Since we had just gotten Figgins less than two months prior to that and we hadn't been through the Vancouver version of the Independence Day celebration, we had no clue regarding the answer to the Vet's question.

Before going on, since Figgins plays a key role in this story, let me tell you a bit about him. He is the Corgi/Pug mix you see in the photo that accompanies this article. We adopted him from the Oregon Humane Society just before his 3rd birthday. He has the run of our home, including doggie-door-access to our back yard and he is very well behaved ... no peeing or pooping indoors, nothing gets chewed or scratched, etc. When Figgins meets someone new, he wiggles and wags his tail, trying his best to get petted. Likewise, when he encounters a new dog, he wags his tail and does all he can to get the other dog to play. OK, I'll admit to extreme prejudice about Figgins and that I tell him he's the world's best puppy dog. Regardless, he is a very good dog.

The next step in our introduction to the Vancouver version of the Independence Day celebration came on the first of the legal dates for fireworks use in the city. Typically, these "legal dates" include several days prior to the Fourth plus the Fourth itself. On those days, fireworks use is allowed from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (midnight on the Fourth). During the daylight hours of the first of the "legal dates", occasionally, there were some pretty loud fireworks going off. Those got our attention and they caused Figgins to react but, so far, it didn't seem that far out of the scope of our experience. The real difference came with sunset. It was like nothing we had ever known before and it went on until 11:00 p.m. (midnight on the Fourth). Out in the streets, all over our neighborhood, fireworks were being set off continuously. These weren't just firecrackers and cherry bombs (like I'd known, growing up in Indiana). Although those were sort of mixed in with the background the predominant fireworks were aerials that sounded like canon-fire, with many including color-bursts rivaling those I've seen over Anaheim Stadium. What made this an even more unbelievable experience was that there were the equivalent of three major fireworks displays going on right in our neighborhood, surrounding our home ... one to the North, one to the East and one to the South. Later we learned that these were groups of neighbors who had gone together, spending thousands of dollars, to have their own fireworks show on their block. Thankfully, I've never been in a war zone but being in a war zone was the analogy that immediately came to my mind, being encircled by the continuous sound of canon-fire and having the windows on each side of our home brightly lighted (even with the shutters closed) with flash after flash from aerial fireworks explosions. Although this wouldn't have been "our cup of tea" under any circumstances, if we didn't have Figgins, we probably would have barricaded ourselves in the family room with the TV volume turned up as high as we could stand it, as a way to get by. But "the world's best puppy dog" was with us and he was absolutely frantic for every second of the hours of this experience. Although we had gotten sedatives for Figgins, since we had no way of anticipating what was coming, we didn't realize how badly he would need the drugs until the fireworks were fully under way. We did manage to get sedatives into him at that point but they didn't really take effect until the legal fireworks use time had passed.

A Closer Look

Understandably, after going through the experience described above, we determined to see what we could do about it. As I said at the outset of this article, my goal was not to spoil other people's fun. However, I couldn't help but think of a lesson my high school Social Studies Teacher had taught me about independence. He said, "Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins." In this case, I saw those setting off fireworks as the ones swinging their fist and our household as the ones getting hit in the nose. And, this wasn't just a grazing blow. We had, pretty much, been knocked out of the ring. With this in mind, I set out looking for reasonable solutions.

One solution you may be wondering about is, "Why didn't they just get in the car with their dog and go somewhere else in town until the fireworks were over?" The answer is, "There's no place to go." Vancouver's population is approaching 200,000, Clark County's population is approaching 1/2 million and Portland's population (across the river) is about 3.8 million. The fireworks experience in our (fairly upscale) neighborhood is what you find in almost every neighborhood in the area.

Another solution we have considered is taking a vacation during this time of year. But, that hasn't worked with our schedule so far. And, like all the other solutions I've mentioned here, it doesn't fit with the lesson I learned in high school about independence - i.e. The way others celebrate their independence shouldn't mean that we can't celebrate ours quietly at home, without drugging (poisoning) our dog and trying to find ways to escape the miserable experience. Since none of the solutions I've mentioned up to now seemed reasonable and we didn't want to end up having the one thing "we truly despise about our community" cause us to move away from the area we've chosen as our home, I began to focus on finding a way to make a change in the community that seemed reasonable for everyone involved.

A Reasonable Solution

As desirable as it might seem to me, banning fireworks in Vancouver's neighborhood's doesn't seem like a solution that's "reasonable for everyone involved". However, it did strike me that perhaps this has been tried before. I can't imagine that I'm any place close to being alone in preferring to enjoy fireworks in a public venue while maintaining the ability to enjoy my home quietly. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, there are 1.52 dogs per household in Vancouver or an approximate total of 300,000. Surely, out of this huge group, there are many others trying to cope with the frantic reaction of their dogs to fireworks in their neighborhoods. The Vets themselves are, obviously, aware of the problem. Anyway, I thought that by looking at attempts to ban fireworks, I might find clues to a more reasonable solution.

What I found was that attempts to ban fireworks had, generally, run into two major obstacles: (1) Complacency and (2) Money. With Complacency, there seemed to be two sub-categories: (a) Those who have just grown accustomed to the way things are and (b) Those who want to keep doing what they're doing, with no regard for the impact of their actions on others. Frankly, I didn't see much that could be done, effectively, about Complacency. Money was another matter.

The first comment I remember hearing about money, in this regard, was that the company behind all the fireworks sales in Vancouver "Gives millions of dollars to the city." I don't know if that meant they actually contribute to the city's budget or to elected official's campaigns or another sort of direct contribution to the city. I've never taken the time to investigate. What I have observed, though, is that the company behind fireworks sales makes funds available to groups for doing things like providing volunteer workers at fireworks stands. A good current example involves my own church. Our Youth Group is getting $6000 towards a Mission trip to El Salvador in exchange for staffing a fireworks stand. Although it would be easy to compare this tactic to that of a drug dealer first assuring a user's dependency on drugs, as a career Sales guy, I have an appreciation for the move. And, through redirection, I see it as holding the key to a solution that's "reasonable for everyone involved". Here's what I have in mind:

In order to find a compromise that allows for fireworks continuing in the neighborhoods while avoiding having some homeowners feeling that they're trapped in their homes in the midst of what seems like a war zone, it seems ideal to find a location in neighborhoods that is away from most homes where fireworks enthusiasts could easily gather to fully enjoy their pursuit. In my neighborhood, Fishers Landing Elementary School seems like a great spot for that. And, that seems like a good model for my solution, in general. The reasons for this include:

- Pretty much every neighborhood has a school that has a big open athletic field, ideal for fireworks.

-Neighborhood schools have ample parking and they're within walking distance of neighborhood homes.

- Schools are not in session around Independence Day.

- School systems are in great need of budget help. If the company behind fireworks sales in Vancouver are as altruistic as they want to appear, surely they would be pleased to benefit our local schools while maintaining their sales. They could, also, contribute to our Police and Fire Departments, if public safety is a concern with this.

- Fund-raising opportunities for organizations, like my church, can be maintained and even expanded. Fireworks stands still need workers, school grounds would need clean up after the holiday, etc.

Hopefully, the above suggestion provides enough of a nucleus of a reasonable solution that I can get others to join me, to fully develop and enact my idea. If you have helpful thoughts along these lines, please let me hear them. In the mean time, I would ask that, if you are a neighborhood fireworks enthusiast, please be as considerate as possible towards your neighbors. This year, in Vancouver, fireworks sales began at Noon on June 28th. Legal dates for fireworks use are July 1 & 2 & 3 & 4. That means, for each of those four days our household will be enduring the misery I described above about our first legal date for fireworks usage experience. Additionally, occasional fireworks usage began even before legal fireworks sales started ... leftovers from previous years or fireworks brought in from out of the area, I guess. Furthermore, once legal fireworks sales start, there are those who will choose to ignore that legal use doesn't begin until July 1st. During the daytime of the 29th, while working in my front yard, a neighbor on the cul-de-sac across the street was setting off fireworks he had just bought. That night, we drugged Figgins for the first time of this, yet another miserable Independence Day celebration season in Vancouver, WA.


Comments

Take a page from Washougal


Submitted by Jon R (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-30 11:12.

-2

+-In Washougal fireworks can only be used on the Fourth of July. This restriction has been very successful. Not 100% compliance, but it works. Camas is a mile down the street and they have no restrictions. It is very loud in the evenings.

Comment via Facebook


Submitted by Gary Wiram on Fri, 2011-07-01 03:05.

-2

+-From Rori Homme:



I completely agree with you on this one. Its not safe, its disruptive and has always been hard on my pets.

Comment via email


Submitted by Gary Wiram on Fri, 2011-07-01 03:20.

+1

+-From Mike Boyer:



I am appalled at your attitude about this.



...



If you don't like the way we Patriots Celebrate our Independence Day Feel free to move back out of the area.
I have to disagree with you.


Submitted by Steven J Nelson (not verified) on Fri, 2011-07-01 11:51.

+4

+-What would John Adams say?

"I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever."

Do like we do. Take your dog to a kennel in the country and enjoy!

I also completely disagree....


Submitted by Nick Smith (not verified) on Sun, 2011-07-03 07:52.

+3

+-1) Move back to California

2) What other freedoms would you like to restrict? Are there too many churches, or should they only get to meet when you decide? Do you not like peaceable public assemblies? Perhaps your ability to even write an article like this should be limited as well? Perhaps you should only have your right against self incrimination available on Tuesdays between 2 and 3.....

3) Move back to California and take your bankrupt approach to governing with you.

4 FYI, I grew up in Vancouver and have never personally purchased any fireworks, yet I would never suggest limiting the freedom of others to do so....

5) Move.

Comment via Facebook


Submitted by Gary Wiram on Sat, 2011-07-09 06:56.

-1

+-From Larry J. Smith:



Nice words!

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!