by Kirby Lindsay Laney, posted 27 October 2015
Although he lives within sight of Seattle Pacific University, with access to transit and bike paths, Don Harper drives, most days. “I can’t do my work on a bicycle,” he explained. More importantly, as an electrical contractor employing electricians, he can’t demand his crews to carry tools, materials and equipment to jobs on bicycles or by public bus – or, he jokes, he expects his clients would object to paying for the time it would take them to transport everything back and forth, to even the simplest of jobs.
Harper, and his crews, spend hours each day traveling to their jobs around Seattle, and yet he strongly advocates a no vote on Seattle Prop. 1, a transportation levy on the November 3rd ballot. He volunteers for the ‘Keep Seattle Affordable’ campaign. Harper has concerns about what passage of this $930,000,000 city levy would do to renters, and home owners, as such measures are, in his words, “raising our property taxes to obscene levels.” He’s also concerned about seniors and veterans eligible for, and dependent upon, property tax exemptions, and that they would still be required to pay this part of the tax.
No Project List
Harper observed that Proposition 1, called the ‘Let’s Move Seattle’ levy, shows a lack of fiscal responsibility. “I’m a fairly progressive, liberal person,” he acknowledged, although, possibly due to his owning a business, “I tend to be a little more fiscally conservative.”
Prop 1 would raise nearly $1 billion in taxes to pay for transportation improvements, but “there is not a fixed list of projects,” Harper observed. He is uncomfortable about the lack of planning that has gone into this levy. In addition to serving on the Queen Anne Community Council, Harper served on oversight committees for two parks levies – the 2000 Pro Parks Levy and the 2008 Parks & Green Spaces Levy – and both included named projects. The committees knew, according to Harper, ‘we have money to buy land in these areas,’ and while the levies did give the Seattle Parks Department a bucket of money to work with, “they identified the projects that were before them.”
With Prop. 1, Harper doesn’t see that accountability. “It’s $900 million of ‘Trust Us.’” As the Businessman observed, “They have to have maintenance lists. They’ve got to have some numbers that are pretty good.” Yet, this levy lists only suggested projects, “they give me an Appendix A that says they don’t have to do anything on the list.” Harper gives clients estimates, and he is bewildered, “how did you come up with your budget if you don’t know what things will cost?”
“I like to listen to people that I disagree with,” Harper acknowledged, “to find out how they got there.” With Prop 1, he feels that back-and-forth has gone missing. “There is a problem with the City,” he said, “I don’t think they understand about anyone who isn’t sitting across the desk. When I’m in community meetings, I will look around and I will be the only person in construction.”
People Do Drive Cars
“I’m very pro-pedestrian, transit,” Harper explained, but he drives, and he knows others do too. “It’s the fallacy of this city that people don’t drive cars,” he said. Low income housing recently established near his home has tenants parking on the street, although tenants were expected to primarily ride the bus. “Giving a vehicle to someone stuck in poverty creates a go-getter,” Harper observed, as studies have shown giving a car to someone in poverty gives them better job opportunities and more independence. Yet, at the Seattle Department of Transportation, he observed, “they have no idea what goes on beyond their office. Because they can ride a bike, they think everyone should.”
“They don’t see the big boats in the [Puget] Sound,” Harper said, “They get their order from Amazon, and they don’t think about how it gets to their doorstep. It’s magic!” Most of us never see, or think about, the trucks that deliver materials and products. “People who get dirty or work with their hands,” Harper said, “I don’t think the City relates to them.”
“It’s very painful to work Downtown,” Harper observed. “When we’re called for work in urban centers, it’s expensive.” With the scarcity of parking, congestion on the roads, and the navigation of transit stops, bike lanes and pedestrian pathways, “there is almost two hours of coming and going.” In the course of a day’s work, his electricians may only accomplish six hours of actual work. “I charge people for my time, and we’re stuck in traffic,” he explained, which makes repairs and remodels more expensive, and less affordable, for potential clients.
“It’s like the silent tax,” Harper observed. At a community meeting, the Director of Department of Transportation, Scott Kubley, expressed concern about inter-city traffic, but when asked about inner-city, Harper heard him say that it would have to take care of itself. “My day is scheduled down to minutes,” Harper said about his jogging from meetings, to clients and to job sites across the city, “I’m always a little amazed. How do people with a couple of kids get home from work, take the kids to soccer, and get dinner, with the traffic?”
Not That Impressed
Prop. 1 is presented as a replacement to the ‘Bridging The Gap’ levy, and Harper admitted that, “I wasn’t that impressed,” with its results. Still, Bridging The Gap included a specific list and a cost 2 ½ times less than Prop 1.
“There are a lot of things we can do,” Harper said, to improve transportation, and maintain what we have, around Seattle. He just doesn’t support the irresponsibility he sees in Prop. 1. His home has increased 16% in value in the last year, “and we didn’t do anything,” to improve it, he said, “We just lived here.” Yet, with the taxes now being assessed to pay for the new Parks District, his property taxes will increase, even if Prop. 1 fails.
“I read a lot,” Harper said, “I’m very involved.” And he’s decided that when it comes to Seattle Proposition 1, people must vote no. “They say they are trying to make this city affordable,” Harper observed about City leaders, but Prop. 1 is a move in the wrong direction.
“I have neighbors,” Harper explained, “that have a fabulous garden. They seem to live a good life,” he mused, considering their cars they drive, their professions, and their past-times, “but they are looking at moving because of their property taxes.”
Please vote by November 3rd. To find out more about the No On Prop. 1 campaign, click here, and to find out about the ‘Let’s Move Seattle’ campaign, the one supporting the levy, click here. Please vote, and vote wisely.
Related Articles on Candidates On The Nov 3rd, 2015 Ballot
- District #6 – Mike O’Brien, Experienced Incumbent
- by Kirby Lindsay Laney, June 10, 2015
- District #6 – Catherine Weatbrook, Community Spokesperson Candidate
- by Kirby Lindsay Laney, June 10, 2015
- District #4 – Michael Maddux, The Local-Level Candidate
- by Kirby Lindsay Laney, September 29, 2015
- District #4 – Rob Johnson, The Experienced Candidate
- by Kirby Lindsay Laney, September 29, 2015
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