Gov. Chris Gregoire seems to be getting desperate, proposing ideas that don’t have a chance of success just so people realize what a dire economic situation we are in.
Last week she proposed a 10-county district to operate and support the Washington State Ferry System, much like the multi-county district that supports the light rail, trains and buses of Sound Transit. The difference is that most people in the transit district can see some benefit to themselves in higher gas taxes to pay for it. After all, some day they may need to ride a bus, train or light rail, or perhaps friends or loved ones will.
With the ferries, only a minority of the people in the proposed district use them on a regular basis. Any proposal to raise sales or property taxes would be doomed from the start. Even in Island County where several thousand people depend on the ferries to get to work, thousand more seldom if ever take the ferry.
At least our 10th District legislators appear united on this issue. Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen and Reps. Norma Smith and Barbara Bailey see the ferry system as it is, which is an integral part of the state highway system that keeps commerce moving, creates jobs and attracts thousands of tourists and their dollars to our communities. Most of these financial benefits are indirect and don’t directly help the ferries, but that doesn’t mean the ferry system isn’t a vital part of our state’s economy.
The ferry system does indeed need more money to operate, modernize its fleet and maintain and improve its shore facilities. But the whole state has to get behind it, just as the whole state sees the need for quality roads in Eastern Washington that few of us actually use.
The session of the Legislature that started Monday will be one of the most difficult of all time. But it’s time to fix problems long-term and stop putting financial Band-aids on the ferry system. Cutting and reorganizing are necessary, but after that we’ll still need more money, which means everyone in the state will have to pay a little bit more to keep our boats afloat.
