Dembowski's bill vetoed

King County Council District 1's Rod Dembowski got a bill passed to partially mitigate projected cuts to Metro by including in the budget projected increases in county revenue.

The bill was vetoed by King County Executive Dow Constantine because it relied on spending money we don't have.

The bill was opposed by four Democrats on the council, and supported by four Republicans.

Dembowski was originally appointed to the council by the Democrats.

Awkward.

You can reach Mr Dembowski here:

http://www.kingcounty.gov/Dembowski.aspx

Publicola at Seattle Met had a brief on the situation in this morning's "Morning Fizz"

Tuesday Fizz: Based on Hopes and Prayers and Guesses

1. After getting smacked down by his Democratic colleagues on the King County Council yesterday afternoon for proposing legislation that would (temporarily) limit Metro cuts by raising fares, dipping into the agency's financial reserves, and directing the agency to "find efficiencies," through an audit, to forestall major bus cuts, North Seattle King County Council member Rob Dembowski, who passed the legislation at the contentious hearing by rounding up all the council Republicans to support it, got supremely smacked down by Democratic King County Executive Dow Constantine, who vetoed the legislation within the hour.

"We need a reliable way to pay for bus service—but until then, we shouldn't spend money we don't have, we shouldn't use one-time money to pay for ongoing expenses, and decisions to save or cut service should be based on objective criteria and data, not on politics," Constantine said in a statement. "This ordinance falls short on all counts."

Dembowski's proposal would have implemented only the cuts scheduled for September 2014; an alternative proposal by the council's other four Democrats would have implemented all the scheduled cuts, with the caveat that if Metro comes up with additional funding between now and 2015, only the first two rounds of cuts, in September of 2014 and February of 2015, would go forward."No one up here wants these cuts, but I believe it is fiscally irresponsible to budget based on what-ifs."

You can read the rest here: http://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-profiles/publicola/articles/fizz-for-june-10-june-2014

Transportation issues will be something that representatives for Seattle City Council District 5 will have to address.

The 2015 candidates should be aware of the varied needs of the different neighborhoods.

The level of service and the methods for funding for all modes of mobility need to be managed in a comprehensive way.