Tacoma is winner in Pierce Transit restructure. Will Puyallup, other suburbs lose?

Behind the scenes this summer, there’s a power struggle going on between Tacoma and other Pierce County cities — a zero-sum game in which precious public transit resources are at stake.

Under a new state law, Tacoma is set to get an extra seat on the Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners at the expense of smaller communities’ influence.

“We’re all in this together” may be the feel-good slogan of the COVID-19 shutdown. But beneath it runs a familiar narrative: Big city versus little cities, all jockeying for position.

In good times, communities negotiate how to divide the spoils of taxpayer investment — new buses, transit stops and other infrastructure.

In pandemic times, as sales tax revenues plunge, they might have to fight just to save the routes they have — service that’s vital for low-income residents, seniors, the disabled and other placebound people.

One city that could end up in the loss column is Puyallup, and that would be an unfortunate turn of events.

Puyallup is Pierce County’s third-largest city; it has a population of more than 40,000 and is expected to grow past 50,000 by 2030. When it comes to getting around East Pierce County, Puyallup is the hub and surrounding communities are the spokes. It shouldn’t be dealt a lousy hand in this year’s Pierce Transit board reshuffling.

The shakeup is the result of a law enacted by the Washington Legislature in 2018, which requires transit boards to have roughly proportional representation based on population.

Pierce County Republican legislators opposed the bill, concerned that suburban and rural communities would lose ground. Those concerns seem prescient now.

Tacoma will gain a third seat on the nine-member Pierce Transit board. Pierce County and Lakewood are unchanged, with two seats and one seat respectively. But Puyallup and Edgewood will have to share one combined position, as will University Place and Fircrest. Several small communities (Steilacoom, Gig Harbor, Ruston, Auburn, Pacific, Fife and Milton) will share the final seat

The new math is punitive for Puyallup, which must forfeit the solo seat it’s had for several years.

The restructure has also caused political conflict between two neighboring East Pierce cities, each wanting to keep its transit board representative. Edgewood Mayor Daryl Eidinger makes a strong case to win the seat over Puyallup City Council member Robin Farris because of his seniority and better attendance record.

Puyallup nominated Farris for the joint seat, while Edgewood nominated Eidinger. How to break the tie? Alas, state lawmakers didn’t provide a mechanism for that.

The dynamics were less messy for the other newly consolidated seat, as University Place and Fircrest officials agreed to rotate terms. Kudos to them for finding a compromise.

The new law is a setback for communities that not only need transit services, they also need to assure voters they’re getting a fair return on their tax dollars.

Without that, we may see a repeat of what happened during the last recession 10 years ago — a suburban tax revolt, stoked by deep cuts to outlying transit routes. Sumner, Bonney Lake, Buckley, Orting and DuPont eventually opted out of Pierce Transit.

In Edgewood, Eidinger tells us his city has prioritized transit-oriented housing, including 800 new residential units on the bus line over the next three years. In Puyallup, Farris says paratransit services for the disabled are in especially high demand.

“My colleagues expect me to ensure that we’re getting value,” she told us, “and that the sales tax we are collecting is used responsibly.”

We’d expect no less from a city that contributed $16.5 million to Pierce Transit last year, roughly 15 percent of the agency’s operating budget. Puyallup leaders should certainly guard against taxation without representation.

Yes, Tacoma is the urban heart of Pierce Transit and proportional allocation of seats is hard to argue against. But every effort must be made to preserve suburban voices, too.

Collectively we’ll be worse off if there’s another restructuring down the road — one in which more communities opt out, our regional transportation system becomes less viable and Pierce Transit might as well rename itself Tacoma Transit.

This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 12:15 PM.