Sound Transit 3: Poor proposition for Pierce County

Plan on voting for Sound Transit’s Proposition 1, the “regional” system? Don’t be fooled. This is mostly a Seattle / King County system. Look at their ads. The people and places in them are from King county.

At a rally, Seattle’s Mayor Murray called for support, not for a regional system, but for West Seattle and King County locations. No mention of Pierce County locations.

Page 15 of the Pierce County Voters’ Pamphlet shows the map of the Sound Transit system. The map makes clear the proposal is mostly for Seattle, Bellevue, King County with some Pierce County sites thrown in to get our support.

Consider the cost to Pierce County residents: the sales tax goes up, car license tabs go up, an increase in property taxes. Landlords will increase rents to cover additional property taxes. More taxes without any end date.

Sound Transit’s first phase taxes was for 10 years; that date passed and we are still paying.

ST3 is for an additional $54 billion and that is just the principle. With interest, the price tag goes up to an estimated $150 billion. Increased taxes and the lack of benefits make the decision clear. ST3 is just not worth it.

This story was originally published November 5, 2016 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Sound Transit 3: Poor proposition for Pierce County."