Seattle Referendum 1 (The Tunnel)

Seattle's Referendum 1 is the people's referendum on whether to build a toll tunnel under Seattle to replace the waterfront viaduct. The cost of toll tunnel is officially projected to be $6 Billion. If this projection is as reliable as most government projections, the actual price tag will be much higher.

Although everyone in the state will be paying for the tunnel, only Seattle will vote on it. A limited voice is better than no vote at all, except...

Even if the voters reject the tunnel by voting no on Referendum 1, it looks like the politicians are going to ignore the people's vote -- claiming voters just didn't understand -- and build the tunnel anyway.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Why do Washington State voters keep sending authoritarian politicians to Olympia to sneer at us and waste our state's resources?

As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Can you believe there are politicians who still wonder why our initiatives receive so much support from the electorate?

Can you believe there are politicians who still don't understand why citizens are furious with Olympia's arrogance and audacity?

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See also Cascade Bicycle Club & Protect Seattle Now (the vote no organization).

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Referendum 1 passed with 58% of the vote. Apparently the voters like the tunnel idea.

Official King County election results for the August 16 primary link