OUR VIEWS: I-695 was a failure to communicate

Sun | Opinion

There's a memorable line in Paul Newman's classic movie, "Cool Hand Luke." ...."What we have here, is a failure to communicate."

That's what The Boss, a sadistic prison guard, said when he brutally beat wiseguy convict Luke, played by Newman.

It's a line worth remembering by citizens and government officials who will be getting beat up by the aftermath of Initiative 695.

In Tuesday's election, voters strongly approved I-695, which requires cutting car tab fees to $30. The change will save the average motorist $150 a year, but will cost the state $750 million a year in lost tax revenues.

The measure also says that whenever governmental officials want to increase or create a tax or fee, they need voter approval.

Initiative 695 was a populist measure, sponsored by small business owner Tim Eyman of Mukilteo. Opposing it were most public agencies, plus a coalition of politicians, business and labor leaders, environmentalists, road construction contractors and others.

Supporters said the measure was justified by the nation's most costly motor vehicle excise tax and because "politicians will never limit taxes." They're right.

Opponents said the initiative was too drastic, and that because of existing budget structures there would be severe cutbacks in funds for transportation and local governments. And they're right, too.

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Initiative 695 didn't strike like lightning from a clear sky. Citizens have complained about tab fees for years, and would-be reformers have filed initiatives with the secretary of state's office since 1997.

In fact, last year Eyman filed I-691. It would have cut the MVET in half for 1999 and repealed it in 2000. And it would have required state officials to reduce the revenue impact by tapping the budget surplus, reducing costs and funding cuts in "lower priority activities."

None of the earlier measures drew enough signatures to make the ballot. State officials knew about the MVET protests, but unwisely ignored them until citizens finally were able to pick up their initiative two-by-four.

On the other side, I-695 supporters basically blew off any potential negative impacts caused by the imposing revenue cutbacks. It's only 2 percent of state revenues, they said - and let's ignore the fact that under Referendum 49, MVET funds go specifically to transportation and local governments.

Now that two-by-four is about to come full circle and hit the voters who were swinging it.

In the immediate future, things will get ugly in terms of highway projects, ferries and mass transit.

Locke and our legislators should have listened to the early warnings of those who elected them, instead of crisis-managing our state's transportation funding.

Initiative 695's supporters shouldn't have casually downplayed the hardships it will create for thousands of innocent citizens.

For both sides it was a failure to communicate. Not just with each other, but - far worse - with the best interests of the people they claim to serve.

— 12/31/1969