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Voters looking for a real response may have one

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, November 16, 2002

To say that the political establishment was discouraged and frustrated by the landslide rejection of Referendum 51 would be an understatement. Some public officials, if they hadn’t done so already, probably started thinking hard about a career change. Business leaders who backed the gas-tax increase surely gave more thought to setting up shop elsewhere.

Refreshingly, we still have leaders who aren’t about to engage in self-pity or defeatism. Among them is Doug MacDonald, the state’s transportation secretary.

MacDonald, who surely wanted R-51 to pass despite having to stay officially neutral, has gotten up off the mat, dusted himself off and rolled up his sleeves. Just as initiative king Tim Eyman says he focuses "like a laser beam" on limiting taxes, MacDonald has zeroed in on forging trust between taxpayers and state transportation planners.

In a series of announcements made Thursday under the banner "Straight Talk About Transportation," MacDonald took serious steps to rebuild that trust, steps other officials would do well to emulate. Among them:

  • MacDonald welcomed hard-nosed performance audits by knowledgeable outside professionals. "Citizens need to know that they are getting their money’s worth," he said.

  • He put forth a detailed but understandable look at the different sources of state transportation funding, an objective look at where Washington ranks nationally in per-capita transportation spending (45th), and a look at the kinds of projects that need attention — from safety improvements and congestion relief to bridge repair and ferry replacement.

  • He introduced a "menu" of 10-year transportation plans — ranging from "Blue Plate Special" to "The Family Meal" to "The Full Course Surf ‘n’ Turf" — along with relative costs.

    All of this easy-to-digest information is on the department’s Web site (www.wsdot.wa.gov ) for everyone to see. "The goal," according to the DOT, "is to involve the citizens of the state in crafting a funding plan that provides real transportation solutions at a level they are willing to support."

    MacDonald, a Washington native who went to Harvard and stayed in Massachusetts for many years, came to the DOT last year with a solid reputation for accountability and a record of managing public-works projects that were on budget and on schedule.

    MacDonald isn’t walking on water here. He’s doing his job, as are lots of other bright, dedicated public officials. But at a time when most of them have endured more than their share of slings and arrows, it’s worth pointing to an example of real leadership in an area where it’s sorely needed.

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