Sound Transit voters seemed to be passing a $17.9 billion transit measure that aims to bring light rail and additional bus service to Snohomish County, early returns Tuesday evening showed.
Proposition 1 needs a simple majority to pass in the Sound Transit district, which spreads over Snohomish, King and Pierce counties. It was leading in all three counties as of late Tuesday night.
In Snohomish County, the measure was winning by about 55 percent to 45 percent. In King County, it was leading 62 percent to 38 percent. In Pierce County, the proposal was leading 51 percent to 49 percent.
If approved, Proposition 1 is expected to bring light rail to Lynnwood by 2023 and increase Sound Transit’s bus service in Snohomish County by about 30 percent over the next few years, Sound Transit officials said.
“Numbers are going to hold,” said Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon, who sits on the Sound Transit board of directors. “It’s good for Snohomish County. Taxpayers see that.”
The increased bus service in the county would start happening next year, Reardon said.
“This was a very defined package that will result in immediate congestion relief in Snohomish County,” he said.
The measure would result in a new half-cent sales tax hike per dollar spent, or 5 cents on a $10 purchase, according to the transit agency. The proposal would expand bus, train and light rail projects in the three countries over the next 15 years.
Gary Nelson, a former Snohomish County Councilman, opposed Proposition 1, which he believes would hurt people who are already struggling with the current economic crisis.
“It is a bad time,” Nelson said. “I suspect people haven’t thought about economic conditions. It’s not a good time to raise taxes.”
Approving a humongous tax measure is different from executing projects on time, Nelson said.
“From now on, people need to be watchdogs of Sound Transit activities,” he said. “They need to make sure that all the projects are being delivered.”
The transit-only proposal appeared on the ballot a year after voters decisively rejected a different package of road-and-transit projects. The 20-year, $17.8 billion package overwhelmed voters, critics said.
The new measure, prepared this summer when gas prices were skyrocketing, would give commuters more transit options, proponents said. All three Sound Transit board members from Snohomish County — Reardon, Edmonds City Councilwoman Deanna Dawson and Everett City Councilman Paul Roberts — voted to put the proposal on the ballot.
Opponents said that the proposal is too costly for people struggling to make ends meet in the sluggish economy and it does little to improve transportation problems in the Puget Sound region.
A group called NoToProp1.org raised and spent about $153,000 to fight against the measure, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission.
Meanwhile, Mass Transit Now, a grass-roots group, raised $892,643 to support the measure, according to the commission. The group has spent $616,273.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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