Don’t blame parties for growth woes

I am compelled to respond to letters that blame Snohomish County Council Republicans for our traffic problems.

The traffic problem in our area began years ago – years Democrats controlled both the council and the executive’s office.

All budgets, including transportation, are originated by the county executive. Snohomish County has never had a Republican county executive.

Any law the County Council passes is signed by our Democrat county executive.

The Legislature, under Democrat control, passed the Growth Management Act that forces our area to cram growth into limited “urban growth areas” – making traffic worse.

The Governor’s Office of Financial Management ruled that Snohomish County must accommodate up to 300,000 new citizens over the next 10 years. Yes, the governor is a Democrat.

The fact is that traffic and growth is neither a Republican nor Democrat problem. It is all of ours. It’s unfortunate that those Democrat campaign operatives that write to your paper prefer to cast blame rather than offer solutions.

SHANNA HABICH

Monroe

* road construction