King County Executive Kurt Triplett wants action. We should back him.
Triplett sees a wall of muddy water coming, so he wants to raise 42 miles of levees rather than wait for famous FEMA to come to the rescue when two Seattle area cities flood. He wants to do it now and is willing to declare a state of emergency to get it done.
He sees a flood of red ink coming, so he wants to dish off 39 county parks – free – and lay off 15 of his own staffers so he doesn’t have to make further cuts at the county sheriff’s department.
Despite a rising tide of demand for bus service, he’s willing to slash Metro service by 9 percent and raise fares. He’d rather cut public transportation than sacrifice public safety.
What a magnificent example for our elected officials.
Triplett, until recently Ron Sims’ chief of staff, knows what it takes. And he is fearless because he isn’t running for public office. He’s not a career politician worried about keeping his job. He’s focused on the job that has to get done.
Triplett exemplifies the notion of the citizen legislator focused on doing the right things that will benefit the most people with the money we have entrusted to him.
Why should Kirkland care? We have our own police and fire departments, so what Triplett does to preserve the sheriff’s department capabilities matters little to us. Very few of us have any direct involvement with Kent and Auburn, the cities likely to flood this winter, though I suspect there are a few among us who own land or buildings in those cities, or who have investments in or work for companies with significant operations in the flood plain. And only a tiny percentage of us use public transit.
This is why we should care:
If Kent and Auburn flood, we will all look stupid for not supporting bold action to prevent a near-certain disaster. A flood would shut down King County Elections headquarters, the Kent Regional Justice Center, the county’s primary animal shelter and flood out hundreds of businesses and 20,000 residents with total damages approaching $3 billion.
If King County makes drastic cuts in police protection, we have several as yet unincorporated areas on our borders that will suffer. Imagine the ripple effects.
As for Metro, I confess ambivalence. I’m a big advocate for growing our bus fleet because it’s so much more economical, quick to deploy and more flexible than a light-rail system. But if I have to choose – and when we have to balance spending against income, we have to choose – I would choose flood prevention and public safety over bus service.
Triplett’s boldness reminds us that we must make painful choices. We will have to continue to make painful choices, and we will have to stop whining when our pet projects get cut.
Triplett’s willingness to break the political gridlock also reminds us of what to ask of our elected officials. They must risk angering some segments of the population in order to provide for the greater good. They must put aside their own career aspirations to make things happen when they need to happen. And when they are running for office, we must press them on what they will do when tough decisions have to be made.
So watch the King County Executive debates starting Oct. 15. Read their position statements at www.susanhutchison.com/issues/issues.html and http://dowconstantine.org/index.php?page=display&id=4. Send them emails telling them what you expect of them.
Meanwhile, look over Triplett’s Countywide Strategic Plan at www.kingcounty.gov/exec/strategy/StrategicPlan/CountyStratPlan.aspx. And join his Million Sandbag March to raise the levees.
