By Ralph Schwartz
The theme over the past year in Bellingham/Whatcom politics has been cooperation.
Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville and county Executive Jack Louws have touted their effectiveness at getting things done, such as a pending unified Medic One advanced life support arrangement.
Linville also says she has done a better job than the previous mayor at working with the Port of Bellingham to advance waterfront redevelopment.
Now comes a press release today from the Port of Bellingham that says, in essence, three heads are better than one. Linville, Louws and port Executive Director Rob Fix traveled to Olympia recently to outline for legislators the community’s priorities. Those priorities are listed at the end of the press release:
Three Local Governments Form Partnership on State Issues
Last week top officials from Whatcom County, the City of Bellingham and the Port of Bellingham joined together in Olympia to promote shared goals for this legislative session.
“When we can stand shoulder-to-shoulder and demonstrate our shared interests, we are much more effective,” said County Executive Jack Louws. “Our state delegation made it clear that they appreciate our efforts to bring forward one set of priorities.”
This year – for the first time – Whatcom County government, the City of Bellingham and the Port of Bellingham have developed a shared set of legislative priorities and contracted with a government affairs firm to represent local issues in Olympia during this important two-year budget writing legislative session.
“This partnership is possible because we’ve worked hard to collaborate on many community issues,” said Mayor Kelli Linville. “During my time in the Legislature, I always preferred when people, organizations, and agencies worked together.”
Last week Louws, Linville, and Port Executive Director Rob Fix arranged to spend a day in Olympia meeting with all legislative members of the 40th and 42nd District, as well as other legislators. The trip focused on discussing the shared county/city/port objectives, learning about the budget issues and commenting on legislation that may impact the local community.
“We know the state is facing a challenging budget and we think this is a way to be efficient and effective,” Fix said. “Plus our whole community benefits from our discussions in developing a shared agenda.”
… In January, the three governments approved an Interlocal Agreement and collaborated in a competitive selection process that resulted in the city contracting with McBride Public Affairs. Each government will pay $30,000 for the annual government affairs services.
2013 legislative objectives, city of Bellingham, Whatcom County, Port of Bellingham
• Budget. Maintain adequate funding for local governments, avoid new unfunded mandates and provide relief in the form of common sense policies, such as efficient, consistent and predictable permitting requirements.
• Public Works Trust Fund. Preserve full funding of the Public Works Trust Fund. Retain full funding for projects that are under way/scheduled and provide family wage jobs in Whatcom County.
• LIFT. Expand Local Infrastructure Financing Tools for projects that create jobs in Whatcom County.
• MTCA. Fully fund the Model Toxics Control Act. This dedicated funding source for toxic cleanup and prevention, including stormwater projects, is at risk. Protect the MTCA account and maintain focus on the core uses of these funds.
• Transportation. Support new statewide transportation funding that will sustain our ferries, highways and freight mobility capacity, including much needed investments in local roads and transit.
• Aquatic Invasive Species. Assist in development of a federal-led statewide Aquatic Invasive Species eradication program.
• Marine Tourism. Support legislation that will aid efforts by cities, counties and ports to attract out-of-state boaters to our waterfront communities. Expanding the permitted length of stay for “entity-owned” vessels from 60 to 180 days creates greater sales tax revenues to waterfront economies.
• Judiciary. Fund a fourth Superior Court Judge for Whatcom County.
There are eight points in the priority list. In the spirit of a Republican-sponsored bill that would grade public schools on an A-F format, we could come back to this list at the end of the legislative session to find out how well the team did at lobbying for local priorities. The grading system: 0-4 accomplished = F; 5 = D; 6 = C; 7 = B, and 8 = A.
I do so love press releases as much for their silly simplicity as for what remains unpressed and not released.
Budget – who in local government would ever express a desire to strap local government or encourage unfunded mandates?
If common-sense and predictable permit policies add as much to the tax base as Our Leaders hope it will then surely the harmful impacts of any development will be mitigated equally as efficiently.
Public Works – How does the Government provide ‘family wage’ jobs in the midst of competitive bidding? Maybe a re-definition of Family will provide the answer since we all know what wage means.
Transportation – Are we advocating locally in support of a state-wide tax for our ferry system and maybe higher gas taxes to fill the highway maintenance shortfall? If not, what else would we locally support to achieve the goals in this statement?
But all other obvious and self-serving announcements aside,
how about the taxpayers buying a private lobbyist? Does $90,000 a year really move the three interlocal public entities into the Big Boys Club?
Did McBride Public Affairs win out in competitive bidding when our community decided to purchase a voice in our legislature?
I don’t blame The Herald or its employees for printing this nonsense without question,
but own it as a PR machine and not as any real information into the trip these three Authorities made to the Capitol.
Getting along interlocally doesn’t mean raising the same parrot to do the same trick of non-speak signifying nothing.
Linville and Louws should really tout their most obvious accomplishment…laying down BS as if it we’e silage on north county fields. at least the dairy waste grows more than propaganda and press for pseudo leaders who are only legends in their own minds.
Sorry, the editing went awry as it often does on the Herald site anymore….what is with the jumpy screen where something suddenly moves and you end up where you did not intend to go or as here one is editing and submit jumped up and yet the original being edited remains, hence a double post. Anyone else finding this or is it my ipad? just curious there Ralph. Just toss them both along with Soilie.
And now I have used up three of my few precious allotted, which by the way is a pretty silly new wrinkle in the website that keeps getting more prune like in my opinion.
All that effort on your part and no one bothering to join the discussion. I guess eventually, like the old consumer blog, no one will bother and you can spend more time what? Playing Free cell? Delivering a rural route? Friending? Glory days-ing it at the
Boundary Bay?
I’d be happy to give you my share of allotments, Hank; your comments are way more interesting and entertaining than my own!!
Take anything posted here in the BH blogs under my screen name with a grain of salt. I have an admirer (stalker) who has tried and failed to hack my account used for commenting on stories and is now posting here in the blog section under my user name because they don’t need a password to do so. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but this action on the part of a Con is in actuality the highest form of desperation.
I have sent the false Soylent Green an email, warning him/her not to do it again. I also deleted the fake posts. I’ll continue to keep a close eye on things.
As much as I strongly support anonymity, I would be interested in knowing who the culprit is.
Just saying…