Seattle Leaders Taking A Step Toward The Right

Seattle, famous for its all-embracing attitude, is becoming a more Miss Manners kind of town.

First, the city outlawed leaflets and posters on utility polls, long the advertising venue of choice for alternative rock bands. Then, sitting on the sidewalk was banned, rousting vagrants from some of their choicest panhandling spots.

When a jeans company wanted to post bare derrieres on city billboards and buses, the word was no thanks.

And now, the King County Council is debating whether to turn down $80,000 in federal money, lest the council be dubbed Senseless in Seattle.

The money is intended to reduce the spread of AIDS by teaching prostitutes to use condoms in their trade.

But the grant also would spend $6,530 to produce a newsletter for prostitutes to “foster their sense of self-esteem in themselves as they are.”

That was way too much for some council members, who pointed out that prostitution is, afterall, illegal. They also questioned whether the money needs to pay for a choice of 26 condom varieties.

That’s going a teensy bit overboard in the customer satisfaction department, some council members thought.

“What do they think, King County is the Baskin and Robbins of condoms?” asked GOP Councilman Chris Vance.

“This is the type of loony, left-wing program which has led to the rise of the Republicans and the demise of the Democrats.”

Property rights peace talks

Opponents of Initiative 164, the property rights measure, say they have been surprised to be invited to peace talks not once, but twice by business interests that back the measure.

The initiative would require taxpayers to pay property owners for any loss in property value caused by regulations.

Opponents call it the biggest tax increase in history, and are gathering signatures to put the law on the ballot in the form of Referendum 48.

They have until July 21 to collect more than 90,000 signatures. Otherwise, the measure, passed by the Legislature this winter, becomes law.

Now that a campaign looks likely - opponents say they are sure they will meet their signature goal - business interests have tried twice to call the whole thing off.

“We really don’t want to go through a campaign,” said Tom McCabe of the Building Industry Association. “It will be divisive, and it will be expensive.”

Developers, timber companies, and other initiative backers will have to shell out more than $1 million to win, McCabe figured.

Instead, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and builders’ association want I-164 opponents to sit down with them and negotiate changes in the law to propose to the Legislature in January.

No deal, I-164 opponents said. The law is too flawed to fix, they argued. And besides, they already have gathered the signatures of thousands of voters who want and expect to see the measure on the ballot.

“The voters of the state want this on the ballot, and it’s going to be on the ballot,” said John Lamson, spokesman for Referendum 48.

A free ride

The Spokane Transit Authority can learn something from Seattle’s Metro system, which offers a ride-free area in the downtown core. The ride-free zone is so extensive it’s downright hard to pay for a bus ride in downtown Seattle.

The policy encourages bus use, and reduces traffic, pollution, and demand for parking. The service is so frequent and reliable that everyone uses it, from executives on their way across town to a meeting to panhandlers trolling for a new venue.

Spokane’s bus system offers rides from Riverfront Park to downtown for just 25 cents. But a more expanded, ride-free zone could be a boon to downtown shoppers and businesses.

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