I-695 Supporters Blast Government At Rally Locke, Spokane Officials Criticized

Supporters of a ballot initiative to cancel the motor vehicle excise tax rallied Monday to criticize government leaders from Gov. Gary Locke down to Spokane City Council members who have spoken out against the proposal.

Some 50 supporters - from children to senior citizens - gathered under the Spokane City Hall roofline for protection against an intermittent drizzle as local members of the Republican, Reform and American Heritage parties praised Initiative 695.

State Rep. Lynn Schindler, R-Spokane Valley, said she hears a clear message from an effort that collected more than 500,000 signatures to place the initiative on the ballot. “I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and do whatever it takes to make 695 work,” Schindler said. Local term limits activist Michael Fagan blasted Locke for recent comments that if the proposal fails in the Nov. 2 budget, he and the Legislature will come up with a plan to lower the vehicle tax by basing it on a more realistic value.

But other than saying the tax should be based on so-called book value, instead of the current depreciation schedule applied to the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of a car, Locke has refused to provide details of an alternative proposal.

“Sounds a little suspicious to me,” Fagan said. “The opportunities for meaningful tax relief are few and far between.”

The initiative proposes to abolish the tax and require owners of all motor vehicles to pay an annual fee of $30. It would also require voter approval of any increase in taxes, government fees or charges.

Local governments around the state, including the City of Spokane, are considering fee increases this year to avoid having to put them to a vote in 2000 if the initiative passes.

The Spokane City Council received a briefing of their options before the rally started.

Local supporters of 695 anticipated the council would vote on those increases Monday evening and scheduled the rally for an hour before the council meeting.

Rows of red yard signs supporting I-695 were stacked next to diamond-shaped orange signs for David Bray, the only council candidate on next Tuesday’s ballot who supports the measure.

But the council has postponed that vote until next Monday, which drew even more criticism because that’s the eve of the election.

Joanne McCann, an unsuccessful primary candidate for a council seat, likened the upcoming budget vote to a fairy tale, with “council rulers sitting on their thrones.”

Jack Fagan, local co-chairman of the initiative drive and father of Michael Fagan, said government officials shouldn’t be afraid to let the public approve tax increases. “The Titanic was built by professionals, but it was amateurs that built the Ark,” the elder Fagan said.