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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Nickels Cancels Support of Monorail
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
9/16/2005 2:00:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alex Fryer (206) 684-8358
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Nickels Cancels Support of Monorail
Asks Council to put advisory measure on November’s ballot
SEATTLE - Mayor Greg Nickels today withdrew support for building the Seattle
Monorail Project, citing a risky financial plan that did not protect taxpayers
or the city.
The mayor also asked the City Council to take the unusual step of putting
an advisory measure on the November ballot asking whether the people of Seattle
believe the monorail project should continue in light of the risks now known.
“Put simply, the monorail does not have enough money to pay for the
project,” Nickels said, a day after the monorail board met his Sept.
15 deadline to present a new plan. “The financing plan presented to me
is not prudent. It relies on a risky assumption that money from car tabs will
grow faster than expert economists consider reasonable. You can’t solve
a real revenue problem with rosy projections.”
Nickels said he will exercise his authority to cancel the Transit Way Agreement.
But said it was vital that the people of Seattle, who voted four times to build
the monorail, have the ultimate say in whether it continues to exist.
The mayor asked Council President Jan Drago to call an emergency session next
Thursday to approve the measure. The timing gives the monorail board one more
chance to put its own measure on the November ballot.
“Jan Drago has shown fiscal accountability, integrity and leadership
in her handling of the monorail,” Nickels said. “She understands
the public confidence is critical to making progress on transportation.”
Visit the mayor’s web site at www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the mayor’s
inside view on initiatives to promote transportation, public safety, economic
opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter
at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm
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Office of the Mayor
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