Guest Commentary

In this case, give them $2.2 billion in fuel taxes, and they’ll take your roads too.

Attorney General and now Candidate for Governor Bob Ferguson, Senator Andy Billig and other proponents of the state’s disastrous cap-and-trade scheme have crossed the line, threatening Washington families by holding vital road construction projects hostage. They’ve made it clear: if we don’t keep their crony system in place, “every road project, including the North Spokane Corridor, will be in jeopardy.”

It’s a classic shakedown—Some nice road projects you have there…it’d be a shame if something happened to them…

But here’s the truth: road construction projects like the north-south corridor were already approved back in 2015, funded by an 11.9 cent gas tax that generated $16 billion. Washingtonians have already paid for these projects, which have nothing to do with the cap-and-trade program. And they know it’s a lie because cap-and-trade funds are not allowed to be used for highway projects.

Voting yes on Initiative 2117 means reclaiming what’s rightfully ours—lower fuel costs, fair taxation, and the promise of road projects we’ve already financed.

What’s really at stake for I-2117 opponents is funding that the elites on Bainbridge and Mercer Islands are counting on, including rebates for their new Teslas and to ensure they can drive onto the new electric ferries and charge up at state-funded charging stations for free.

And let’s not forget the lovely bike and pedestrian paths they want to build in the increasingly unsafe city of Seattle, new electric busses crowding the new bike lanes, all while the rest of the state’s infrastructure needs go unmet.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are left paying the bill.

Governor Inslee and his allies, like Bob Ferguson and Senator Billig, are resorting to desperate, hostage-taking tactics. Instead of pushing for the accelerated completion of projects that taxpayers have already funded, they’re using them as leverage to sustain a system that burdens hardworking families.

But Washingtonians won’t be bullied any longer. We’re coming together to vote yes on Initiative 2117 and put an end to this costly scheme.