On Monday, January 13, the first day of the legislative session, Peter Abbarno joined the Concerned Taxpayers of Snohomish County and “The Right View of Washington State” organizations to support Washington’s Vote on I-976.
I-976 is bigger than one person about more than one issue. I-976 is about the overwhelming “tax fatigue” felt by working families and small business. The message from the People to Olympia is that government must be more efficient – must be more responsive – must be more transparent – must be more accountable- with OUR money.
Peter Abbarno, Centralia City Councilor, Attorney, and host of KELA AM1470’s Let’s Talk About It program
Speakers included State Representatives Jim Wash, Luanne Van Werven, Brad Klippert, Senators Doug Ericksen, Keith Wagoner, Phil Fortunato, and Activist Glen Morgan with wethegoverned.com. Sam Inman and son set up the sound system and music, as well as Carolyn Strong, Billye Brooks-Sebastiani, and Petra Bigea who did an amazing job scheduling and organizing the event.
Among other things, Initiative 976, caps annual state and local car tab fees at $30, was to take effect on December 5, but King County and Seattle officials, supported by the governor, have “tied up” the vote in litigation. The Legislature can uphold the voice and vote of the people through legislation.
“It’s about taxes,” said State Representative Jim Walsh. “It’s about what I believe are my constituents’ exasperation with increasing nickel-and-dime taxes, and I think the people in the state are exasperated.”
Almost 53% of Washingtonians voted in favor of lower car tab fees and in my community, like many of your communities, it even passed by over 71% This is not a partisan issue. However, the Governor and King County have an insatiable appetite for taxes and bigger government and turned the I-976 vote into revenge politics by holding hostage local transportation projects- even thought the state is seeing unprecedented revenue from existing sources.
Peter Abbarno, Centralia City Councilor, Attorney, and host of KELA AM1470’s Let’s Talk About It program
Get involved and make a difference! Contact your legislators and let them know to support the will of the people. The list of legislators is located at www.apps.leg.wa.gov/Rosters/Members.
“We must restore the proper balance of power among the branches of state government, said State Representative Jim Walsh. “One judge in King County cannot overturn the will of the people of Washington. The Legislature must step up and do its job to express the will of the people.”
House Republicans, including Jim Walsh and Jesse Young, are preparing legislation that would implement the lower fees and establish a new funding source for transportation projects. The proposal would also prioritize the Washington Department of Transportation – without raising taxes.
“Transportation has become a partisan philosophical issue — it didn’t used to be,” Senator Doug Ericksen said. “We all used to basically be in agreement that we were going to use the gas tax effectively and efficiently to build roads and ease congestion. But now, the Democrat Party in Washington state believes that congestion is the solution, not the problem, because fundamentally they believe you should not be driving an automobile.”
