I attended the Clark County Commissioner meeting on Feb. 12 and was very disappointed when Commissioners David Madore and Tom Mielke voted to approve their resolution opposing the Columbia River Crossing. What a sad day for Vancouver.
As the Feb. 13 Columbian story “Commissioners vote to oppose CRC” noted, in two hours of public comment, the vast majority of speakers spoke in opposition of this resolution; including community philanthropist Ed Lynch and former Mayor Royce Pollard, labor groups, numerous business groups and private residents.
Unfortunately, neither commissioner acknowledged the concerns brought up by those in opposition, including the factual inaccuracies in the resolution. It was very clear to me that Madore had no intention of listening to the valid points brought up and couldn’t wait for his opportunity to approve this resolution.
Several speakers noted the county motto emblazoned above the hearing room: “Proud Past, Promising Future.” I fear it will need to be changed to “Proud Past, Dismal Future.” Federal funding for this project will not last forever, and the commissioners might very well have ruined our opportunity for this much needed replacement bridge. Commissioners Madore and Mielke should be ashamed of themselves.
