Nearly four months after community activist and labor leader Ed Barnes was appointed to fill a vacant Clark County commissioner post, he made a point Tuesday of stepping down from behind the dais to address his colleagues from a place familiar to him — the public testimony table.
It was a déjà vu moment within the hearings room, a place that, prior to Barnes’ appointment to the board, had been the venue for the Democrat’s frequent commentary against the two Republican commissioners.
And in keeping with the déjà vu theme, the topic of Barnes’ comments to his fellow commissioners was the Columbia River Crossing.
He called on them to approve a resolution thanking people who contributed to the project.
“I want to see that sign,” Barnes said, gesturing above the dais to a sign that reads “Proud past, promising future.”
For weeks, Barnes tried to convince Tom Mielke and David Madore that they should approve the resolution, and it had been the topic of lively discussion between the three commissioners in recent weeks.
The resolution was approved by the Labor Round Table of Southwest Washington in August. The resolution also circulated among Vancouver City Council members, but failed to gain traction.
The resolution conveys “deep appreciation to the many people who contributed their time and effort to the CRC project,” and is more than 14 pages long. It was drafted, in part, to counter the negativity directed at the canceled megaproject and its backers.
In response to Barnes’ resolution, Madore drafted a bistate resolution calling for the two sides — those who supported the CRC, and those who didn’t — to bury the hatchet and move on.
Madore pulled his resolution from consideration last week and asked Barnes to do the same with his. Mielke said that was a wise move, considering the two resolutions appeared as if they were dueling for attention.
Saying he was frustrated that the other two commissioners weren’t treating him fairly, Barnes said Tuesday he had no other option but to make the unusual move and voice his case for the resolution from the public testimony table.
He said the people who worked on the CRC deserved credit for their work.
He called his resolution nonpolitical, saying it was a gesture of goodwill.
“These are people and organizations Commissioner Madore will have to work with to build the east county bridge,” Barnes said, referring to a separate effort being spearheaded by Madore.
Both Mielke and Madore opposed the CRC resolution on grounds that it could be considered too divisive. They also said it would appear disingenuous for the commissioners to approve the resolution, considering a majority of Clark County voters appeared to disapprove of light rail, a major component of the Interstate 5 replacement project, during a 2013 advisory vote.
“It comes down to a fundamental question,” Madore said. “Who do we serve? My position is I serve the people who put me here. I (restate) their voice.”
By quashing the resolution for the last time, Mielke and Madore said it was time to move forward.
Looking at the sign directly above the other two commissioners, Barnes said: “I’d like to see the future get a little shinier.”