The 17th District town hall meeting, 2 p.m. Tuesday, CVTV, Channel 23
The three state lawmakers from the 17th Legislative District this week will draft a letter asking for a countywide vote concerning a new Interstate 5 bridge across the Columbia River, Rep. Paul Harris said Sunday.
Harris said he and Sen. Don Benton, another Republican, and Rep. Tim Probst, a Democrat, agreed at a district town hall meeting Saturday morning to send such a letter.
But there is confusion over what the letter would say.
Harris said he thought the agreement was for a vote on light rail to happen this year.
Probst said he did not agree to that timeline. He also said, “I said nothing about light rail.”
Benton could not be reached Sunday.
Harris said questions on light rail were the first ones asked at the town hall at Mountain View High School.
“We all agreed that the citizens of Vancouver should have an opportunity to vote on light rail, as promised,” Harris said.
“The concern of a lot of the citizens (at the town hall) … is they want to vote on it this November. We will say (in a letter) we feel the same way,” Harris said.
But Probst had a different perspective.
“My position on the bridge has always been the public should have a vote on it when we know how much the bridge is going to cost, how much the tolls would be and how many thousands of jobs would be created.”
As for a vote this year, Probst said, “I didn’t put a timeline on it.”
“The citizens should have the opportunity to vote. … We’ll draft this letter and get it out to the Vancouver council and the county commissioners,” Harris said.
“CVTV was there, it’s all recorded,” Harris said of the town hall.
Last week, at a C-Tran meeting, there was discussion that a vote on funding the operation of light rail could not be arranged until 2012.
TV broadcast
On Friday, The Columbian’s editorial page advocated allowing voters to say whether they favor a new bridge and light rail.
On Saturday, Editor Lou Brancaccio in his column also advocated a public vote on a new bridge and light rail.
Harris said, “If Tim Probst is saying he didn’t say that (on light rail and when the vote should happen), then I need to go back and watch CVTV and see what he did say. We sure want to do this right.”
The 17th District town hall meeting is scheduled to be played on CVTV, Channel 23, at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
