Lonergan vs. Goings

The Tacoma City Council is a bizarre group of players. All of them could easily be made into cartoon characters with accentuated personalities and plenty of goofy quirks. There’s the gangly Mayor Bill Baarsma, the robust and hard-lined Deputy Mayor Spiro Manthou, and the Mrs. Clever-esque Connie Ladenburg.



Then there’s Mike Lonergan.



Lonergan, though I sometimes disagree, may be my favorite member of the Council. He’s blunt (which I appreciate) and he doesn’t mind standing alone on issues he believes in.



Proving that politics can be almost as ugly on the local level as the national stage, Lonergan, who’s running as an Independent for Pierce County Executive, distributed a press release this week blasting his opponent, Dem. Calvin Goings, for using taxpayer dollars to fund a mailing that invited the public to a Town Hall Meeting on ethics reform. Lonergan claims the mailing was solely designed to build name recognition for Goings.



“The mailing prominently displays the name and color pictures of Goings and another county councilmember, not once but twice — on both sides of the meeting notice. Once an official is a declared candidate for countywide office, should the taxpayer bear the cost of name-familiarity mailings outside the district the official represents? I don’t believe so,” wrote Lonergan in the press release.



“I oppose special mailings which would appear to be aimed at building name familiarity in advance of a countywide election. The candidate’s campaign committee should reimburse the taxpayer for the cost of such mailings. And I would hope that the irony of this mailing on the topic of Ethics Reform is not lost on the public.”



Should taxpayers expect a reimbursement check from Goings? Seems unlikely. But I wouldn’t expect this issue to die anytime soon, either. Seems we have a pretty bitter battle on our hands. Look for a picture of Lonergan wearing a turban to hit the Internet soon. — Matt Driscoll

Ken Miller update

University Place resident Ken Miller is still embroiled in a legal rodeo with Sound Transit over how much they should pay him for 1.25 acres of land they took from him last year under eminent domain authority. Miller contends the property is worth more than $2 million based on its potential to accommodate residential development. Sound Transit claims the property is improperly zoned for building homes. The jury trial that began Feb. 18 is expected to wrap up today.  Check the Weekly Volcano’s blog Spew — www.weeklyvolcanospew.com — for updates on the final decision.



For the past three years, Miller has been fighting to keep property that regional transportation authority Sound Transit says it needs to complete a long-delayed stretch of commuter rail service between Tacoma and Lakewood. Sound Transit used a standard tool to take Miller’s property against his wishes — a power granted government entities by the United States Constitution known as eminent domain. Traditionally eminent domain has been used to clear the way for development of military bases, government buildings, roads and rail lines. Miller chose to fight the regional transit agency — a choice he now regrets.



“It’s like being raped,” he says.



Meanwhile, several bills drafted to add additional protections for property owners have died, including a bill forwarded by the Attorney General’s office that would have limited government’s ability to take land under Washington’s community renewal law.  A bill that would create a property owner’s bill of rights is still alive, reports the AG’s office. — Joe Malik

Foss fuss

There’s a vacant patch of land at the head of the Foss Waterway. At the moment, it’s an uninspiring parcel, but not to the Tacoma City Council, the Tacoma Children’s Museum, and The Foss Waterway Development Authority. To them, the spot is anything but uninspiring.



The parcel in question was originally purchased by the Foss Waterway Development Authority with funds from Pierce County Conservation Futures — money intended to be spent on the preservation of open spaces. One of the possible uses for the land was a human powered boat launch at the site.



But some members of Tacoma’s City Council, as well as other influential players in T-Town politics, have different visions for some of the land. Many support an idea to move the Tacoma Children’s Museum to the parcel, including former councilman Bill Evans and Children’s Museum Executive Director Tanya Andrews. The Tacoma Children’s Museum is currently located downtown at Ninth and Broadway.



The problem, of course, is buying land with state money intended for the conservation of open spaces and then opening a Children’s Museum is, quite possibly, illegal.



Many seem intent on not letting this derail the idea.



Though the Tacoma City Council has little to no power in this decision, they discussed the Children’s Museum proposal at length during a study session Tuesday, Feb. 26 — hoping at some point to be able to go on record with an opinion. The Foss Waterway Development Authority has asked the Pierce County Prosecutor Gerry Horne’s office for an official opinion on the legality of moving the Children’s Museum to the land, and what Horne recommends will go a long way toward determining the land’s destiny. At the moment, several members of the Tacoma City Council seem to support the idea of locating the Children’s Museum on the Foss Waterway land, and at least one — Mike Lonergan — isn’t persuaded.



City Manager Eric Anderson indicated this would not be the last time the Council discussed the matter.  — Matt Driscoll

Electric City

The City of Olympia has received $11,000 from the Olympia Regional Clean Air Agency to purchase its first electric vehicle. City officials say the purchase reflects the City’s commitment to look for innovative ways to lower emissions and reduce dependence on fossil fuel. Electric vehicles do not produce any greenhouse gases and cost approximately one penny a mile to operate, according to the city’s announcement.



Electric vehicles are powered by a battery that is replenished by plugging it into a common electric outlet. Although electricity production may contribute to air pollution, electric vehicles are considered zero-emission vehicles because their motors produce no exhaust or emissions. Ruth Snyder, a city inspector, will use the new vehicle for her work in the downtown area and South Capital neighborhood.



Recent national reports have indicated that the burning coal and other fuels to create energy needed to recharge electric cars may cancel out the benefits of using such vehicles. In Washington, advocates point out that most of Washington’s energy is produced as hydro-power, and that use of electric vehicles is a great way to reduce emissions and dependence on fossil fuels, at least around here. — Robert Dobbs