Sound Transit Gives Public Money to Special Interest Groups

Washington Policy Center released a new report showing Sound Transit officials using public money to contribute to special interest groups. The study was featured in an investigative report on KIRO (CBS) television this evening (video of the story is available here).

Through public disclosure requests, Sound Transit provided a list of non-governmental interest groups that have received direct financial contributions from the agency since it received taxing authority. According to Sound Transit records, the agency has contributed more than $164,000 to special interest groups through annual memberships and fundraisers.

“It’s surprising to think that Sound Transit is giving taxpayer money away,” says Michael Ennis, director of WPC’s Center for Transportation, “considering they have scaled back projects, are extremely over budget and behind schedule.”

Washington Policy Center also asks the State Auditor to investigate whether the contributions constitute a gift of public funds, which is expressly prohibited in the state Constitution.

This concept was applied in a 2005 compliance audit of the Port of Seattle. The State Auditor found the Port could not “demonstrate the appropriateness of certain expenditures,” made to outside organizations where no tangible good or service was received. In this case, the Port’s contributions are similar to Sound Transit’s.

Comments

[Nick L]

Err, the Port audit would be a bad example. The Port was giving money to groups which had nothing to do with the Port's mission.

Sound Transit is being nit-picked over dollars being spent on activities which help their mission: to get people out of theirs.

The always-behind-the-times Washington Policy Center's goal - to encourage the maximum amount of fossil fuel burning as possible - is getting a little bit tired as of late.

Timing is a little off, too.

Note to WPC: you will lose the 'freeways over transit' debate. Always. Why? Because your constituency also happens to oppose the taxes it will take to build all those new roads. Not so for the pro-transit crowd.

[Nick L]

Also mysterious: as if this was new information gathered through public disclosure.

Serial grudge expert and transit critic Emory Bundy has been sending weekly dispatches on this BIG money laundering scheme for, oh, about 10 years.

Why would a Brie&Cheese Seattle blueblood like Bundy spend so much time cavorting with the WPC's hard right angel funders at Kemper Development Corp? Well, aside from their elitist attitudes, both camps share an affinity for really REALLLY weird transit technology.

Kemper and his people are always careful to hide their interest in Personal Rapid Transit. Bundy...not quite so savvy.

[Perri Nelson]

Nick L,

I don't think that the "freeways over transit" debate is "lost" because the proponents of freeways over transit object to every tax plan. I think you mischaracterize the position of the proponents of freeways over transit regarding taxes.

I'm almost certain that if it weren't for the fact that practically every tax proposal for transportation that is brought before the people primarily funds mass transit at the expense of freeways that you'd find more of us willing to support the taxes to pay for the freeways. As it stands, the choice isn't being offered. It's either a tax package that funds mass transit alone, a tax package that funds mass transit with freeways as an afterthought, or no tax package at all and thus no freeways at all that is presented.

Eliminate transit from the tax package and it might get some votes.

[fact checker]

Hey, I'll second the above criticisms of Emory Bundy. That guy's got his head screwed on backwards. He was one of the leaders of the Sane Tranist group that sued ST. Those dunderheads actually thought the ST taxes HAD to stop COMPLETELY after ten years! Never mind how language in Sound Move says that ST may collect taxes in perpetuity to subsidize some O & M costs. Bundy and his fellow-travellers also brought legal claims in that suit against ST based on the stupid notion that ST was required by the local law voters approved in 1996 to build a light rail system with all the capital elements described in the "Sound Move" part of the ordinance (despite all the language in Res. 75 to the contrary). Bundy can't read what's right in front of him. It is hard to believe anyone takes him seriously on anything after his "Sane Transit" lawsuit.