Rantz: Democratic superintendent encourages revenge against I-976 voters

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal is livid over the seemingly imminent passage of Initiative 976, which limits car tab fees to $30.

If Washington State Legislative Democrats do not pull down transportation projects in direct proportion to the 976 yes votes by county, then nothing will change! If certain counties want transportation taxes cut, then they don't get the projects. Step up Democrats!

— Chris Reykdal (@chrisreykdal) November 6, 2019

The Democrat Tweeted, “If Washington State Legislative Democrats do not pull down transportation projects in direct proportion to the 976 yes votes by county, then nothing will change!  If certain counties want transportation taxes cut, then they don’t get the projects. Step up Democrats!”

This is the type of attitude that pushed people to vote yes on I-976. The arrogance that privileged, elitist politicians like Reykdal put on display every day has a tendency to rub voters the wrong way.

Check the latest election results

It’s also particularly bizarre logic, given Reykdal would end up hurting people who support the type of transportation projects he favors, if they happen to live in districts that voted for I-976. Is this how he treats his staff if they don’t favor policies he wants? Is this how he will treat school districts that push back on some of his agenda items?

It’s not just an immature response, it’s also the wrong takeaway from the results if they hold. I don’t know many supporters of I-976 hate transportation projects, including those from Sound Transit. They just believe the transportation projects should be better handled.

Officials with Sound Transit, for example, claimed with the passage of I-976, it could put their projects in jeopardy of delays. But almost all of their projects are already delayed.

Beyond that, activists passing ST3 chose to lie to Western Washington voters to get their funding, using old calculations to tabulate car tab fees. That rightfully upset many drivers.

As a result of the subterfuge, activist Tim Eyman let the entire state vote on the issue. This was a self-inflicted wound. Had ST3 been presented honestly, not only would it still have passed, but I-976 wouldn’t have started.

Take a hint: The Left complains incessantly on big money buying elections. “No on I-976” spent millions of dollars with misleading ads. The “Yes” side spent virtually nothing. Get the hint. The state is mismanaging transportation projects and voters don’t like being lied to.

Reykdal and others brought this on themselves.

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jasonrantz