Seattle tunnel issues may impact debate in race for mayor

Governor Jay Inslee stepped in Tuesday to get digging going on the Seattle tunnel project after a month-long union fight.

“I believe that the time had come, that a billion-dollar project simply could not take further delay,” the governor said.

Digging should resume in a few days, but the drill is only 24 feet into the job and we’ve already had a major disruption and delay.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn fought this project on the campaign trail four years ago. It was one of the reasons he was elected.

Will this project impact his reelection bid in the final month of this campaign?

McGinn isn’t dancing around telling people “I told you so” as he makes his campaign stops, but any time someone asks about the tunnel, he’s quick to point out that he brought up all these questions before the project started.

“I raised issues when I ran that the tolling numbers that they came up with, the $400 million, was overly optimistic, and that’s been borne out,” the mayor said. “I raised concerns that the state legislature may not be willing to put more money in, even if individuals there were making us promises.”

“Individuals there” is McGinn’s nice way of going after his November opponent, State Senator Ed Murray, who was on the transportation committee as this project was drawn up, without naming him.

Murray countered by saying, “Unfortunately we have a mayor who never liked the project, promised us he wouldn’t try to stop it and then spent two years trying to stop it.”

But McGinn said his questions were legitimate then, and they are legitimate now, especially when it comes to paying for delays on the project, like the one the governor just mediated.

“There were a lot of commitments made – that they were going to figure out how to pay for it and not make Seattle pay if there were cost overruns,” McGinn said. “So I’m just going to do my best to facilitate the project and hold them to their promises to pay the costs.”

But Murray said the mayor bears some responsibilities for the delays and possible overruns because of his opposition. “I think it’s an issue of his not stepping up and being a partner and making sure this project works.”

The mayor said this is a state project, and Seattle has little to do with how it operates and for now he’s not sure whether this issue is important to voters. Murray would be happy to make it one.