Vancouver resident Sarah Akey address the Vancouver City Council’s opposition to the four citizen-backed initiatives on the November ballot

The Vancouver City Council took very unusual action Monday night, voting to oppose the four citizen backed initiatives that will appear on the November ballot. The four resolutions to oppose the initiatives passed without direct opposition from anyone on the council, with one exception. Mayor Anne McEnerny Ogle thought there were “too many loopholes” in the wording of the Long Term Care initiative and opted to abstain from voting on that one.

This is deeply troubling. The city attorney had to clarify the unique rules that had to be followed, in order for them to allow a vote; otherwise, their opposition was supposedly prohibited. Why would the council act on something they normally couldn’t do?

The councilors echoed rhetoric that these initiatives are regressive. This is disturbing, as nothing could be further from the truth. If passed, all of these initiatives will save taxpayers money. “Vote Yes, Pay Less” is the main slogan of the Let’s Go Washington campaign.

Their motivation is money. Slides shown highlighted Vancouver getting $4.95 million from a “3-cent gas tax” and another $4.85 million from the Climate Commitment Act. They highlighted “$3.2 billion in statewide dollars.” They refused to acknowledge that $3.2 billion came from the pockets of hardworking citizens like you and me.

While the council members and citizens supporting the resolutions expressed concern about Washingtonians paying more, all of these initiatives aim to make Washington state more livable, more affordable and save people money. They aim to give people a choice.

“I-2117 will lower the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel by between $0.40 and $0.50 per gallon. I-2066 will allow the choice of using natural gas for heating and cooking in people’s homes. I-2109 will repeal the capital gains tax. I-2124 allows workers the choice to opt-out or stay in the state-run Long Term Care Coverage Act. Give workers a choice.” Clark County resident and 18th Legislative District candidate John Ley said in his testimony during the public hearing on the resolutions.

Ley and I both spoke urging the council members to support the initiates and the voices of more than 400,000 people who signed each of them. Instead, the council opted to take a moment to discredit both and take a stand in the name of progressive nonsense.

I urge every single citizen to dig into these initiatives and get the facts. Learn how passing these four initiatives will actually make life a little more affordable in this state by lowering costs and giving people choices.

Sarah Akey
Vancouver

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