Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and may not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com
Clark County Councilor Michelle Belkot (District 2) has consistently opposed unnecessary taxes, and stands strong against Vancouver annexation of the County area. Belkot has opposed wasting $Billions for TriMet MAX Light Rail, and supports affordable CTRAN public buses and vans.
Margaret Tweet
In 2012, every city in Clark County plus county areas in the unusual C-TRAN boundary REJECTED the C-TRAN ballot proposition to extend Oregon’s TriMet Max light rail into Clark County. In 2013, citizens voted to oppose any Light Rail project in Clark County unless it is first supported by a majority of voters in a county-wide vote of the people; 68% approved the measure.
That 2013 vote is reflected in a 2022 Clark County Resolution still posted at the county website, to oppose every light rail project in Clark County unless first approved by voters in a county-wide vote. The Resolution should direct policy decisions, yet has been ignored by County Councilors Yung, Fuentes, Marshall, and Little who have voted to bring MAX Light Rail into Clark County, without holding the required vote of the people. Michelle Belkot deserves re-election for upholding the votes of the people, and the Resolution.
- March 3, 2025: Battle Ground City Council voted 4-3 in favor of Resolution No. 25-02 Opposing any Extension of Light Rail as Part of the I-5 Interstate Bridge. Troy McCoy opposed the resolution, yet represented Battle Ground on the C-TRAN board. He asked the council whether to vote to return to 2022 conditions placed on Light Rail and funding at the upcoming March 11 C-TRAN meeting and a Council Majority favored strict conditions. Camas, Washougal, and Ridgefield-LaCenter-Yacolt also favored restoring 2022 strict conditions on Light Rail.
- March 11, 2025: the C-TRAN board considered Belkot’s proposal to reinstate 2022 strict conditions on MAX light rail in Clark County. A majority of the C-TRAN board was poised to back Belkot’s action. However, Light Rail proponent Sue Marshall abruptly motioned to table the scheduled vote, and Vancouver Mayor Ogle and Troy McCoy likewise voted to table the motion. Deken Letinich, candidate for State Rep. 18th came to the meeting and wrote that he supported light rail on the I-5 Bridge. State Representative John Ley has written about the high cost of MAX light rail and low results for years and has earned re-election.
The result of blocking that vote is that C-TRAN funding of Light Rail is still allowed. The next day, Councilors Yung, Fuentes, Marshall and Little removed Belkot from the C-TRAN board and replaced her with Councilor Fuentes, an ardent light rail supporter from County District 3, mostly in Vancouver.
Peter Silliman is more trustworthy than Troy McCoy, and well qualified to serve North County Council District 5 with decades of Telecommunications experience, two years as a Clark County Policy Analyst, and is a current County Charter Review Commissioner.
- 2025: WSDOT suddenly directed CTRAN to change the Board composition to
4 Vancouver Members, 3 Clark County Members, and 2 Members other cities. Ostensibly, this was to reflect population distribution, but it doesn’t.
The state Office of Financial Management published an April 1, 2026 population estimate:
- Unincorporated Clark County – 249,320; Vancouver – 207,000
Clark County Councilors then anointed Councilor Glen Yung (District 1-Vancouver) as the 3rd County C-TRAN Board Member. Now Vancouver has 4 seats on C-TRAN, plus 2 County seats from districts in Vancouver, creating a 6-member majority on the 9-member CTRAN board, all in favor of Light Rail. All Clark County citizens have a vote for a County Councilor in one of 5 County districts; most have no vote in Vancouver, which is NOT elected by district and is planning to annex the County area ASAP.
Clark County Councilor Yung (District 1) has relentlessly pushed for light rail, no matter the cost or the impact on residents, and businesses. Please consider Bryan Shull for Council District 1 instead. Shull promotes full transparency in IBR I-5 Bridge costs, and brings Renewable Energy research, design, and development experience, solving complex problem with real world results.
The I-5 Replacement Bridge Updated Cost Estimate has doubled, from $7.5 Billion in 2023 up to $15.2 Billion in 2026. Extending TriMet MAX Light Rail ~ 1.82 Miles over I-5 Bridge from Portland to Vancouver is estimated to cost:~ $3.5 Billion of total project costs.
Charles Prestrud reports, in the Puget Sound area, “ The average household in the Sound Transit district now pays over $1,700 per year to Sound Transit in sales tax, motor vehicle excise tax and property tax.” Prestrud notes, “Sound Transit’s light rail lines carry less than one percent of all the trips residents take around the region each day, and total transit ridership in the region is lower now than it was ten years ago.”
Margaret Tweet
Camas
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