Tom Koenninger doesn't have a clue...

His column today confirms his cluelessness.

Tom is all about government ramming certain things down the collective throat of the People they are allegedly in business to govern.

Tom opposed the right of the people to demand a vote on the City of Vancouver’s involvement in the hotel/convention center… after all, we can’t let what the people want have any actually impact on the government agenda, can we?

Tom is obsessive about light rail, a disproven financial disaster more properly called “Loot Rail,” even going so far as to cheer the decision of the City of Houston to build loot rail AFTER the people voted it DOWN. (Let’s remember, everyone, that even with Portland’s extensive loot rail system, they continue to rank BEHIND Seattle in traffic congestion… and if a traffic system doesn’t reduce congestion, it’s a total waste of money.)

Tom isn’t real big on Constitutional rights, failing to ever apologize for his multiple diatribes against the Beas in the famous Gorge Commission V. Bea case… a case where his somewhat stilted view resulted in a 9-0 drubbing at the hands of the State Supreme Court.

So, today, Tom cheerleads for the train wreck being built in downtown Vancouver, AKA the hotel/convention center.

For those wise enough to object to government-subsidized private enterprise, he’s typically dismissive: “While that's a big chunk of money, it is this community's investment in its future. Rather than be intimidated by a few tightwad critics, city leadership mayor and council moved forward.”

See, for people like Tom and much of the rest of the Identity Vancouver ilk, those who have concerns… those who actually view reality… those who agree that the role of government is NOT to compete with the private sector… those who raise objections in those area area are “tightwad critics.” And when they rightfully attempt to derail the light rail train of arrogant local government, he refers to their efforts as “intimidation.”

Well, as you might expect, Tom failed to mention the fact that the government of this city SUED THEIR CONSTITUENCY… to keep them from having a voice in the matter.

Remember: the nay-sayers could have easily been silenced by holding a public vote on the issue. That’s all… a simple up or down vote. But you know, given the neo-comm fears of the will of the people, typically expressed by democrats in the Senate regarding judicial nominations, ultra-leftist socialist types like Tom aren’t real big on seeking out the will of the People… ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY KNOW WHAT THAT WILL ALREADY IS AND THEY DON’T HAPPEN TO LIKE IT!

Also left out is any awareness on his part of the obvious effect of a tribal hotel/convention center complex. Such a hotel/convention center complex will be in direct competition with a downtown facility and it will offer a superior product at a lower price due to decreased overhead… since they will not pay mundane costs such as L&I premiums, minimum wage, B&O tax and the like.

The end result? For the most part, the only time the downtown facility will be used or occupied will be when the tribal facility is full.

Tom’s nearly Alzhiemered point of view? “A risk? Perhaps, but probably not.”

Sigh.

How such a bizarre point of view continues to get the soapbox of a large newspaper to spew his delusions is, frankly, beyond me.

Risk? Ladies and gentlemen, we WILL get HAMMERED.

Gee… the choice?

When I come to Vancouver, do I stay in downtown Vancouver at a more expensive, less opulent facility with all the excitement of watching the grass grow in Esther Short Park?

Or do I stay at a cheaper, more exciting facility 10 minutes away?

Nah… there’s no risk in THAT…. Is there?




Opinion - Convention center builds on our future
Wednesday, April 27, 2005

TOM KOENNINGER editor emeritus of The Columbian

Vancouver is coming of age, entering the 21st century. It is no longer a shipyard town, but a historic city on the Columbia River.

Stroll through Esther Short Park, walk south across Sixth Street and enter a new world that is the seven-story Vancouver Hilton Hotel and Convention Center.

Not yet, but soon.

Hotel doors are expected to open in early June, according to general manager Gerry Link, a transplanted Arizonan.

Two recent tours found some 150 workers laboring feverishly to meet the deadline.

When it opens, it will provide a spectacular lift to Vancouver's convention offerings, largely identified for many years with the workhorse Inn at the Quay.

More…