At least 2 out of 3 county commissioners get it: They say "railroad as important as bridge."

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Man, did the Pravda Columbian throw a tizzy today, or what?

Clark County commissioner Tom Mielke has been a vocal critic of plans to replace the Interstate 5 Bridge

Boldt and Mielke come out and put the nonsensical, wasteful, unwanted I-5 replacement bridge/loot rail project into perspective, and the paper loses what little is left of it's mind.

Once one understands that an unwanted and unneeded project that will subject 10's of thousands of our county residents to what amounts to a $1200 or more yearly tax so they can work in Portland, the dramatic and obvious complete lack of importance for a project that has wasted 10's of millions of dollars already should become readily apparent.

The people of this county do not want any of this project. None. The idiots behind this massive waste of money know this, or else they would put it to a county-wide vote.

Have you heard about any effort to do that? *I* haven't.

To suggest that an unwanted, unneeded $4 BILLION transportation funding black hole is THE most important project for transportation in the region is idiocy wrapped in a cloak of moronic self-delusion.

A project that will accomplish NOTHING except to massively increase the tax burden to the commuting public, and those of us who despise paying taxes on something we will not be allowed to vote on, is to suggest that our in-county infrastructure needs have no place at the table; just like, come to think of it, the commuters and the rest who oppose this nonsense have no place at the table.

Steve Stuart, wholly-owned subsidiary sellout of David Barnett/Megacasino developer remains clueless or unconcerned about what the people here actually want. Like most who will not have to bear the daily burden of taxes and fees that HE is attempting to impose on others, what the people want is of no consequence to him.

Royce Pollard has become a complete liar on the project, and like his toady announced opponent, Tim Leavitt, has ignored any call for a vote on the subject, imposing his superior will over an increasingly cynical electorate. His typically moronic response to this effort:

"There is no project that's going to have a greater impact on the economic viability of our region in the future," Pollard said Thursday. "We have to be able to compete with the world. …We can't just close the borders, as I think Mr. Mielke might want."

...is, of course, an outright lie, start to finish. But then, that's what we've come to expect from bridge replacement/light rail proponents, who have no concern for any perspective but their own.

The problem is one of perspective. Unlike Mayor Pollard's lies, this project will have precisely and absolutely zero impact on our "economic viability." On the contrary, sucking out $4 BILLION desperately needed tax dollars that actually COULD make a difference when used to build 2 additional and much more badly needed bridges over the Columbia River shows, in comparison, precisely how unnecessary and worthless this unbelievably massive waste of money can be.

The next lie is Pollard's moronic and idiotic statement that Commissioner Mielke wants to "close the (presumably state) borders." It takes a genuine, gold plated ass to come up with that kind of bizarre rhetoric.

And, by the way, for sell out Commissioner Stuart, Pollard's response sure seems to fly in the face of your observation that this is a "lot of fuss over nothing."

The 2 commissioners did the right thing. I now await their effort to put this thing to a county wide advisory vote, so we can shut the pro-bridge/light rail loons up, permanently.

Two county commissioners say railroad as important as bridge

Thursday, February 12 10:21 p.m.

BY MICHAEL ANDERSEN
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER

A quiet short-line railroad that runs from west Vancouver up past Battle Ground is at least as important to the region's future transportation system as a new Interstate 5 bridge, two county commissioners say.

The rails, which the county bought for $2 million starting in 1986, currently carry three or four trains a week, usually with two or three cars each, in their busiest stretch.

Commissioners Marc Boldt and Tom Mielke feel strongly enough about the issue that they withheld the county's logo from a letter to state legislators that described the I-5 bridge as "our region's top transportation priority."

It's not that the $3.5 billion bridge project is unimportant, Boldt explained this week.

"But it isn't the most important," he said.

Boldt doesn't want to choose between it and other important projects, like the county's Chelatchie Prairie Railroad and various roadwork.

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