Dear Olympia, Please give us cash ‘n’ stuff. Love, SeattleThe longer this

Published 7:00 am Monday, October 19, 2009

Dear Olympia, Please give us cash ‘n’ stuff. Love, SeattleThe longer this mayor’s race goes on, the more it looks like — love him or hate him — Joe Mallahan backed the right horse. That horse? The deep bore tunnel that will one day replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct.Today the city council is going to vote on

pass a memorandum of agreement with the state that puts us on the hook for just under $800 million of viaduct replacement costs. If this figure sounds different than the $930 million figure more commonly used, it’s because Council President Richard Conlin had the $140 million proposed 1st Avenue street car line-itemed out.So what is this memorandum of agreement? It’s essentially the city declaring it’s intent, not unlike a love note passed between suitors, to go ahead and be bound by the laws of wedded matrimony to the state for what will be a very time-consuming and very costly rebuilding project. It’s also another sign that Mike McGinn’s anti-tunnel platform is even further disconnected from political reality.To further that point, on Sunday the Seattle Times

fact-checked the candidates tunnel claims. What they found, to no one’s surprise, is that while McGinn insists that the state-promised $2.4 billion will still be available if Seattle decides against the project, some state lawmakers are already calling dibs on their share:McGinn also would face a political obstacle: Senate transportation Chairwoman Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, thinks lawmakers across the state would tap the $2.4 billion for their hometown road projects if the tunnel deal falls apart.This is what happens when a politician leaves a large platter of mouth-watering pork sitting on the table. The smell attracts other, opportunistic pols looking to steal a bite for their constituents.