State Rep. Jim Dunn wants input from District 17 residents

[Chief]

http://www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Dunn/newsroom/080123.htm

Four upcoming town halls to connect with lawmaker

State Rep. Jim Dunn, R-Vancouver, is inviting citizens from District 17 to join him at four upcoming town hall meetings.

"Town halls are an opportunity for residents to ask questions and express their opinions on legislative issues," says Dunn. "The input I receive during town halls is very helpful in guiding the decisions I must make as a state representative."

Town hall schedule:

Saturday, Jan. 26
1 to 3 p.m.
WSU-Vancouver, Administration Building
Classroom 129
14204 N.E. Salmon Creek, Vancouver

Saturday, Feb. 2
1 to 3 p.m.
Firstenburg Community Center
Resource Classroom
700 N.E. 136th Ave., Vancouver

Saturday, Feb. 23
1 to 3 p.m.
Clark PUD, Orchards Operation Center
Community Room
8600 N.E. 117th Ave., Vancouver

Friday, March 15
9 to 11 a.m.
Firstenburg Community Center
Community Room “A”
700 N.E. 136th Ave., Vancouver

For more information call or e-mail Rep. Jim Dunn at: (360) 786-7994 or dunn.jim@leg.wa.gov.

[Chief]

----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Koski
To: dunn.jim@leg.wa.gov
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 9:55 AM
Subject: Seismic conditions of the Interstate bridges


Rep. Dunn;

Since you have a lot of free time on your hands while Committees are meeting, here is a link to where you can find reading material on the seismic conditions on the existing Interstate Bridges on the I-5 Columbia Crossing.

http://www.clarkblog.org/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=247

May I suggest you study them before your Town Hall meeting on Saturday afternoon??

See you there.

Warmest regards;

Bob Koski
www.clarkblog.org

[Chief]

I hear from reliable sources that the best way to get a word in with Rep. Jim Dunn is to offer to feed him.

With that in mind, I wonder if I offered to bring 2 dozen donuts to his Town Hall Meeting would guarantee that Jim Dunn would even show up??

I'm betting not...

:rolleyes:

[Waterbuffalo]

Free Donuts and Coffee? Would that feed that cackling old group of crows that follow him around and advise him on "important matters."

If you've been around Cascade Park at any of the Fred Meyers or McDonalds that offer the Golden Timer's cheap coffee and breakfast for their meetings, they can get big and festivous ...

Honestly Chief, I think your going to be ready for a hoot and holler session tomorrow..

[Chief]

I'm up for this one, believe me...

I have a few dozen questions for him....let's see how he tries to handle this. I'm not some starrry-eyed High Schooler come to visit on Legislature Day...

8)

[Waterbuffalo]

Should I start out with: How are you going to make sure the CRCP passes the state legislature when 5 other Puget sound projects are going to be higher up on the food chain in the legislature to get done.

(520, Ferries, I-90, I-5 in section north and south of Seattle, 167 to be finished, alaska way viaduct, SLUT?,many others..)

[Chief]

Rep. Dunn, how are you doing anyone in District 17 any good by gettig kicked off of all your committee assignments?

What did your Colleagues require you to do before you can be reinstated? What progress have you made?

[Waterbuffalo]

In case some one forwards him this link to the thread, here are SOME of my questions:

How are you going to be a benefit to this community other than to one segment or constituency?

How are you going to get sorely needed Transportation funds from the state?

How active are you to getting what Vancouver needs to solve problems?

What are the options at the state level to beating down Puget Sound Projects to get more funding to lessen tolls on the new CRCP bridge?

Since Vancouver depends on ~40 percent of its tax revenue base from property taxes. How are you going to fight to keep this in place until there is an affordable or good answer to this being reduced?

There are a number of us that agree with you that the Vancouver Hilton was a boon and boob doggle raised up. Its now built, its now being used. How are you going to effectively deal with such mega projects with good answers to the constituents of your district on how or why they were necessary to do? Or how are you going to explain to them that they were a mistake and what options are you going to bring forth to get stuff that is needed for this community built?

There are a thousand other projects that are being prioritized for this communities need, how are you going to effectively champion for such positions when your comments in the local paper have been No new taxes, no new spending, no new projects and a reduction of property taxes that this community depends on for its lively hood to pay for every part or bit parts of this community?

Can you add more chief?

[Waterbuffalo]

Now that Bill Fromhold is retiring from his position from the state legislature how are you going effectively push or help the other legislators get MORE slots for Clark College or Washington State University Vancouver than there was just in the current biennium?

How are you going to be an effective leader for this community when you have been stripped of every position possible in the state legislature because of some thing you have done? How are you going to be a leader than just a seat warmer? How are you going to show you've changed you ways instead of belly aching in the local paper that you have been wronged?

With you advocating a reduction of the property taxes that are basically running at ~40 percent of the City of Vancouver's budget, if you are going to lower those same property taxes for seniors, its also going to take a hit on many of the same programs that run at Firstenburg, Marshall Center and senior programs that run all over the state of Washington that might be funded through a city like Vancouver. Do you see the dichotomy of your and my statements have given publicly?

No sane person is going to allow their property taxes at my younger age and are going to tooth and nail push to get them lowered but in the same fact, because of the taxes are structured in our state it also means we're cutting our own selves out of basic services that are provided at the community level.

<:-)>

Tooo much hostility brewing Chief, Have you had your morning missives and Coffee yet?

[Chief]

Name by Bill number, the last five significant pieces of legislation that you personally wrote and sponsored in the Legislature.

[Waterbuffalo]

Add: In the last TWO legislative sessions or Bi-enium?

[Waterbuffalo]

Because of an ice warning from Room mate and C-tran saying on its web site that their buses are on snow routes I won't be coming.

[Chief]

It was close, but I beat the ice. On the way up 205 there was a car on it's side in the Southbound lanes. By the time I got to WSU it was just rain, even up on the hill.

Interesting day. There were three other Citizens there today besides myself, Dunn and Mrs. Dunn, and Dunn's legislative aide.

I was polite and shook his hand, and he knew who I was as I wore my favorite ballcap. I introduced myself and told him right off that I did not approve of his behavior of late. He didn't reply to that directly, but we got down to cases about the meeting. Since I was there first I led off the discussion about his stand on the Columbia Crossing project.

Jim Dunn is very clear that he favors "other corridors" and especially likes the sproposed "Westside" or what some refer to as "605" concept. It's essentially what Sharon Nassett is proposing, lock stock and barrel.

I asked specifically "How would you pay for it?"

Dunn replied "With the four billion we save from not building the Columbia Crossing Project".

I pointed out that we didn't have that money either, but he laughed and moved on....

Next up was a lady who lived in the local neighborhood and her only issue was to try and get Dunn's help on local parking problems.

The next gent was there to discuss native fish issues on the North Fork of the Lewis River. He delivered a packet of material to Dunn.

Next was a fellow who ambled in late, and he was a big supporter of Dunn. Every point I tried to make about the Crossing, he brushed off. I offered up the chance to review the seismic survey documents, but when I told him that ODOT produced them, he brushed those off too.

Willingly ignorant and stubbornly resistant to any fact that might challenge his limited understanding of the project. This gentleman has at least been to a couple of the meetings, where Dunn has not, but his understanding of the project is no better than Dunn's is.

It disturbs me deeply that Jim Dunn is apparently going to lead the charge for a North Portland based fringe group with their very own narrow view of what ought to be built instead of what is being proposed; that being Sharon Nasset's "Alternative 14". The claim being made is that the plan was never fairly considered, but that is not at all true. Many different plans were examined and rejected as unworkable, or not addressing the existing problems on the Interstate Bridges.

Alternative 14 exactly fits that description, so I do not understand what else these people want. It makes no sense to engineer a solution that does not fit the problem, so based upon the description that has been offered to date, not one agency in Washington has supported "Alternative 14". Not one.

As recently as last Tuesday the Port of Vancouver Commissioners discussed this plan with Executive Director Larry Paulson, and were very specific about the fact that Sharon Nassett's plan does not in any way meet the current or future plans of the Port of Vancouver. The Port is 75% rail dependent right now, and once the West Vancouver Freight Access Project is finished, they will be rapidly moving to become even more rail dependent in the near future.

The Port of Vancouver does not intend to expand it's use of trucks, so they do not need a bridge to the Port of Portland. The Port of Portland deals with containerized cargo that the load onto trains, and send out of town, not to the Port of Vancouver. The Port of Vancouver deals with breakbulk cargo, and most of that moved via rail.

I heard a lot of fairly ignorant statements tossed about by Jim Dunn today that are frankly contradicted by the facts. He casually tosses around the figure of $200 Million to seismically upgrade the existing Interstate Bridges. That number comes from an old ODOT survey, and I believe the CRCP has since updated those figures. (That is one thing I will be looking into this week, so I can bring some materials with me to the next Town Hall at the Firstenberg Center early next month). The last time I talked to porject engineer Fran Green about this specific issue, he showed me drawings of what the new piers would require to meet current standards, and it would cost nearly as much for the in water work as building a new bridge would cost, and you would still be stuck with four aging counterweight twoers, and the last pair of lift spans in the United States on an Interstate Highway.

Any such plan is DOA at the Washington State line, and Jim Dunn ought to know that.

This entire "third Bridge" crowd that he has chosen to support, and is apparently writing a letter of support to the Governor, is the brain child of a Portland, Oregon "Alternative 14" activist named Sharon Nassett. Not only is she not one of Jim Dunn's District 17 Constituents, she is not even a Washington State resident.

What the hell is he thinking?

I welcomed the chance to mett the man, and talk to him face to face about things that concern me, and when I see him again at the Firstenberg Center, I will have some printed materials for him to consider.



Jim Dunn said today that he believes there is nothing wrong with the existing Interstate bridges, and repeated it several times. In light of the fact that he has admittedly never attended a single meeting or event by the CRCP, that statement by him does not hold water.

[Waterbuffalo]

Since I wasn't able to come, I could not hear with my own ears these very facts but because of your past performances and commentary, I'll take your word for it along with Gregg Herrington.

Nothing Storms me more than unvalued ignorance or wishful continued ignorance
especially from a state representative who refuses to look at straight facts, uncontrived facts and factors, won't call the CRC staff to find the facts, look at the Columbia River Crossing website or do even the most basic of research instead of listening to his *own* consituents who have a good idea of what is going on.

Chief, do you think CAVE is dabbling in this ignorance and perpetuating it to Jim?

[Chief]

He is the CAVE Candidate, there is no doubt.

Oh yeah. The columbian doesn't like him, poor boy. Some of us wear that as a badge of honor, but the way he put it, he makes it look like the reports on his behavior have been exaggerated by the columbian somehow.

[Waterbuffalo]

So why spend your time with him in about a week at the Firstenburg when he won't even listen to reason?

I'm also speaking of adding in charts, graphs and other information you have collected..

Not sure why I'd even waste my time on him. But if you see a glimmer of hope, go ahead and try.

The next meeting I think is Feb 3rd?

But hey, just to rub in the Cave-in members in front of him, that might be priceless. With facts that is.

[Chief]

So why spend your time with him in about a week at the Firstenburg when he won't even listen to reason?

I'm also speaking of adding in charts, graphs and other information you have collected..

Not sure why I'd even waste my time on him. But if you see a glimmer of hope, go ahead and try.

The next meeting I think is Feb 3rd?

But hey, just to rub in the Cave-in members in front of him, that might be priceless. With facts that is.


Precicely. It's hard to refute the facts...

[Waterbuffalo]

Precicely. It's hard to refute the facts...

Will you be bringing the 1850's Dragnet badge and honor streak with you?

[Waterbuffalo]

Did he mention any thing about the flooding flap and Gramor?

[Waterbuffalo]

Should we start another thread for next weeks meeting?

[Chief]

I think so. There will be more action at the Firstenberg Center, especially if the weather cooperates, and we don't want to wade through everything to find the current facts.

[Waterbuffalo]

What facts? I thought the blowing of the winds and minds will be the primary focus at that meeting.

Hope to see more commentary ready for him. Don't want him to be surprised that there are several people questioning him on why he feels that the CRCP is not a viable project...

Of all the meetings, I think this one might be the most contentious because I suspect Larry or others might show up and defend his points...