45th and 48th District Debate on Thursday

This is debate season, and while most eyes will be watching the Cantwell / McGavick debate Tuesday night, there will be another debate that should interest voters in the 45th and 48th Districts. Here's the news release:

THE GREAT DEBATE: Candidates for State House and State Senate offer solutions to the Eastside's transportation problems.

Bellevue : Transportation will be the topic at a debate next Thursday featuring candidates from the 45th and 48th Legislative Districts, representing areas of the Eastside including Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Woodinville.

Sponsored by Transportation Choices Coalition and moderated by the Seattle Channel's C.R. Douglas - an Eastside native - the debate will feature candidates from the 48th District Senate race: current Representative Rodney Tom (confirmed) and current Senator Luke Esser (invited); candidates from the 45th District Senate race: former Microsoft engineer Eric Oemig (confirmed) and current Representative Toby Nixon (confirmed); candidates from the 48th District House race: former Kirkland Mayor Deb Eddy (confirmed) and former legislative aide to Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn Bret Olson (invited); and candidates from the 45th District House race: former law, non-profit, and government leader Roger Goodman (invited), and Duvall City Councilmember Jeffrey Possinger (invited).

With each of these candidates touting transportation reform as one of their top priorities, this debate will shed light on each candidate's positions on major Eastside transportation projects. From light rail across I-90, to a 520 Bridge rebuild, to congestion relief on I-405, these candidates will have an opportunity to highlight their previous accomplishments on transportation and put forth their visions for the future.

"We've had great candidate debates on the Eastside in the past two election cycles," said Kathleen Huckabay, Sammamish City Councilmember and Chair of Eastside Transportation Choices. "With so many major transportation projects to be decided in the next two years, the candidates elected in these key races will leave their mark on transportation for generations to come." Huckabay said that the subject matter covered will include Sound Transit 2, the Regional Transportation Investment District, Transit Now, and the future of transportation in the Puget Sound region.

Each candidate will have the opportunity to articulate their transportation goals, field questions from C.R., and answer questions from audience members. Candidates will highlight their support for everything from building more light rail to adding road capacity. Representative Tom is highlighting his previous voting record, citing that he helped bring $1 billion in transportation dollars to the 48 th District. Senator Esser points to his willingness to put aside partisanship and commitment to reducing congestion among his assets. Eric Oemig puts transportation on his list of top three priorities and suggests that eliminating bottlenecks and investing in transit are key solutions. Representative Nixon's suggested solutions include increasing capacity on highways and arterials and exploring options like on-demand transit. Deb Eddy believes we can have a better transportation system by removing decision-making roadblocks and expanding financing options. Bret Olson hopes to reduce traffic congestion and believes expanding capacity will help our current congestion nightmare. Roger Goodman supports investments in a truly multi-modal system. And Jeffrey Possinger believes that mass transit is part of the solution but that adding capacity to our highways must be given priority.

The debate will be at Bellevue City Hall, Room 1E113 on October 19th, from 7:00pm – 8:30pm. Please arrive early as this is expected to be a standing room only event. For more information, contact Rachel Smith rachel@transportationchoices.org or 206.329.2336.

Maybe Esser and Olson will show, maybe not. Perhaps they're too busy working on new attack ads coming to your mailbox soon. Either way, this is a great chance to see the candidates in one place.