Lawmakers frequently remind constituents the importance of a unified, consistent message. When coming to them with requests to fund transportation projects, lawmakers want stakeholders to prioritize and be in agreement-- to the greatest extent possible-- about what investments are needed.

Last night, Pierce County, the City of Tacoma and Port of Tacoma were definitely singing in unison. The three bodies held their annual dinner with state lawmakers in Olympia. Each organization talked about their legislative agenda and each one started out speaking about the importance of completing SR-167. And when our state lawmakers spoke to the group, the entire room broke out into loud cheers when they mentioned SR-167. You want unity? You got it!

We'd like to especially thank senators Bruce Dammeier, Jeannie Darneille, Steve Conway and Pam Roach, and representatives J.T. Wilcox, Hans Zeiger, Dawn Morrell, Jake Fey, Tami Green and David Sawyer for joining us last night.

With that said, we did get one important piece of advice: it is time for stakeholders back at home to step up to the plate. As Rep. Jake Fey, vice chair of the House Transportation Committee noted: "Your lobbyists are doing a lot of work on this issue and that is great. But it is not enough. We need folks at home to be reaching out to their lawmakers telling them the importance of passing a transportation revenue package and completing SR-167."

You can get your lawmaker's email address simply by plugging your address into the state legislature's website. You can also call the Legislative Hotline at 800-562-6000. Simply given them your name, message and address, and they will look up your lawmakers for you and deliver your message to all three of them.

One final note, the News Tribune has run two stories and an editorial recently talking about the new momentum behind the project. The first story talks about the creation of the SR-167 Completion Coalition. The second story talks about the heightened discussions in Olympia about the need for a transportation revenue package. The editorial calls the project a priority. Check them out if you have not already.