The Tacoma-Pierce County chamber of Commerce reached out to its members this week, thanking them for their support of the transportation package and renewing their commitment to completing State Route 167. As Chamber President Tom Pierson wrote:

Our thanks to all the state legislators and members of the state-wide coalition for Completion of SR 167. We almost made it – and we are not giving up!

The Washington State Legislature did not pass the Transportation Revenue Package before they adjourned the 2nd legislative special session Saturday evening. Passage of the Transportation Revenue Package would have meant completion of SR 167. Completing SR 167 means 80,000 good paying jobs, which in turn means growing our economy in Pierce County, and putting us on the global competitive map for future generations!

Thanks

Thanks to these nine Pierce County legislators who stood up for these good jobs and economic opportunity for our communities:

25th District: Reps. Dawn Morrell and Hans Zeiger.
26th District: Rep. Larry Seaquist.
27th District: Reps. Laurie Jinkins and Jake Fey.
28th District: Rep. Tami Green.
29th District: Reps. David Sawyer and Steve Kirby
30th District: Rep. Roger Freeman

Please feel free to contact members of the delegation with a note of appreciation.

Over the past 153 days of legislative session there are many people to thank. The Chamber and the 167 Coalition are especially indebted to Michael Transue, the chamber’s lobbyist. He worked tirelessly throughout the session! The many calls, emails and meetings you - the Chamber membership - took part in were a huge asset. To you all, a big thank you! There are many more volunteers whose unflagging involvement deserves recognition. But even at the risk of getting into trouble with omitting names, such a long list would exceed the reasonable limits of this correspondence.

Even though there wasn’t a Senate vote on the Transportation Package, there were many in our delegation ready to vote YES. Lastly, I want to thank Congressman Denny Heck for his leadership and constant focus and strength as a relentless advocate for completing 167.

Next Steps – We are not giving up!

We cannot wait till 2014 or 2015; we need to continue to push to get this done. Completion of 167 has been waiting for 30 years; we cannot wait any longer.

So at the end of the special session, we are not giving up. We are discussing ways to put a package together with statewide stakeholders, including leaders in the legislature from all four caucuses. We will be leaning on them more in the days to come.

For more, check out the Business Examiner's coverage on this story.

The Tacoma Chamber is not alone in its commitment to getting something done, as indicated by this statement issued by the Seattle Business Community:

The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Association of Washington Business (AWB), and Washington Roundtable, speaking on behalf of thousands of businesses across the state, remain committed to secure investments in key transportation infrastructure.

“We made good progress getting legislative leaders to understand the crisis facing our transportation system but our work is not done,” said Maud Daudon, president and CEO of the Chamber. “Our economy cannot afford stalling on transportation. Increasing investments in our state’s transportation infrastructure remains a top policy.”

Washington Roundtable president Steve Mullin added, “Although our goal was to pass a package during the just concluded session, we are heartened by the leadership provided by Governor Inslee, Representative Clibborn and many other members of the Legislature. We urge the governor and Legislature to continue to work on the issue, come to agreement and pass a package that addresses our state’s pressing transportation needs.”

“With the wide coalition of groups seeing the need for transportation improvements, we believed we could find final agreement,” said Association of Washington Business President Don C. Brunell. “We will continue to push for transportation funding.”

Funding maintenance and preservation of our existing roads and bridges, as well as investing in new capacity on corridors critical to our state’s economy, is central to the efficient movement of goods and people in our state. Also essential are tools for local governments that would fund transit, streets and roads.

Despite the Senate vote to not take up the transportation revenue package, four South Sound lawmakers issued a statement expressing their continued commitment to completing SR-167.

The Tacoma Weekly also provided its recap of the legislative session, including Olympia's failure to fund SR-167.