Keep Washington Rolling, the coalition that is fighting Tim Eyman’s I‑1125, has just received a huge financial boost from one of Washington’s largest employers: Microsoft (which, like NPI, is headquartered in Redmond). The company had previously donated $100,000 to the cause, but last Friday, it wrote another check for six times that amount, bringing its aggregate total to $700,000.
Other major contributors to Keep Washington Rolling to date include:
- $40,000: Pemco
- $30,000: Wright Runstad & Associates
- $25,000: HDR Inc., Puget Sound Energy, Parsons Brinckerhoff, the Seattle Mariners, the Washington State Building & Constructions Trade Council, Saltchuk Resources, and Weyerhaueser
- $20,000: Premera Blue Cross, Washington Asphalt Pavers Association
- $16,500: Amalgamated Transit Union (including Locals #587 and #1765)
- $16,000: Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters
- $15,000: Vulcan, Washington State Labor Council, Aerospace Machinists District #751, Kiewit Infrastructure West
In total, Keep Washington Rolling has raised $1.2 million, and it will likely end October having raised closer to $2 million, if not more.
Microsoft obviously accounts for more than half of the amount raised, though the percentage of its contributions to Keep Washington Rolling are outweighed by the percentage of Kemper Freeman, Jr.‘s contributions to Tim Eyman’s coffers.
One Comment
Thanks for the info. It is ironic that Microsoft would oppose I‑1125, given that many of their Eastside employees live outside the area served by Sound Transit, see link to their service area at link below.
For example, many at Microsoft work in Maple Valley and Covington, and adjacent areas outside the urban growth boundary in east King County. Others work at Fall City and numerous other delightful towns in the Snoqualmie Valley including the Town of Snoqualmie.
Not only do these areas not have light rail, they do not also have bus rapid transit.
Perhaps John Niles can offer some suggestions on bus rapid transit from these outlining communities, and how to widen dangerous two lane rural roads into Redmond and Bellevue.
http://www.soundtransit.org/documents/pdf/riding/map_lg.pdf
Thank you
Tom Lane