UPDATE, 7/17/13: The rally has been rescheduled to July 27th. The original date conflicted with the National Day of Action for Trayvon Martin. For more information about both rallies, visit the STRU Facebook page. See you on the 20th and the 27th?
This session, the Washington State Legislature failed (again!) to authorize a funding source for transit, and now Metro is going to cut service by 17%. If you ride the bus in King County, it is almost guaranteed that you will be affected.
On Saturday, July 20th, the Seattle Transit Riders Union will host a rally to ask state legislators, “WTF?!” or, “WHERE’S THE FUNDING?” From the STRU site:
It’s time to get organized. As a first step, TRU and allies are organizing a rally and demonstration for Saturday, July 20 to ask the resounding question, “WTF, Olympia?” (This, as we all know, stands for Where’s The Funding, Olympia?) But we know transit riders aren’t the only ones who got the short end of the stick. We are asking all individuals and organizations who are fed up with these misleaders in Olympia to step forward.
Do you have a grievance against the State Legislature? Bring it along! We’ll be collecting a busload of grievances to send to certain state legislators. Together our combined voices will echo in the halls of power.
What? A rally and demonstration to express our dissatisfaction with our State Legislature
When? Saturday, July 20, 12:00 pm
Where? City Hall Park, 450 3rd Avenue (south side of King County Courthouse)
Who? Everyone with a grievance
Why? It’s time to get organized!
The Bus Fam will be there. Hope to see you.
I’d like to be there, but have another commitment.
Oh, shoot! Our fearless/clueless leaders want greater urban density but don’t seem to understand that we MUST have good transit to go with it. I’m going to do my best to participate.
Hi Janis,
Most of the elected officials in Seattle who advocate for density are also pro-transit–and pro-transit funding. The problem is, the people who control how transit is funded are in Olympia. Yes, it’s true: legislators from other parts of the state get to decide whether King County residents can spend our own money to fund a transit system we desperately want.
We need to make sure legislators from King County hear how important this is to us. But, we are also exploring other, citizen-led ways to approach this. Five years of begging in Olympia have yielded nothing. I’ll keep you posted!
Carla
It looks like this rally has been postponed because it conflicts with the National Day of Action Vigils for Justice for Trayvon Martin. I will update the information here as soon as I know more.