"McGinn, Council at Odds on City’s “Official” Tunnel Position"

Erica C. Barnett (Publicola):

Today, the city council adopted the city’s official legislative agenda for 2010. On the list: official city opposition to doing anything that could jeopardize an agreement between the city and the state signed earlier this year. That agreement puts the city on the hook for any cost overruns associated with the tunnel.

As we mentioned in today’s Morning Fizz, Council members worry that reopening discussions on the tunnel will threaten the entire project, because many legislators only voted for the project because it kept the state off the hook for cost overruns. Reluctant tunnel supporters, like house transportation chair Rep. Judy Clibborn (D-41) and her senate counterpart, Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen (D-10), seem certain to oppose any proposal to make the state pay for overruns.

Of course, there is at least one prominent city official on record opposing that agreement: Mayor-elect Mike McGinn, who had no say in crafting the city’s tunnel-friendly legislative agenda.

Judging from comments his administration made this afternoon, McGinn is prepared to press legislators to revisit the cost overruns decision this session, in direct conflict with the city’s “official” agenda.

New McGinn staffer Ethan Raup—rumored to be in the mix for Team McGinn’s political shop—who said he was speaking on behalf of the McGinn admin at the council hearing this afternoon said, “Mayor-elect McGinn believes that it would be irresponsible to get to the point of no return on the tunnel without resolving who will pay for cost overruns.”

House speaker Rep. Frank Chopp (D-43), who opposes the tunnel, did not return a call asking whether he would support a McGinn-led effort to revisit the tunnel decision. And McGinn media staffer Aaron Pickus responded to an email asking whether he would support revisiting the tunnel decision by sending us a copy of Raup’s statement.