Metropolitan planning organizations are another great idea - a federal requirement that local governments 'plan' federal expenditures. In practice, unfortunately, they may well be a local manifestation of the worst of both national political parties and their pork- nothing more than a bunch of lawyers and lobbyists figuring out how to scam the public by controlling expenditures with little eye to making wise infrastructure investments.
The Puget Sound Regional Council is our local 'MPO'. It has a similar reach to the Sound Transit taxing authority, but also includes the rural areas of the 3 counties as well as all of Kitsap. The PSRC has just received an award for being the 'best' of these organizations.
The current Executive Director of the PSRC is Bob Drewel, a 'old boy' democrat from Snohomish County.
Drewel just recently won a 'lifetime achievement award' from Christine Gregoire.
I knew Mr. Drewel a bit as he working his way through the regional leadership game, early in his days at Sound Transit. I warned Mr. Drewel about the business practices of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce - specifically the two law firms controlling the organization (and, soon, Sound Transit), Foster Pepper and Sheffelman and Preston Gates Ellis.
Funny thing, Preston Gates Ellis no longer exists - a partial response to their Abramoff lobbying practices in DC - FPS, is still around, but hopefully not for long, having the bank they controlled, WAMU, into the ground, perhaps taking America with it.
Mr. Drewel is particularly proud of his 'prosperity partnership' networking effort. But I wonder, perhaps the reall benefit of this 'organization' is not team work, but splitting up tax revenues in Seattle from the rest of the State, and, for that matter, from the Feds? Perhaps this 'organization' is nothing more than an unqualified bully and his drinking buddies driving the transportation funding 'car', or Titanic, if you prefer, into the wall?
