Chris Karnes: A Transit Advocate on Council

Tacoma Link at Freighthouse Square (Seattle Transit Blog)

Thanks to electoral wins by Julie Anderson and Marilyn Strickland, there will be two at-large seats open on the Tacoma City Council. I have been asked a couple of times by a number of people at various times to consider running for public office, and now to throw my name in the hat for an appointment. I thank these individuals and consider these comments compliments in the highest regard. I wonder if (and hope that) there are also other candidates out there who can push the same issues in Tacoma just as effectively. (Morgan Alexander and David Boe are good candidates)

However, despite this reservation, I will throw my name in the hat and solicit support from my peers for an appointment in order to push some issues. If any of these issues resonate with you, I encourage you to visit the Recruit Chris Karnes Facebook page. Without further ado... I propose:

To Represent people who are without representation:

• Transit riders
  No one who is on the Tacoma City Council takes public transit as a primary mode of transportation. That means there are literally thousands of public transit riders in Tacoma who lack a Councilmember with a visceral understanding of what their issues are. Transit riders deserve a Councilmember who will proactively work to represent them and their interests on the Pierce Transit and Sound Transit boards.
  
  
• Young people / New Grads
  Tacoma produces skilled workers, but it has a problem with keeping graduates. Rather than courting multinational financial corporations, maybe we should instead focus on keeping the skilled workers that we're cultivating right now. We should improve the quality of life here so that, even if graduates find a job in that city to the north, that they consider keeping Tacoma, their college town, as their home. They might try starting a business here, given the chance.

To Invest in Tacoma’s Infrastructure for a Green Future:

• Focus the budget on repairing roads, filling potholes, and building sidewalks
• Put real money into making streets safer for cyclists, pedestrians, and children
• Leverage federal and regional funds to extend Tacoma Link Light Rail in phases: to 6th Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Way, the Lincoln District, Portland Avenue, Proctor, TCC, and Fern Hill.
• Improve public transit through a partnership with Pierce Transit to improve bus
  frequency, while connecting neighborhoods and business districts
• Construct at least one Permanent Farmer’s market by 2013

To Reform how decisions are made in Tacoma:

• A Moratorium on expensive private, out-of-town Consultants
• Community Liaisons for each Councilmember and support staff for Council
• Send to the voters an amendment to the City Charter to have City Councilmembers work for citizens full time instead of part time, in order to ramp up to get to a Strong Mayor system
  
• Commission a study of public campaign financing in Tacoma, making it easier for ordinary citizens to finance campaigns without taking out a second mortgage.

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Who is Chris Karnes?
Chris is a lifelong Tacoman: born, raised, and educated here in Tacoma. He has served on a number of public boards and commissions, including: the New Tacoma Neighborhood Council, the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of Tacoma-Pierce County, Tacoma Streetcar, Citizens for Instant Runoff Voting of Tacoma, Excellence in Education for All, and he worked on the Tacoma United For Fairness Campaign. He has also been an active participant in Mayor Baarsma's Green Ribbon Task Force on Climate Change, the City of Tacoma Streetcar Feasiblity Study, and Tacoma's Mobility Master Plan. He is a homeowner, does not own a car, and has lived in Council Districts: 2, 3, and 4.