"Runway Plan at Seattle Airport Still Looms Large for Area Residents, Officials"

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Runway Plan at Seattle Airport Still Looms Large for Area Residents,
Officials
The Seattle (WA) Times


It's a streak of audacious optimism that has kept the city of Burien
fighting the giant Port of Seattle for the better part of a decade over
plans for a third airport runway. 

But as people at Burien's weekly farmers market discussed the upcoming City
Council elections recently, optimism about the fight mixed with fatalism in
almost equal measure. 

"Yes, absolutely. They should still fight it," said Sherry Guess, who sold
almond chocolate bars from a cart for Burien's Daily Perk Cafe and Bakery. A
Southwest Airlines jet turned its orange belly to the crowd and screamed
into the air, forcing Guess to raise her voice. "But I don't know if
fighting it will make any difference." 

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport lies across a narrow valley from the
parking lot where the market meets. The new runway would bring the planes
400 feet closer to the market. 

In many South End cities, promising to fight the third runway has been the
cornerstone of any successful political campaign for the past 10 years. The
fight costs money. Since 1992, five cities and the Highline School District
have spent $10 million to $12 million on the Airport Communities Coalition
(ACC), a nonprofit group dedicated to fighting the runway, coalition
chairman Stuart Creighton said. 

Position 4 incumbent Rose Clark thinks citizens would be outraged if the
City Council stopped supporting the runway fight. 

"If we threw in the towel right now, we would be wasting all that money
we've spent over the years," Clark said. 

The money spent fighting the Port, which operates the airport, could be
better used preserving wetlands in Burien, said Bob Pierce, one of Clark's
opponents. But he won't say unequivocally that he opposes funding the ACC. 

"I don't have enough information to answer that question," Pierce said. 

Challenger Gordon Shaw is a former member of Citizens Against Sea-Tac
Expansion, but he said the airport fight has dragged on too long and
produced too few results. 

"Would I continue to give money to the ACC?" asked Shaw, who has lived in
Burien 57 of his 61 years. "I don't know that I would." 

Dan Sherman, running for Des Moines City Council Position 2, knows the
runway fight well. A Des Moines city councilman starting in 1994, he lost
the 2001 election to Richard Benjamin by 17 votes. Benjamin voted with Mayor
Don Wasson to end Des Moines' opposition to the runway. 

But in March, the Public Disclosure Commission alleged Wasson had helped a
businessman accused of concealing thousands of dollars in campaign
contributions used to help elect Benjamin and two other candidates. Wasson
resigned from the council and agreed to pay a $2,500 fine. 

Sherman was appointed in June to fill Wasson's seat. 

Today, Sherman's opposition to the runway remains strong. "We need to finish
what we started," he said. 

One of Sherman's challengers, Jeannette Burrage, isn't so sure. 

"I think there needs to be a thorough analysis before any more money is
spent on it," Burrage said. 

In the race for Position 6, two-time incumbent Sheckler said now is not the
time to give up the runway fight. 

"I think we still have a 50/50 chance of stopping it," he said. 

Rob Back, one of Sheckler's opponents, said Sheckler is living in a
fantasyland. 

"I did support Bob Sheckler in the past," Back said. "But I'm running
against him because he's in denial about the third runway. We just have to
accept it." 

The third man in the race, Mike Foote, is more stridently opposed to the
anti-third-runway effort. In an e-mail, Foote said spending tax money to
fight a runway that will be built anyway constitutes fraud. 

"The funding should be eliminated and compensation and/or tax relief should
be given to those in our communities that are affected by the impact of the
third runway," Foote wrote. 

Unlike most of its South End neighbors, SeaTac hasn't participated in the
third-runway fight. Home to many hotels and rental-car companies, it has
been city policy to work with the Port, rather than fight it. The City
Council candidates' platforms reflect that. 

Will Wurdeman was appointed to Position 5 on the City Council in March. A
38-year SeaTac resident, Wurdeman said his top priority is not the airport
but helping senior citizens and children. 

Ralph Shape, a neighborhood activist from the Angle Lake area who is
challenging Wurdeman, wants to push for the completion of Highway 509 and
Sound Transit's light-rail line from Seattle to the airport. 

"Commuters working at the airport pass through our city twice, and we'll
continue to have problems until we finish these projects," Shape said.


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