Letters of Resistance

Thurston Regional Planning Council

2411 Chandler Court SW

Olympia, WA 98502

Members of the Thurston Regional Planning Council,

The League of Women Voters of Thurston County is providing comments related to the current Draft Update to the Regional Transportation Plan as presented by the Transportation Policy Board. The League is a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

As an organization, we respect and value the work of our elected representatives who are asked to make difficult decisions on behalf of our local communities. We are particularly proud of our Thurston County jurisdictions who have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to work collaboratively through the framework of the Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) and through several other inter-jurisdictional organizations.

We are dismayed and saddened by the April 24 announcement of USDOT Secretary, Sean Duffy, threatening the withdrawal of federal monies spent on a ctivities that can be viewed as furthering equity, supporting immigrant communities, or out of sync with the federal administration’s current ideological priorities. The announcement threatened future funding flows, as well as the “recovery” of funds that have already been obligated.

In light of this threat, we at the League can understand the intent of April 9 recommendation of your Transportation Policy Board—recommendations to “scrub” terminology in the Thurston Regional Transportation Plan which may contain or infer diversity, equity, and inclusion, climate justice, multi-modal priorities, and other potentially triggering words that could disrupt USDOT’s distribution of funds to the Thurston region. These threats are real and may endanger the lives and prosperity of Thurston County residents.

However, we suggest that the Secretary’s words appear to run counter to established laws which explicitly bar the federal government from violating the civil rights of disadvantaged groups and which call upon DOT to put underserved communities first (the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, for example). These threats from USDOT also counter the efforts of local governments and organizations that are actively working to create a more equitable and just community for all residents.

We at the League request that the Planning Council proudly respect the culture of the Thurston Region and maintain the principles identified in the earlier version of the plan. We ask that you avoid acquiescence to heavy-handed demands that are not supported by established procedures or congressional direction. It would be a sad day if our rightful financial support from the federal government were to be interrupted or diverted due to executive over-reach; however, it would be even worse for our locally elected leaders to abdicate responsibility to their constituents and pursue money over principles. We stand with you on those principles in the face of unfounded ultimatums. Please reject the April 9 recommendation of the Transportation Policy Board.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Thurston County,

Nathaniel Jones

LWVTC Leadership Team, Current Lead

The letter from Thurston Climate Action Team

Thurston Climate Action Team agrees with the attached statement from the local League of Women Voters.  We strongly oppose changes to the Regional Transportation Plan that  are being proposed to eliminate references to equity and other words or phrases that the current administration finds objectionable.  We believe the risks to our community and our democratic institutions from self-censorship in compliance with recent Executive Orders are far greater than this risks of refusing to comply and keeping the current language in the RTP.

Thank you for your consideration.

Tom

Tom Crawford, Board President

Thurston Climate Action Team

The letter from Paris McClusky, TCAT Community Organizer

On April 24th, USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to pull funding that can be perceived as supporting immigrants, diversity, equity, inclusion and climate justice. This threat is not a law, it is not a mandate, it has not been subject to congressional, or judicial review. This threat is just words; words meant to bully and intimidate, but just words nonetheless.

Why then, has the TRPC recommended “scrubbing” language in the Thurston Regional Transportation Plan that relates to diversity, equity, inclusion, climate justice, multimodal priorities and more? Unlike the USDOT’s threats, these are so much more than just words. Diversity, equity, inclusion, climate justice and immigrant rights are the results of years and years of work, of research, of sacrifice and of struggle. Instead of capitulating to threats from the Trump Administration, we recommend that like your constituents here in Thurston County, you uphold the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, climate justice and immigrant’s rights with pride, courage and integrity.