PORT ANGELES — When state voters resoundingly defeated Referendum 51 in November, the state Department of Transportation’s big wheels started spinning.
Randall Hain, Transportation’s Olympic Region administrator, said there was a “whole lot of swirling of thoughts” about why the referendum lost.
Referendum 51 proposed an increase in truck weight fees, a 9 cent-a-gallon gasoline tax increase and a 1 percent tax on the sale of new and used vehicles.
Hain said the increases would have raised $7.8 billion over 10 years for transportation purposes, including projects needed on the North Olympic Peninsula.
During a Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce luncheon Monday at the Port Angeles CrabHouse restaurant, Hain said Transportation Secretary Doug McDonald’s next move is to restore accountability through a public outreach effort — a slide show titled, “Straight Talk About Transportation.”
“Let’s just get out and discuss the facts,” Hain said.
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