Seattle Times Columnist Danny Westneat gets it right in Sunday's paper: Gov. Chris Gregoire copped out by punting a decision on the viaduct back to voters.
He nails Gregoire for simply proposing a vote between a rebuild, which isn't popular, and an expensive tunnel supported by Mayor Greg Nickels. Instead of asking for yet another vote, elected leaders should lead.
We barely have a representative democracy anymore. The representative part has checked out. The democracy part may look like it's in full swing — there's certainly a lot of voting going on — but it isn't leading anywhere.
Why aren't other options -- such as a surface alternative -- on the table? What will one more advisory public vote on transportation solve?